Protein: choose the right time to ingest it.

It was already suspected that a few extra pinches of protein in the diet would prevent cravings. The British Journal of Nutrition published a surprising study that was, in fact, conducted on American soil, more specifically at Purdue University, by a team led by nutritionist and doctor of food science Wayne W. Campbell. “The time you consume protein makes all the difference in harnessing this satiety effect,” states the researcher.

He recounts that, for the study, he recruited overweight men in their 40s. All followed a balanced, low-calorie diet, divided into five meals. But there were differences. Part of the group received a diet with, let’s say, a conventional protein content. For the rest, however, nutritionists created a meal plan with the same caloric value, but with a greater proportion of protein sources. Between 18% and 25% of the calories consumed came from protein-rich foods.

“We already expected this group to feel less hungry throughout the day,” admits Campbell. “What really intrigued me was to find out the following: if these people concentrated more protein in a particular meal, would that make any difference? We saw that it did.”

To reach this conclusion, he divided the volunteers who ate more protein into four groups. The first distributed protein foods across all meals. The second reinforced the presence of protein at breakfast. The third ate more of their sources at lunch, and the fourth, at dinner. All participants had to answer questions about their hunger levels, whether they felt like devouring chocolates in the middle of the afternoon, and so on. In addition, they occasionally underwent blood tests to measure hormones involved with satiety.

After crossing all this information, the scientists noticed that it didn't make much difference whether all protein portions were distributed throughout meals or left for lunch and dinner. However, protein at breakfast was a significant help, capable of multiplying the intensity and duration of the feeling of satiety by four, often even by five.

“Why does this happen? Well, we still don't know. But it is the first scientific evidence that the timing of protein consumption makes a difference and such a revelation, without a doubt, can help people who need to lose weight in a healthier way, without resorting to crazy solutions.”

The specialist recalls that, ironically, many people prefer to eat more protein at night and comments that a breakfast capable of preventing hunger attacks is nothing out of the ordinary, “especially in countries where people have the good habit of drinking milk at breakfast.” He advises that you supplement skim milk with two servings of protein foods.

One serving would be equivalent to a boiled egg or a simple omelet prepared without fat or made only with egg whites; two thin slices of turkey breast or light ham, or even light cheese; one tablespoon of cottage cheese; a glass of skim yogurt blended with sweetener, among other examples.

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