A bowl of soup a day could keep the pounds at bay A bowl of soup a day could keep the pounds at bay. Health experts have discovered that adding low-calorie vegetable broth to the start of a meal can actually help to lose weight. Because you tend to feel full sooner, you eat less of your main course. The soup regime was tested by researchers at Pennsylvania State University, led by Dr Barbara Rolls. They found that when participants in the study ate a first course of soup before lunch they reduced their total calorie intake by 20 per cent, compared with those who did not begin the meal with soup. But those who favour creamy soups should beware. Researchers stressed the soup must be low-calorie and based on stock, not cream. All of the soups tested in the study were made from identical ingredients - chicken stock , broccoli, potato, cauliflower and carrots. They were blended to create four different textures and thickness from separate stock and vegetables through to pureed soup. Scientists thought that thick soups with chunks of vegetables which required chewing might be more filling, but to their surprise they found all forms had the same effect. The findings were presented to the Experimental Biology conference in Washington, DC, and the research was partfunded by the National Institutes of Health.   (Daily Mail)

一天一碗湯，脂肪減光光。 健康專家發現，在吃正餐之前喝一碗低熱量的蔬菜湯有助于減輕體重。 因為喝湯會讓你很快覺得飽了，所以正餐就能少吃點。 由賓夕法尼亞州立大學的芭芭拉·羅爾斯博士帶領的一組研究人員對這種喝湯減肥法進行了測試。 他們發現，與那些飯前不喝湯的人相比，如果研究對象在午餐前先喝了一碗湯，他們這頓飯所攝入的總熱量就會減少20%。 但喜歡喝帶有奶油成分的湯的人得注意。研究人員強調，這種湯的熱量必須低，要以湯為主要原料，而不是奶油。 研究中用于測試的所有湯原料都相同--雞湯、菜花、馬鈴薯、花椰菜和胡蘿卜。 之后，這些原料被混合調制成四種不同質地、不同濃度的湯，包括純湯、蔬菜湯及濃湯等幾種類型。 科學家認為，由于用大片蔬菜熬制而成的濃湯需要咀嚼，可能更容易讓人產生飽意，但令他們驚訝的是，他們發現所有類型的湯功效都一樣。 這些研究結果在華盛頓實驗生物學研討會上公布。此項研究的部分資金由國立衛生研究院提供。 （英語點津姍姍編輯）