A simple way to eat more while still losing weight has been revealed

British researchers have proven that reducing caloric intake doesn't necessarily require cutting portion sizes or implementing fasting periods.

Simply replacing ultra-processed foods with whole foods is enough - and the body will naturally start "saving" calories on its own. The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN).

The authors re-analyzed data from a 2019 clinical experiment. In it, 20 participants alternated between two types of eating patterns over the course of a month: a whole foods diet and a diet dominated by ultra-processed foods. In both cases, they were allowed to eat as much as they wanted - portions were not restricted.

It turned out that when eating whole foods, people consumed more than 50% more food by weight, yet received an average of 330 kilocalories less per day. In other words, the volume of food increased while the energy value decreased.

In the new study, scientists attempted to understand why this happens. An important detail of the experiment was that participants could independently choose dishes from a provided selection. According to psychology professor Jeff Brunstrom, when people are given unprocessed foods, they "intuitively choose a combination that provides satiety and nutrition while reducing overall caloric intake."

Researchers hypothesize the existence of a so-called "nutritional intuition." According to this hypothesis, the body strives to balance energy and micronutrient intake - vitamins and minerals. In natural products, this balance is preserved: to obtain necessary substances, people more often choose fruits, vegetables, and other foods with low energy density.

With ultra-processed food, the situation is different. Such products typically contain high amounts of fats and sugars, while also being additionally fortified with vitamins and minerals.

As a result, a person can receive a high dose of calories from a small volume of food without experiencing sufficient satiety.

"There is a concerning possibility that ultra-processed foods deliver both energy and micronutrients simultaneously, destroying the natural trade-off between them," noted study co-author Annika Flynn.

The authors emphasized that additional research is needed to understand whether this "nutritional intuition" is innate and how social factors influence it. However, the study already demonstrates that the problem of excess weight may be connected not only to portion sizes but also to the type of products that dominate one's diet.