Belly fat is more correctly called visceral fat. 

Which means the fat around your organs in your abdomen. Visceral fat is associated with increased risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease, fatty liver, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and Alzheimer's disease.

Belly fat is not the same as peripheral fat found elsewhere in the body. The Journal of Nature Communications entitled "Inherited basis of visceral, abdominal subcutaneous and gluteofemoral fat depots", looked at 40,000 people and determined that visceral fat is the only fat associated with cardio-metabolic disease. Regular fat (located beneath the skin or in glute or thighs) is not.  

While extremely impactful on your health, fortunately it isn't difficult to impact your belly fat in meaningful ways.

A study out of BMC Medicine entitled "The Effect of High Polyphenol Mediterranean Diet on Visceral Adiposity..." was a randomized control trial that saw a 14% decrease in visceral fat (!) in the subjects following a Mediterranean diet optimized with polyphenols - plant-based compounds known for their antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. In the study they consumed more fruit, green tea, walnuts and other foods high in polyphenols which decreasing red meat intake (more on that later). The group not optimized to eat more polyphenols only lost 4% of their visceral fat.

Foods high in polyphenols: dark wild berries, green tea, almonds, walnuts, cinnamon, turmeric, and more.

Polyphenols activity to enhance the microbiome was reported on in the journal Nutrients with an article entitled: Beneficial Effects of Dietary Polyphenols on Gut Microbiota. This found polyphenols to act as a prebiotic fiber to good bacteria but showed that is also protected against bad bacteria from forming in your gut - very exciting!

A strong correlation has been found between the microbiome and visceral fat. A full 16 strains of microbes  are associated with gaining visceral fat. Polyphenol protection is sounding pretty great against these.

Now on to why the recommendation for watching how much saturated fat you're consuming. The Journal of Diabetes published a study entitled: Overfeeding Polyunsaturated and Saturated Fat Causes Distinct Effects on Liver and Visceral Fat Accumulation in Humans. 

They found that overeating saturated fat promotes visceral fat and liver fat storage, whereas excess consumption of polyunsaturated fat may promote lean tissue in healthy humans. 

Now notice the use of the word "overeating". It's fine to have saturated fat in your diet, but watch to make sure that it isn't above 20% to avoid fatty liver and visceral fat increase.

Dietary Tips
To summarize these recommendations you can try some of the below recommendations:
1. Consume about 1 gram of lean protein per pound of ideal body weight.
2. Eat 2 cups of dark berries/day. This is 2 servings. Aim for organic.
3. Drink 2 cups of green tea/day. Organic if you can.
4. Eat some low oxalate leafy greens to help oxidize fat faster. e.g. arugula, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, asparagus.
5. Eat some aged cheese - pecorino romano is the best because it's low in lactose and contains the fatty acid CLA which is known to help decrease belly fat.
6. Have a serving of collagen or bone broth to help heal the gut.
7. Have 1/2 to 1 cup fermented dairy because it increases good gut bacteria (SCGAs) which results in decreased visceral fat.
8. Intermittent fast - 4 hours between meals and a 12 to 14 hour fast overnight.

If you'd like help we're here for you. The best next step is to contact us for a consultation and then we can determine if what we do is a good fit for you. Call 727-335-0400.

#guthealth #bellyfat #rootcausemedicine 

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