Beans more satisfying than meat?

In a satiety smackdown, you’d think meat would smear legumes, right? Wrong. Meals of beans and peas were more satiating than pork and veal in a recent study by the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Nutrition. The results suggested a win-win for legume lovers: sustainable eating may also help with weight loss.

In the randomized, crossover study, researchers served 43 young men three different meals that featured patties made or beans and peas or veal and pork. When subjects ate a protein-rich meal based on beans and peas, they ate 12 percent fewer calories in their next meal than if they had eaten a meat-based meal. The results were published in the journal Food & Nutrition Research.

"The protein-rich meal composed of legumes contained significantly more fiber than the protein-rich meal of pork and veal, which probably contributed to the increased feeling of satiety," head researcher, Anne Raben, a professor at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, said in a university release published on medicalxpress.com.

The study also demonstrated that a less protein-rich meal based on beans and peas was as satiating and tasty as the protein-rich veal and pork-based meals. "It is somewhat contrary to the widespread belief that one ought to consume a large amount of protein because it increases satiety more,” said Raben. “While more studies are needed for a definitive proof, it appears as if vegetable-based meals—particularly those based on beans and peas—both can serve as a long term basis for weight loss and as a sustainable eating habit.”