Impact of Agaricus bisporus mushroom consumption on satiety and food intake

Previous studies on mushrooms suggest that they can be more satiating than meat, but this effect has not been studied with protein-matched amounts. The objective of this study was to assess the differences with satiety and ten-day food intake between A. bisporus mushrooms (226 g) and meat (28 g) in a randomized open-label crossover study. Thirty-two healthy participants (17 women, 15 men) consumed two servings of mushrooms or meat for ten days. On the first day, fasted participants consumed protein-matched breakfasts. Participants rated their satiety using visual analogue scales (VAS) at baseline and at regular intervals after the meal. Three hours later, participants were served an ad libitum lunch. Participants were given mushrooms or meat to consume at home for the following nine days. Energy intake was assessed at the ad libitum lunch, and participants also completed diet diaries on the day of the study, day 2, and day 10. Participants reported less hunger (p = 0.045), greater fullness (p = 0.05), and decreased prospective consumption (p = 0.03) after the mushroom breakfast. There were no significant differences in participant ratings of satisfaction (p = 0.10). There were also no statistically significant differences in energy intake at the ad libitum lunch or with the diet diaries from days 1 (p = 0.61), 2 (p = 0.77), or 10 (p = 0.69). Mushroom consumption did increase fiber intake on days 1, 2, and 10 but the difference in fiber consumption was only statistically significant on day 2 (p = 0.0001). The mushroom intervention also did not affect energy intake over the ten day feeding period.