Belly fat can be beat with smart food choices, according to recent reports. Since the unsightly fat is speculated to trigger hormones that activate the hunger center of the brain, overcoming belly fat could not only help you feel full, but help improve blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Want to win the battle of the bulge? Eat more fresh veggies. A new report from The Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that eating whole grains and water-rich foods, like fruits and vegetables, can help you lose belly fat.
Excess belly fat is dangerous, and has been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses.
Some scientists even think that it secretes a hormone that triggers the hunger center of the brain, creating even more fat.
Where does belly fat come from? From a high-calorie diet and a low-activity lifestyle, say researchers. Stress can also lead to a bulging belly. When you couple the traditional American junk-food diet with a high-stress, sedentary office job, you have a perfect recipe for poor health and belly fat.
But belly fat can be busted by eating right, says the report. A diet rich in grains and fresh fruits fills you up fast, yet requires so much energy to digest that you can actually born more calories than you take in by eating them.
And it’s not all just rabbit food: eating high-protein, low-fat foods like eggs, lean meats, and low fat dairy products provide needed nutrients and lots of energy without excessive calories.
Best of all, belly fat is the first fat the body burns off when you adopt a healthy lifestyle including smart food choices and regular physical activity. And for women, the minute you start to lose it, your risk of getting breast and ovarian cancer gets smaller as well.
