Soups increase satiety through slowed digestion.

One recent post last week looked at soup and satiety. Although the research behind the post shows increased satiety with soup when compared to solids or beverages. Previous studies have demonstrated the satiating properties of soups compared with solids or beverages, but the mechanisms controlling soup-induced satiety are unclear.

A 2012 study looked at potential mechanisms​[1]​. This study aimed to understand the physiological mechanisms causing the soup to be more satiating. A total of 12 volunteers were tested on three occasions after a solid meal, chunky soup, or smooth soup. The goal was to test gastric emptying after meal consumption and glycemic response. The thought was a slower emptying would result in increased satiety.

The results revealed that there was a significant difference in gastric emptying with the longest emptying times for the smooth soup and the shortest for the solid meal. The glycemic response was significantly different between meals. The smooth soup had the highest glycemic response and the solid meal having the lowest. Volunteers were fuller after the smooth soup compared with a solid meal.

The bottom line: The smooth soup induced greater fullness compared with the solid meal because of a combination of delayed gastric emptying leading to feelings of gastric distension and rapid accessibility of nutrients causing a greater glycaemic response.