Satiety: Mushrooms may trump meat in helping to feel fuller for longer

19 Oct 2017 --- If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then a new Mushroom Council-funded study suggests mushrooms may be one of the most important ingredients. The study on satiety, published in the October issue of the journal Appetite, indicates that eating a mushroom-rich breakfast may result in less hunger and a greater feeling of fullness after a mushroom breakfast compared to a meat breakfast.

“Previous studies on mushrooms suggest that they can be more satiating than meat, but this effect had not been studied with protein-matched amounts until now,” says gut health and satiety researcher and study author Joanne Slavin, Ph.D., Professor at the University of Minnesota.

“As with previous published research, this study indicates there may be both a nutritional and satiating benefit to either substituting mushrooms for meat in some meals or replacing some of the meat with mushrooms,” Slavin continues.

Because protein appears to be the most satiating macronutrient according to the scientific literature, researchers wanted to match the amount of protein in the mushroom and meat interventions to essentially control for the influence of protein on satiety. After matching the mushroom and meat by protein content, both ended up containing comparable amounts of calories as well, which is a common way to match interventions in satiety studies.

“This new study adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests mushrooms may aid weight management and satiety, and thus contribute to overall wellness,” says Mary Jo Feeney, Nutrition Research Coordinator to the Mushroom Council. “Consumers are interested in the benefits of protein food choices, so it's important for them to know that plant-based sources of protein, such as mushrooms, can be satisfying.”

Mushrooms curbed hunger and prospective consumption
The objective of the study was to assess the differences in satiety and a ten-day food intake between Agaricus bisporus mushrooms, commonly known as white button mushrooms (226g), and meat (28g) in a randomized open-label crossover study. Participants included 17 women and 15 men who consumed two servings of mushrooms or meat for ten days.

Participants were given either sliced mushrooms or 93 percent lean/7 percent fat ground beef to consume for a total of ten days, twice a day. Portion sizes were based on matching the same protein content and similar calorie counts.

Results showed a significant difference in satiety ratings between the mushroom and meat consumption. Participants reported significantly less hunger (p=0.045), greater fullness (p=0.05) and decreased prospective consumption (p=0.03) after consuming a mushroom breakfast compared to a meat breakfast.

Blending could make meals better
The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines encourage healthy eating patterns that are low in saturated fat, which is found in animal proteins. From meatless meals to plant-centric plates, there are many ways to gradually decrease meat consumption without loss of flavor, and research has shown that blending finely chopped mushrooms with meat can be a nutritious cooking technique, according to the Mushroom Council press release.

For example, the Mushroom Council cites a one-year randomized clinical trial at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. It indicated increasing intake of low-energy-density foods, specifically mushrooms, in place of high-energy-density foods, like lean ground beef, can be an effective method for reducing daily energy and fat intake while still feeling full and satiated after the meal. Participants following the mushroom-rich diet lost seven pounds (3.18kg), showed improvements in body composition and maintained these changes for six months after losing weight.

Another study conducted by University of California, Davis and the Culinary Institute of America found that substituting mushrooms for a portion of meat helped improve nutrition and flavor. According to the Mushroom Council press release, adding mushrooms to the mix helped lower calorie, saturated fat and sodium intake, while adding nutrients to the plate such as B vitamins, vitamin D, antioxidants and potassium.