Foods that Burn Belly Fat

"Eat foods that burn belly fats and have an attitude like Winston Churchill who once famously said, 'Never, never, never, give up.'"

You belly has always been a source of amusement for your friends. Although over the years you have been laughing it off, more recently, you've been feeling its time to do something about it. For years, you have been reading about foods that burn belly fat. But when you comes to trying some of these, you are confused: what foods should you consume and why? Who to ask? So, you head to the information highway.

The moment you type in your query about ‘foods that burn belly fat’, your search engine throws up a million websites which claim to give you a solution. This plethora of choices further adds to your confusion. So how do you decide on which foods to opt for? Well, before going any further, you need to stop and think.

Aren’t you better off first understanding a bit of science behind how and why the body selectively deposits fat around the belly? Let us have a closer look at what goes on inside the human body as far as fats are concerned.

Metabolism of Fat:

Fat is treated by the body as reserve food stuff, to be used only as an emergency source of energy when other sources (carbohydrates and proteins) are meagre or not available (such as during starvation after the carbohydrate and protein stores have been used up). In short, the body normally tries to hold on to whatever fat you eat while it uses up carbohydrates (usually) and proteins for energy generation.

So why does it have to get deposited in the belly region, you may ask. Well, here’s the answer. Human pancreas secretes an anabolic hormone called insulin. Now, as we all know, the main function of insulin is to lower the blood levels of glucose (sugar). It does this by carrying sugar from blood to skeletal muscles and other sites. However, it plays an important role in the metabolism of fats as well.

Insulin has a tendency for fat deposition in the adipocytes (fat cells) in and around the belly. An indirect proof can be seen in borderline diabetics or those suffering from glucose intolerance. They have been shown to have relative resistant to insulin. Thus, their bodies have to secrete larger amounts of insulin to overcome this deficit (hyperinsulinemia). This then leads to fat deposition in the belly. Although, a lot of debate exists as to whether this is a cause or effect of insulin resistance.

Relative resistance to insulin is also affected by body size or waist circumference. So, the larger a person, more chances of him/ her having insulin resistance and more likely he/ she is to have fat around the belly.

Other factors that affect deposition of fat around the belly are race, genetic predisposition, drugs, etc.

So, in what way can you overcome this? Well, one way is to exercise. What this does is that it reduces the need of insulin for the driving blood glucose into skeletal muscles. Thus, low levels of insulin suffice and therefore this cuts down on the deposition of belly fat. Another advantage is that fats are preferentially used as fuel for aerobic training. Thus, the most effective way to burn belly fat is aerobic training supplemented with fat burning foods and a bit of resistance and circuit training thrown in.

Another way is to consume foods that burn belly fat i.e. foods that help you control your insulin secretion. Maintenance of low levels of insulin will then reduce the amount of fat around the belly. This will also effectively control you blood cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease and metabolic syndrome (obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia) Here, the terms glycemic index and insulin index step in.

Glycemic Index: is a measure of how quickly carbohydrates from a particular food release sugar into the bloodstream after digestion. Thus, high glycemic index foods release sugar quickly while low glycemic ones do so gradually. The low glycemic index foods thus do not require as steep an insulin secretion response as do the high glycemic index foods. Thus, if you consume foods with low glycemic indices, you can effectively control insulin secretion and thus your belly fat.

Insulin Index: is a measure of insulin secretion in response to various foods. This is quite similar to glycemic index, however, it assumes importance in foods that do not contain carbs like meat. Insulin index studies have shown that high protein diet also elicit insulin secretion responses similar to high glycemic index foods. What this means is that you are better advised to avoid very high protein containing foods.

What are Foods That Burn Belly Fat?

To begin with, here is a list of characteristics that you should look for in foods:

• low in calories
  
• low in simple sugars (complex carbs like starch are fine)
  
• low glycemic index
  
• relatively high protein content
  
• high fiber content

And, here is a list of foods that burn belly fat:

Oatmeal: low glycemic index food, contains complex carbs and thus releases sugar very slowly. This means, in effect, it will keep you feeling full for a much longer time. In addition, it contains loads of fiber. Presence of fibre reduces the absorption of fat from food consumed in the small intestine. Also, it helps you with proper bowel emptying.

Whole meal bread: As opposed to people who consume refined carbs, those who eat whole grains have a tendency to be leaner, on account of the complex carbs and presence of fiber in whole grain foods.

Calcium rich dairy products: Research has shown that 3 – 4 servings per day of dairy products rich in calcium like yogurt, milk and cheese can help the process of fat reduction. A study conducted at the University of Tennessee has shown that people who partake of 3 – 4 servings of calcium containing dairy products show reduction of belly fat.

Eggs: protein contained is the best as far as digestibility in humans is concerned. Furthermore, eggs are a very good source of cyanocobalamin (vitamine B12), which plays a crucial role in fat metabolism. A word of caution though: egg yolk contains cholesterol in very high amount. Thus, consuming more than one egg yolk per day will probably prove detrimental to your health. Also, avoid eating raw eggs. The yellow of a raw egg contains a protein avidin which can cause dermatitis (skin reactions).

Fruits: like apples, limes, lemons, oranges, guavas, papaya, tangerines, etc can also help you reduce belly fat. Vitamin C, contained in these fruits, is supposedly responsible for most of the fat reducing action of these fruits.

Nut: like almonds, cashew nuts, walnuts, pistachios,etc are nutrient rich foods. These are sometimes also called super foods because of the stunning array of health benefits they offer. Also, eating nuts before a meal will help you in feeling ‘full’ earlier, thus cutting down on the actual amount of food you consume during the meal.

Proteins: cause more anabolism (building up of muscles and other tissues) than catabolism (break down of tissues). Moreover, proteins are more likely to be retained in the body as such, rather than get converted into other substrates of food like fat. An additional benefit is that protein diets are usually low in carbohydrates which have a tendency to get converted into fat if present in excess amounts. Eggs, fish, lean meat, lentils, oatmeal, whole grains and pulses are good sources of protein.

Tea and Coffee: by their inherent thermogenic properties (energy producing), have a tendency to cause weight loss. Thus, a few cups of tea or coffee won’t do you any harm if you want to lose belly fat.

Others: include blueberries, water melon, lentils, soyabean, chillies or cayenne pepper. In addition, foods that have the characteristics outlined previously will also serve the purpose.

To conclude, a diet containing foods that burn belly fat and a well planned fitness program, with emphasis on aerobic training, will surely help you lose your pot belly.