Top 12 Fat-Fighting Foods


Tired of that spare tire? Sick of your love handles? You can increase your body's fat-burning power by eating more foods that help your liver (your body's main fat-metabolizing organ) to burn fat better, resulting in a leaner body. There are many foods that fight fat, but the ones below are my picks as the top twelve:

1. Oatmeal: This complex carbohydrate (the good kind) is slow to digest and helps to keep blood sugar levels stable while keeping you feeling full. Research also shows that consuming oatmeal reduces a person's cravings for fatty foods - just be sure to eat the unsweetened kind. .

2. Leafy Greens: Spinach, spring mix, mustard greens, and other dark leafy greens are good sources of fibre and powerhouses of nutrition. Research demonstrates that their high concentration of vitamins and antioxidants helps prevent hunger while protecting you from heart disease, cancer, cataracts, and memory loss.

3. Olives and Olive Oil: Being rich in healthy fats, olives and olive oil help to reduce cravings for junky foods and keep you feeling full. Research shows that monounsaturated fats that are plentiful in these foods also help reduce high blood pressure.

4. Beans and Legumes: Legumes are the best source of fibre of any foods. They help to stabilize blood sugar while keeping you regular. Soy is particularly good at speeding the breakdown of stored fat.

5. and 6. Garlic and Onions: This dynamic duo of foods contains phytochemicals that break down fatty deposits in the body, while also breaking down cholesterol; killing viruses, bacteria, and fungi; and protecting against heart disease. With a little help from garlic and onions, you can burn fat while warding off illness.

7. Tomatoes: Packed with vitamin C and the phytochemical lycopene, tomatoes stimulate the production of the amino acid known as carnitine. Research has shown that carnitine helps speed the body's fat-burning capacity by one-third.

8. Nuts: Raw, unsalted nuts provide your body with essential fatty acids that help burn fat. Their high nutrient content also lowers the risk of heart attack by 60 percent.

9. Cayenne: This hot spice lessens the risk of excess insulin in the body by speeding metabolism and lowering blood sugar levels before the excess insulin can result in fat storage.

10. Turmeric: Turmeric contains the highest known source of beta carotene, the antioxidant that helps protect the liver from free radical damage. It also helps your liver heal while helping your body metabolize fats by decreasing the fat storage rate in liver cells.

11. Cinnamon: Researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture showed that a quarter to one teaspoon of cinnamon with food helps metabolize sugar up to twenty times better than food not eaten with cinnamon. Excess sugar in the blood can lead to fat storage.

12. Flax Seeds and Flax Seed Oil: These seeds and oil attract oil-soluble toxins that become lodged in the fatty tissues of the body. Once attracted, they help to escort fat-soluble toxins out. That spells fewer fat stores and a trimmer you.