Research

Hormonal

Consumption of liquid preloads containing 50g of whey, soy, or gluten protein reduces subsequent ad libitum energy intake by approximately 10% compared to an equicaloric glucose preload, independent of the subject's BMI status.

To reduce your next meal's intake, consume a liquid preload containing about 50g of protein (whey, soy, or gluten) roughly 3 hours before you plan to eat. This strategy works for both lean and overweight men and reduces subsequent food intake by about 10% compared to drinking a sugary drink of the same size and calories. The type of protein matters less than the fact that it is protein in liquid form.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Energy intake was 10% lower after all protein preloads, compared with the glucose treatment (P < 0.05), independent of BMI status and protein type.
Jane Bowen et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2006

Why this rating

Randomized crossover design with a reasonable sample size (n=72), though the effect size is modest.

Source

Appetite Regulatory Hormone Responses to Various Dietary Proteins Differ by Body Mass Index Status Despite Similar Reductions in<i>ad Libitum</i>Energy Intake

Jane Bowen et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2006

DOI 10.1210/jc.2006-0609

crossover · n=72Cited 283×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →