New York, Oct 20 (IANS): Eating a mushroom-rich breakfast may result in less hunger and a greater feeling of fullness, thereby helping you avoid consuming extra calories later, new research suggests.

The findings, published in the journal Appetite, suggest that meat can be replaced by mushroom in some meals. 

"As with previous published research, this study indicates there may be both a nutritional and satiating benefit to either substituting mushrooms for meat in some meals or replacing some of the meat with mushrooms," said study author Joanne Slavin, Professor at the University of Minnesota in the US.

Because protein appears to be the most satiating macronutrient according to the scientific literature, researchers wanted to match the amount of protein in the mushroom and meat interventions to essentially control for the influence of protein on satiety. 

After matching the mushroom and meat by protein content, both ended up containing comparable amounts of calories as well.

The objective of the study was to assess the differences with satiety and a 10-day food intake between Agaricus bisporus mushrooms (commonly known as white button mushrooms) (226g) and meat (28g). 

The participants consumed two servings of mushrooms or meat for 10 days. 

Results showed a significant difference on satiety ratings between the mushroom and meat consumption. 

Participants reported significantly less hunger, greater fullness and decreased prospective consumption after consuming a mushroom breakfast compared to a meat breakfast.