Choose skim milk over juice at breakfast

What you drink at breakfast is just as crucial as what you eat for the most important meal of the day. A recent scientific study found that drinking skim milk instead of fruit juice at breakfast made participants feel fuller longer, and they ate less at lunch.

Researchers tested overweight participants' satisfaction and lunchtime calorie consumption after drinking either skim milk or juice with breakfast. Even though both beverages have about the same number of calories, the high protein content of skim milk may account for its ability to satisfy better than fruit juices, which don't contain very much protein.

Dieters tend to avoid dairy products when trying to lose weight, but the study shows that low-fat dairy foods can be part of a low-calorie diet and even help suppress appetite. However, full-fat or even reduced-fat milk's appetite-controlling effects would be negated by the extra calories from fat, so stick with skim.

Researchers don't advise avoiding fruit juice entirely; it does contain some nutrients (such as vitamin C) that skim milk lacks. For dieters, the high protein content of skim milk may help satisfy hunger better than fruit juices.

by VI-AN NGUYEN from USA Weekend www.usaweekend.com