Health

How to get rid of visceral fat: Three foods you must avoid to reduce the harmful belly fat


Visceral fat can be detrimental to a person’s health, increasing the chance of insulin resistance, diabetes and heart disease developing. It isn’t necessarily associated with being overweight or obese so determining your visceral fat level can be difficult. But one of the best ways to make sure you keep your visceral fat levels down is eating a healthy, balanced diet. When it comes to reducing high levels of visceral fat, there’s three foods in particular you should cut down on.

Dr Luke James, medical director, UK Insurance at Bupa UK, recommends cutting down on rice, potatoes and pasta.

But he adds: “When you do eat them go for wholegrain (i.e. brown rice and pasta).

“There are lots of easy substitutes – courgetti instead of spaghetti for example.

“Carbs should only make up a quarter of the space on your plate.”

He also has four other recommendations for getting rid of visceral fat, from cutting out sweet treats to HIIT.

He advises: “Cut out the sweet treats and savoury snacks of chocolate and crisps.

“Increase your protein to 2g protein per kilo bodyweight, choosing lean meat like chicken and fish, or pulses or soya if you’re veggie.

“If you’re struggling to get to 2g, consider protein drinks or bars to supplement.

“Cut out all alcohol, and do three to four HIIT sessions combined with weights/resistance training each week (one hour per session is enough).”

There are four simple lifestyle changes you can also make, not related to diet, to help you get rid of visceral fat.

Make sure you get enough sleep

Studies have demonstrated how lack of sleep can increase your risk of visceral fat gain.

One study which spanned over six years, and included 293 people, found increasing sleep from six hours or less to seven to eight hours reduced visceral fat gain by roughly 26 per cent.

Stress less

Stress can cause the body’s adrenal glands to produce more cortisol, which helps regulate metabolism. But excess cortisol can increase visceral fat storage.

Prolonged stress can also lead to overeating, which can have a negative impact on your waistline.

Try intermittent fasting

Research has demonstrated how intermittent fasting can help you lose visceral fat.

Intermittent fasting is a term used to describe a cycle between a period of fasting and non-fasting over a certain period of time.

In a study titled ‘Intermittent fasting vs daily calorie restriction for type 2 diabetes prevention’ it was found intermittent fasting can help reduce visceral fat by four to seven per cent over a period of six to 24 weeks.

Take a probiotic

Probiotics are live bacteria usually added to yogurts, but can also be taken as food supplements.

Studies have found certain probiotics can help a person lose weight, as well as visceral fat.

They may reduce dietary fat absorption in the gut and increase how much of it you excrete in feces.

Probiotics have also been found to promote higher levels of GLP-1, which is a fullness hormone, and ANGPTL4, a protein that may help reduce fat storage.



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