Q: is it true that high-fiber diets reduce belly fat?
A: Eating plenty of high-fiber vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans may help you avoid excess body fat, including belly fat, but research has not yet clearly shown whether all methods of increasing dietary fiber (including fiber supplements) necessarily reduce abdominal fat. Waistline fat includes the pinchable fat deposited just under the skin and visceral fat that nestles deep around abdominal organs and seems most strongly related to the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
Fat is our most concentrated source of calories.
People who eat more whole grains are more likely to have a healthy weight and waistline than are those with diets high in refined grains. some studies also link eating more refined grains (like white bread) with greater yearly increases in weight and waist. Replacing refined grains and sweets with whole grains could lead to smaller surges in blood sugar and reduce insulin levels. in theory, these lower insulin levels could shift metabolic processes to favor fat burning instead of fat storage, but research has not yet proved such an effect.
If foods high in fiber fill you up faster so that you consume fewer calories, this could certainly help lose belly fat. For this to work, of course, you need to pay attention to hunger signals and stop eating when you start to feel nearly full.
Q: I’m confused by the changing headlines about low-fat diets for weight control. What’s the best advice?
A: the bottom line is that reducing dietary fat is a successful strategy for weight control only to the extent that it helps achieve the crucial goal of controlling calorie consumption.
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine testing effectiveness of equally reduced calorie diets—whether low or high in fat, low or high in carbohydrate, and average or high in protein—showed no difference in weight loss. two large studies looked at whether the proportion of calories coming from fat and the type of fat made any significant difference in weight gain. one study showed no difference, while the other suggested that greater consumption of animal fat or saturated fat might increase weight gain.
Even though evidence is not conclusive, we do know that fat is our most concentrated source of calories, so reducing consumption of high-fat foods and added fat is still a valuable tool for cutting calories, as long as the calories from high-fat choices are not replaced by other foods.
Find more from Karen Collins.
Karen Collins, D.C.N., M.S., R.D., serves as the nutrition advisor to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR). Karen writes two syndicated weekly columns, “Nutrition Notes” and “Nutrition-Wise,” distributed by AICR. Karen was an expert reviewer for AICR’s landmark international report, “Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective,” which provides recommendations based on an examination of more than 7,000 research studies by a panel of internationally renowned scientists. (Read her full bio.)
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