Dr Zoe Williams discusses visceral fat on This Morning
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Stored deep inside the belly, visceral fat houses some of the vital organs, such as the liver and intestines. The tricky part about this harmful fat is that it can trigger a series of health problems, including heart disease and diabetes. However, a good diet can help to get rid of this culprit.
Knowing whether you have visceral fat can be difficult due to its hidden location.
But some indicators like waist circumference might be warning signs of this type of fat.
Although hidden, it can cause serious problems in your body leading to a greater risk of heart disease and diabetes, the Harvard Medical School explains.
One 59p ingredient which may help burn this harmful belly fat is cinnamon.
The pungent spice characterised by its pleasant smell is easy to incorporate into any diet.
When it comes to visceral fat, the potent compound targeting the culprit is cinnamaldehyde.
A study published in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology has focused on this compound’s effects on visceral fat.
The study looked at mice, which followed a diet high in sugar and fat, divided into two groups.
In these two mice groups, one received a dose of cinnamaldehyde on a daily basis while the other had none.
A month later, the research team noticed that the mice on the cinnamon diet managed to lose visceral fat.
The mouse group that didn’t follow cinnamaldehyde protocol didn’t enjoy the same benefits.
Based on this, the researchers think that cinnamaldehyde is able to stimulate the metabolism of fatty visceral tissue.
Metabolism describes the process by which your body converts the food and drinks you put into it to energy.
And cinnamon might be able to boost it when it comes to visceral fat, according to the study’s findings.
However, as this was only an animal study, research focusing on humans is needed to back this further.
More evidence looking at cinnamon and fat burning doesn’t include visceral fat directly.
For example, one study published in the journal Metabolism found that cinnamaldehyde can improve metabolic health.
The research team explained that this is done by acting directly on fat cells, inducing them to burn energy.
But this human study hasn’t researched the exact effects on visceral fat.
Plus, the researchers added that more research is needed to determine the best way to use cinnamaldehyde without causing “adverse side effects”.
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