Monounsaturated Fats and Belly Fat

A paunch or bulging tummy can be quite embarrassing. It not only leaves you being conscious of your appearance at social gatherings, but also limits your closet to baggy and loose-fitting apparel. Belly fat is visceral fat tucked deep inside the waistline and increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and some types of cancers.

This is why it is important to reduce this fat as far as possible, however, reducing such stubborn tires of fat can be quite a task. Besides exercise and a healthy diet, there's something else that can help with the same. Monounsaturated fats are belly-flattening fats that can help reduce your waistline. Let's find out how!

Although the word 'fats' carries a negative notion, not all fats are bad. Some fats such as monounsaturated fats are good for the body. Found in olive oil, canola oil, lean beef, nuts, avocados, etc., these fats are fatty acids featuring one double bond in their fatty acid chain. They have several positive effects on the human body and their benefits include the ability to decrease the risk of contracting various diseases.

They also elevate the level of good cholesterol (HDL) in the body, and at the same time reduce the level of bad cholesterol (LDL). This significantly reduces the risk of heart diseases. People dwelling in the Mediterranean regions consume a diet rich in olive oil, which is in turn high in monounsaturated fats. This is why people from that part of the world have a lower rate of heart disease.

There are two kinds of fat that are linked to the nasty tires around our belly. One is the visceral fat that is stored deep inside the body surrounding the internal organs and the other is the subcutaneous fat that is stored just under the skin. When we look at our tires, what we see is the subcutaneous fat. However, what is visible is not as dangerous as the inner visceral fat that we cannot see. Visceral fat buildup in the body occurs due to several factors such as genetics, eating fatty and sugary foods (saturated fats), drinking a lot of beer, menopause, stress or slow metabolism rate.

A study published in the 2007 issue, of Diabetes care said that 'dieters lost belly fat when placed on a high, monounsaturated-fat diet, without any additional exercise and without cutting any additional calories.' A monounsaturated diet plan has helped several people lose belly fat.

A diet comprising high monounsaturated fats from items like oil (1 tbs), nuts (2 tbs), avocados (½ cup), olives (10) and quarter cup of dark chocolate will help one shed those flabs around the belly. Several experiments have been carried out, wherein people have been asked to consume only a monounsaturated fat diet thrice a day, and they successfully showed signs of visceral belly fat reduction.

Before purchasing food items from the supermarket, make sure you check the labels. Choose items with unsaturated fats rather than the deleterious saturated type. Moreover, avoid processed foods such as baked or fried goods as they are all loaded with trans fats. Just because monounsaturated fats and belly fat are inversely proportional does not mean you look at monounsaturated fats as magic ingredients. Exercise and a healthy diet cannot be compromised at any cost.