It always amazes me when I meet people who will spend serious cash on random weight loss supplements or prescription drugs known to have serious, adverse side effects, yet they have little motivation to make simple changes – like adding tasty foods that can fight fat.
Despite the fact that body fat seems lazy, like it sits around doing nothing all day (except cushioning your body from any blows), it’s actually very active and waging a war against your health. Fat tissue, especially the kind in your gut, is spewing inflammatory compounds while you sit at your desk innocently chowing down on office Christmas cookies and egg nog. And those compounds may continue to make you fatter and set you up for several chronic diseases down the line including insulin-resistance (Type 2 diabetes) and cardiovascular disease.
The logical step to taming the inferno in your belly fat is to drop weight and start doing so right away. And, there’s something else you can do as well – load up on phytochemical-rich fruits, vegetables, nuts, tea and legumes. University of Florida researchers found that a diet rich in phytochemicals fights oxidative stress (free radicals) and inflammation in your excess fat tissue.
So how do you start? Simple – eat fruits or vegetables (colorful ones) before every single meal. Drink tea (black, white, green or oolong), snack on nuts (all nuts are heart healthy and can help satiate your appetite) and think twice about over-indulging in heaps of Christmas cookies, alcoholic drinks and egg nog.
I find it bewildering also. People will buy diet frozen meals, 100-calorie packs of low-quality, low-nutrition food, strange processed low-fat food products, but won’t eat a fruit and a veggie. Oh, right, fruit is fattening as it’s all sugar, and thus insulin blah blah blah.