How to fight belly fat is always a hot topic of discussion in the media, belly fat, which to some simply means the difference of feeling confident or not in their jeans, also has a particularly important health risk associated with it. The type of fat that sits around our mid riff area, also known as visceral fat, has been associated with higher levels of lifestyle disease risks such as Type 2 Diabetes and Heart Disease. Visceral fat is the type of fat that sits close to our organs and therefore does not merely act as an insulating layer like our outer layers of fat.
So what types of foods, food substances and lifestyle factors have been shown to help fight belly fat?
1. Resistant starch-Helps the body incinerate more fat for fuel while making less fat available to stash away in fat cells e.g. Goodness Superfoods cereals, cold potato and pasta, bananas.
2. Flavonoids- May block the storage of stomach fat e.g. black beans.
3. Antioxidants: Flavonols and Catechins- Appear to hinder the storage of belly fat e.g. pears.
4. Whole grains- In preference to refined grains e.g. wholegrain bread. Choosing wholegrains and low GI carboyhdrates keeps your blood sugar and insulin levels lower. This can be beneficial at reducing fat storage.
5. Healthy fats- Burn more quickly than saturated fats e.g. sunflower seeds and peanuts.
6. White tea- Compounds may help prevent fat absorption into cells and also trigger the breakdown of fat already in the cells.
7. Acetic acid- Turbo charges that bodies ability to burn fat and hinders fat storage e.g. apple cider vinegar.
8. Linoleic acid- May rev up metabolism and prevent belly fat e.g. safflower oil.
9. Exercise- 3 extra hours a week could make a huge difference!
10. Reducing stress- Decreasing cortisol levels has been shown to help fight belly fat.
My 2 cents- I have seen a number of these factors in practice on my own body and can only say, something in it must be true! I started jogging a few times a week, having a multivitamin, fish oil and vitamin D capsule, and eating Goodness Superfoods cereal for breakfast each day, and I can tell you, my stomach has never been flatter (and when I measured on a high level research scale for % body fat, my trunk fat had definitely decreased!)..if this is a problem area for you…just try the above information, you have absolutely nothing to lose!
Alcohol plays a part too, so if you can steer clear for a few weeks I think you will visually notice some differences too!
ps- If you want to see the slide show and references from where this information was obtained, click here.
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