I’m a dietitian — blast belly fat by avoiding these 4 types of foods

If you can stomach it, an India-based dietitian is recommending eschewing processed baked goods and meats, deep-fried foods, and sugary drinks to blast belly fat.

“Sugary drinks promote fat storage around the abdomen,” Dr. Mrinal Pandit told SheFinds last week. “High sugar intake is linked to increased visceral fat, which is associated with metabolic disorders.”

More than half of Americans — about 53% — suffer from abdominal obesity. Fat stored deep in the belly, known as visceral fat, can be more harmful than other types of fat.

Visceral fat surrounds the stomach, liver, and intestines and produces toxic substances that increase blood pressure and cause inflammation.

Experts say participating in at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days, sleeping between five and eight hours a night, not smoking, and eating a well-balanced diet can help banish belly fat for good.

A 2020 University of Minnesota study found that consuming a lot of sugar-sweetened beverages and added sugar translated to greater fat stores around organs.

“When we consume too much sugar the excess is converted to fat and stored,” study lead author So Yun Yi said at the time. “This fat tissue located around the heart and in the abdomen releases chemicals into the body which can be harmful to health. Our results support limiting added sugar intake.”

Refined carbs, meanwhile, include white bread, white rice, white pasta, crackers, pizza, pastries, and ultra-processed snacks, like potato chips and candy.

“Refined carbs are high in carbohydrates, which not only spikes your blood sugar, but it also turns into sugar and is easily stored,” registered dietitian Lisa Young told Eat This, Not That! last year. “Refined carbohydrates have negative health effects as they have gone through processing where fiber and other nutrients are removed.”

Young noted that fried foods, which are high in calories due to the oil used, also turn into sugar and get stored as visceral fat.

Processed meats such as hot dogs, sausages, bacon, ham, and salami are on the naughty list as well, thanks to their high fat and sodium content and nitrate and nitrite preservatives, which are added to prevent bacterial growth, keep the meat red and enhance the salty flavor.

“Nitrites and nitrates used in processing cause inflammation, a key driver of fat storage and chronic diseases,” Pandit told SheFinds.

UK registered dietitian Lucy Jones advises filling your grocery cart with wholegrains instead.

Research that’s part of the Framingham Heart Study, a long-term look at the risk factors for cardiovascular disease, found that visceral adipose tissue volume was 10.1% lower in middle-aged adults who consumed approximately three or more servings of whole grains compared to those who didn’t eat any.

The wholegrain foods used in that study were brown rice, whole-grain cold breakfast cereal, oatmeal, dark bread, brown rice, bulgur, kasha, couscous, popcorn, bran, and wheat germ.