Nigerian foods to eat to reduce belly fat, foods that burn belly fat in
5 Foods That Help Fight & Reduce Belly Fat.
In one of my previous articles in which I talked about the relationship between beer and pot belly, I promised to write an article listing foods that can help to reduce belly fat. I am here to fulfil that promise now.
There are many reasons why you accumulate fats in the belly and I am going to discuss some while mentioning others in the process too.
You are definitely not being kind to your body if you can’t go a day without downing a bottle of carbonated drink. All these sugars ultimately get converted into fat in your body and depending on your sex, age and rate of metabolic activities, the fats might end up being stored in your tummy.
Eating late at night is also a bad habit that contributes to belly fat. Our body naturally breaks down the food we eat but this rate reduces when we go straight to bed after eating. We do not expend the energy we have, so the body does not try to break down the food to supply more energy. The best practice is to eat not later than 6pm in the evening and make sure we do not go to bed immediately after.
When we go to bed on a full stomach, it also increases our risk of developing acid reflux and indigestion, since gravity is no longer able to pull everything in our belly straight down.
If you deprive yourself of fats because you think it contributes to accumulation of fat in your body, you are wrong. There are very good and beneficial fats that help the body. The irony of it is that foods such as avocados, olive oil and seeds work well in eliminating belly fat for you.
Endeavour to get enough sleep everyday, adults should get about seven to nine hours of sleep each day. When we refuse to get enough sleep, the level of cortisol (stress hormone) in our body increases and causes the craving for sugary foods. We consume these sugary foods and add more calories to the body. Overeating, depriving our body of protein-rich foods and genetics also have their roles in how we process and store fat in the body.
Healthy eating and living in general will helps us reduce fats in our body but there are also foods that we can include in our diet to reduce belly fat. They help fight and reduce the fat in our tummy.
Nigerian foods to eat to reduce belly fat
1. Berries help to fight fat in the belly
Flavonoids are present in high quantities in berries, particularly in red, blue and purple berries. The darker and riper berries are, the more they tend to have higher flavonoid value. These flavonoids can help suppress abdominal fat accumulation.
A particular study carried out on experimental animals showed that Licorice flavonoids can suppress abdominal fat accumulation and increase in blood glucose level in obese diabetic. Example of berries include blueberries, cranberries, blackberries and black grapes. There are also the raspberries, cherries and red grapes which may be high in anthocyanidins and cyanidin. We must note that processing of these fruits into fruits can lead to the loss of flavonoids.
Therefore, it is advisable to eat them fresh in order maximise the flavonoids content. Add these fruits to your diet while watching the type of other foods that you take and sleep pattern, you should see a drop in your belly fat.
2. Nuts and Beans against belly fat
Flavonoids are a quite remarkable group of phytonutrients that fall into the chemical category of polyphenols. They’re perhaps most famous for their rich diversity of color-providing pigments (including the deep blues of blueberries and rich reds of raspberries). Are nuts and beans also rich in flavonoids? Yes, they are! Some nuts and beans such as Soy beans are high in protein and also high in flavonoids. Darks beans such as kidney beans and black beans tend to be higher in flavonoids from the anthycyanidins group.
Nuts such as walnuts and pecans are high in anthocyanidins while pistachios and cashews are high in the flavonols catechins. Flavonoids, apart from helping in fighting belly fats, have also been found to have the ability to block the production of messaging molecules that promote inflammation.
3. Green and Red Vegetables
Most vegetables contain quantities of flavonoids, particularly green and red vegetables. Peppers, tomatoes and eggplants are high in the flavonols, quercetin and the flavones luteolin. Onions, most especially the red onions and green onions, are also high in quercetin. Celery, artichokes, snap beans, broccoli and okra also contain flavonoids.
These flavonoids help boost our rate of metabolism such that we burn fat faster and better. Flavonoids and phytonutrients found in nuts as well as citrus, berries, red onions, beans, green tea, grapes, and cocoa boost our metabolism enough to significantly reduce our belly fat. Including these foods in our diet will not only be beneficial nutritionally to the body, but also help trim down that large waistline that we hate seeing in the mirror.
So, if you are really serious about reducing your belly fat and you don’t want to feel bad about your tummy the next time you have to tuck in your shirt, then make use of the content of this article. Keep your exercises going too and you are sure to see changes.
4. Pears can Keep your middle trim
Fresh pears are low in calories and high in fiber. The calories are so low you could eat one before every meal and still lose weight while the fiber also helps your digestion. But even better, pears are loaded with catechins and flavonols. These two antioxidants appeared to reduce the storage of belly fat in a 14-year study.
A research has also recommended how to eat pears to make the best out of it; eat a pear before a meal to help curb hunger. This will prevent you from eating too much food as you are less hungry after eating the pear; you need to consistently consume fewer calories than you burn to lose weight.
Ditch the peeler, though; most of the fruit’s beneficial fiber is in the skin.
5. Watermelon and Belly Fat
The University of Kentucky did a study in which they found that watermelon lowers a person’s risk of the development of belly fat and alters blood lipids which in turn affects artery plaque deposition. The study found that subjects didn’t experience any decrease in their muscle mass and their weight loss happened through the loss of abdominal fat. Watermelon contains 91 percent water and when you eat it at the beginning of a meal, it fills you up without adding a substantial amount of calories to your meal.
Watermelon keeps you feeling full longer and also helps combat water retention. This juicy fruit is also rich in vitamins B1, B6 and C, as well as potassium and magnesium.
Note that all the fruits mentioned in this posts are not miracle foods that will just burn off all he fat in your belly. Burning belly fat is all about consuming less fat than you burn everyday. This, coupled with the consumption of fruits that help you retard fat accumulation in your tummy, will make that fat belly go down.
Stay healthy!!!
~Adeleke Olusegun Olaoluwa
