Dr Zoe Williams discusses visceral fat on This Morning
Visceral fat is also referred to as belly fat and is found inside a person’s abdominal cavity and wraps around the internal organs. To lose your belly fat, eliminating certain types of food will make this process easier. Experts advise eating more soluble fibre to help burn belly fat and reduce health risks.
There are more than 100 trillion helpful bacteria living in your lower gut and unlike other bacteria, these bacteria are harmless and have a mutually beneficial relationship with humans.
Humans provide the bacteria with a home and nutrients, while the bacteria help take care of processes like producing vitamins and processing waste.
Although it’s not clear why, many studies show that people who consume more soluble fibre have a greater variety of bacteria and better health outcomes.
What’s more, a recent study showed that people with a greater variety of gut bacteria have a lower risk of belly fat.
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Because your body cannot digest fibre itself, it reaches the gut largely unchanged, said Healthline.
The site continued: “Once there, specific enzymes in gut bacteria can digest soluble fibre.
“This is one important way in which gut bacteria promote optimal health.
“Meanwhile, soluble fibre acts as a prebiotic, providing the bacteria with nutrients.
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“This process of digesting and breaking down soluble fibre is called fermentation.
“It produces short-chain fatty acids, a type of fat that can help reduce belly fat.
“One way short-chain fatty acids may help regulate your fat metabolism is by increasing the rate of fat burning or decreasing the rate of fat storage, although exactly how this works is not completely understood.
“Regardless, many studies show a connection between a higher level of short-chain fatty acids and a lower risk of belly fat.”
When soluble fibre reaches the colon, it’s fermented by gut bacteria into short-chain fatty acids – these fatty acids are a major source of nutrition for colon cells.
Studies show that short-chain fatty acids help increase levels of fullness hormones, such as cholecystokinin, GLP-1 and PYY, which may help to reduce visceral fat by suppressing your appetite.
Bolstering the claims, one study published in the journal Obesity found that for every 10 gram increase in soluble fibre eaten per day, visceral fat was reduced by 3.7 percent over five years.
Ten grams of soluble fibre can be achieved by eating two small apples, one cup of green peas and one-half cup of pinto beans, according to lead researcher Kristen Hairston, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest Baptist.
Other rich sources of soluble fibre include oats, oat bran, rice bran, barley, citrus fruits, strawberries and potatoes.
When it comes to the benefits of eating more soluble fibre to burn belly fat, Medical News Today said: “Soluble fibre helps to lower fat absorption and helps with weight management.
“As a thick, spread-out gel, soluble fibre blocks fat that would otherwise be digested and absorbed.
“Soluble fibre also helps to stabilise blood sugar levels by again preventing fats from being absorbed, soluble fibre helps to slow down the digestion rate of other nutrients, including carbohydrates.
“This means meals containing soluble fibre are less likely to cause a sharp spike in blood sugar levels and may prevent them.”
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