Soup is both nutritious and relatively easy to digest. A survey by American nutritionists shows that among over 60,000 people who underwent nutritional examinations, those who were well-nourished were precisely those who frequently drank soup. However, if you don't drink it at the right time, it can make you gain more weight.
When is the best time to drink soup for more nutrition?
Many people think drinking soup is a simple matter, but they don't realize that only by drinking soup scientifically can you absorb nutrients while avoiding fat accumulation.
What should we pay attention to in this regard?
Drinking before and after a meal makes a big difference: The timing of drinking soup is very important. As the saying goes, "Drink soup before a meal to stay slim and healthy; drink soup after a meal to get fatter," which has some truth to it. Drinking a few sips of soup before a meal can lubricate the mouth and esophagus, preventing dry and hard food from irritating the digestive tract mucosa, and it helps dilute and mix food, promoting digestion and absorption. Most importantly, drinking soup before a meal allows the food in the stomach to fully contact the stomach wall, enhancing the feeling of fullness, thereby suppressing the eating center and reducing a person's appetite.
Studies have shown that drinking a bowl of soup before a meal can reduce the absorption of 100-190 kilocalories of heat. In contrast, drinking soup after a meal is an unhealthy way to eat. On one hand, if you are already full after the meal, drinking more soup can easily lead to excessive nutrition and cause obesity. Additionally, the soup you drink last will dilute the chyme that has already been well mixed with digestive juices, affecting the digestion and absorption of food.
Drinking soup at noon is less likely to cause weight gain: Which meal, breakfast, lunch, or dinner, is more suitable for drinking soup? Experts point out that "the least amount of heat is absorbed when drinking soup at lunchtime." Therefore, to prevent weight gain, it's a good idea to choose to drink soup at noon. Dinner, however, is not a good time to drink too much soup, otherwise, the rapidly absorbed nutrients will accumulate in the body and easily lead to weight gain.
It's best to choose low-fat ingredients for soup: To prevent weight gain from drinking soup, you should try to use high-fat, high-calorie ingredients as little as possible, such as old hens, fat ducks, etc. Even if you use them, it's best to skim off the excess fat during the stewing process. Lean meat, fresh fish, dried shrimp, skinless chicken or duck, rabbit meat, winter melon, loofah, radish, konjac, tomato, seaweed, kelp, mung bean sprouts, etc., are all excellent low-fat soup ingredients, so feel free to use more of them.
The slower you drink soup, the less likely you are to gain weight: American nutritionists point out that if you extend the time of your meal, you can fully enjoy the taste of the food and feel full earlier. Drinking soup is the same. Drinking soup slowly gives ample time for the digestion and absorption of food. When you feel full, it means you've eaten just the right amount; whereas drinking soup quickly, by the time you realize you're full, you may have already consumed more than your body needs.