If you're looking for a rather unusual yet innovative means to bring a little variation into your weight loss diet, the "liquid lunch" option might be just what you need. This innovative approach to dieting was presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Geneva last week by scientists from food giant Unilever, who conducted a study into the whole matter of replacing solid food with a more fluid yet equally nutritious version. The catch, they say, is that if the food intake is increased using certain gases or even water, the resulting "liquid lunch" can make us eat fewer calories and feel fuller for longer.

The Unilever researchers tested their theories by feeding test subjects either a full meal or a liquid meal which contained half the amount of food bulked up with gas (think of an aerosol whipped cream spray). The results were quite surprising, as it turned out that the gas-filled meal cut back appetite a lot more effectively than the standard meal. "What was really surprising was that satiety (feeling full) was maintained for 1-2 hours or even longer. We know that the problem for some is that satiety is often lost after 15 minutes or so, so this was a pleasant surprise", said research and development project leader on weight management.

As we all know, when we're on a diet, hunger is among our worst enemies. It's also notoriously harder to keep the pounds from piling back on than actually losing the weight. However, few people actually considered that the way we eat food (that is, solid or liquid) could have just as big an impact on our diets as the food we actually eat. As researchers are working to find the optimum type of gas to stabilize such foods, we can take an early start and begin by going on a diet made up of "power shakes" - that is, fresh vegetables blended together in nutritious, tasty drinks. There are plenty of recipes available - and they may turn out to be just what your body needs to detoxify and start getting rid of those extra pounds. Stay tuned for more news.