Visceral fat is deemed harmful to a person’s health because of where it’s stored in the body. It is found in the abdominal cavity next to many vital organs, such as the liver, stomach and intestines, which is why it presents such a health risk. Having too much visceral fat can increase the chance of developing cardiovascular disease. A diet high in fat and sugar is one of the main causes of visceral fat build-up, so what can you do to get rid of it?
Changes to what you eat is one of the most effective ways to reduce the belly fat, and one of these changes could be to eat more sweet potato.
The reason being is sweet potatoes are a great source of soluble fibre which can help reduce visceral fat by suppressing your appetite.
Soluble fibre helps slow down the delivery of digested foods from the stomach to the intestines.
When soluble fibre reaches the colon, it is fermented by gut bacteria and turned into short-chain fatty acids.
Studies (such as ‘Short-chain fatty acids stimulate glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion via the G-protein-coupled receptor FFAR2’)have shown short-chain fatty acids help increase levels of fullness hormones, such as cholecystokinin, GLP-1 and PYY.
Another study, which looked at 1,114 people, found increasing soluble fibre intake by 10g a day reduced the risk of visceral fat gain by up to 3.7 per cent.
The average sweet potato contains about four grams of fibre, of which almost half in soluble, according to SELF Nutrition Data.
As well as eating more soluble fibre, experts recommend a set with plenty of protein.
Studies have demonstrated how eating protein can reduce food cravings by 60 per cent, boost metabolism by 80 to 100 calories per day and help you eat up to 441 fewer calories per day.
‘Gluconeogenesis and energy expenditure after a high-protein, carbohydrate-free diet’ is just one paper that demonstrates these findings.
Some evidence has also demonstrated how protein is effective working against belly fat.
One study, titled ‘Quality protein intakes inversely related with abdominal fat’, published in BMC Medicine, showed the amount and quality of protein consumed was inversely related to fat in the belly.
This means people who ate more and better protein were found to have less belly fat.
One food recognised as a good source of protein, which can be enjoyed at breakfast, lunch or dinner, is baked beans.
According to British Nutrition Foundation, baked beans contain 5.2g of protein per 100g.
They are a good source of plant protein, particularly for vegetarians and vegans.