Key Ingredient to Keeping off Holiday Pounds? Air.

Just about everybody overeats during the holidays, but researchers may have discovered a secret weapon in the battle to keep off extra pounds: extra air. Eating foods containing more air might make you eat less, according to researchers at Pennsylvania State University in University Park. Twenty-eight lean men were fed three meals per day for four weeks. Thirty minutes prior to lunch, each man was required to drink a shake. All the shakes contained the same ingredients, but were blended for varying times to increase the amount of air and, thus, the volume. When the largest volume shakes were consumed, the men ate 12 percent fewer calories than usual at lunch. Drinking lower-volume (denser) shakes did not lower subsequent calorie consumption. Researchers offer a word of warning, however: Filling up on air-laden foods can give you a stomachache. Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2000; 72, 361-368

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