The 6 Foods That Cause Belly Fat to accumulate.
Belly fat forms when your liver contains too much fat, which then starts to spill over
and wrap itself around your organs.
Visceral fat can cause health problems because it obstructs the function of your organs like
your heart, pancreas, intestines and your gallbladder.
The more belly fat you have, the higher the risk of developing high blood pressure, diabetes,
heart disease, circulation problems and swelling throughout your body.
Visceral fat is also biologically active which releases cytokines that cause inflammation,
This damages the cells in your body, making it harder to lose weight in the future.
(Insulin resistance).
Belly fat Is usually caused a high carb diet, eating too many foods that contain sugar,
starch or fructose.
It can also be triggered by inflammatory foods that damage the liver, causing a spill over
of fat.
And high levels of cortisol, the stress hormone also produces more visceral and subcutaneous
fat around the belly
In this video you'll learn about the worst 6 foods that cause visceral belly fat, so
that you can start cutting them out of your diet.
I'll also explain how stress causes belly fat, and steps you can take to fix it.
Just a quick reminder this video is for educational purposes only, so do speak to your doctor
if you have any medical concerns.
1.
Trans Fats
Some of the most damaging foods that cause a build-up of belly fat are hydrogenated oils
like soy bean oil, corn, canola, cottonseed, sunflower oils and margarine.
These are often used to cook fast foods, takeout meals, and they are in all of the packaged
foods found in supermarkets.
Just check the labels.
Despite being called 'vegetable oils' they are actually made from highly processed grains,
involving solvents and chemicals that are toxic to your liver cells.
They are also rich in omega-6 fatty acids which raises inflammation throughout your
body, causing a build-up of fat in your liver, which spills over into your belly.
Start cooking your own healthy meals at home using cold pressed healthy oils like avocado
oil, extra virgin olive oil and grass fed butter.
2.
Grains & Flour
Starchy foods like bread, cereals, biscuits, pasta, crackers, pastries, and doughnuts are
all loaded with refined carbohydrates.
As they are high on the glycaemic index, they quickly turn into sugar (glucose) in your
blood.
Any extra sugar is then converted into fat and stored in your fat cells, and as visceral
fat beneath your belly.
Even whole grains have this effect.
Whole grains also contain phytic acid which can block your body's ability to absorb minerals
like zinc, magnesium and calcium.
I recommend following a low carb plan such as keto, as this helps to lower the blood
sugars and burn through your fat stores for energy.
3.
Fructose
Fructose is a type of sugar found in fruit, it's 50% of table sugar and it's also a part
of agave nectar and HFCS (high fructose corn syrup).
The problem is that your cells do not use fructose as energy, like they would regular
glucose.
The fructose is directly broken down in your liver.
As 80% of packaged foods contain HFCS, this overwhelms your liver and causes a build-up
of visceral fat, liver damage and insulin resistance.
It actually has the same damaging effect on your liver as alcohol, as it's metabolised
the same way.
If you start checking labels, you'll find it in soda drinks, fruit juices, jams, syrups,
sweets, and all kinds of junk foods.
HFCS is also made from GMO corn which is sprayed with chemical herbicides, so it also has harmful
chemicals that further damage your liver which leads to belly fat.
You want to avoid these foods and switch to snacks that contain healthy sweeteners and
alternatives like erythritol, stevia and monk fruit.
If you're finding this information helpful please hit the like button, subscribe and
turn all notifications for my latest health and nutrition tips.
4.
Soy Protein
Soy protein isolates are some of the worst food additives that you could possibly put
into your body.
These are highly processed inexpensive plant proteins that come from GMO soy beans grown
with heavy amounts of glyphosate, a dangerous herbicide that is toxic for your liver.
Soy protein isolates are used to make 'protein bars', 'diet shakes', ready meals, fake vegetarian
meat patties, and even some baby milk formulas.
Soy is one of the leading causes of hormonal imbalance in both women and men, causing inflammation
in the liver and weight gain around the viscera.
Avoid these entirely, and stick with whole foods proteins like meat, eggs, fish, shellfish
or water lentils.
5.
Soda Drinks (Regular + Diet)
I already mentioned that soda drinks are sweetened with both glucose and fructose which turns
into fat around your stomach.
But even the diet drinks cause you to accumulate fat indirectly, as they contain artificial
sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose.
These synthetic sweeteners can cross the blood brain barrier, blocking certain neurotransmitter
that tell you when you are full.
This makes you feel extremely hungry and more likely to snack or purchase more junk foods.
In fact the artificial sweeteners have been shown to kill friendly microbes that live
in your gut.
This causes liver damage, weight gain, depression and anxiety.
Cut out the soda drinks and switch to healthy alternatives.
I recommend taking some carbonated water and adding a few mashed berries and a little stevia
to make a healthy soda drink without the sugar or the chemicals.
6.
Alcoholic Drinks
If you drink alcoholic drinks on a regular basis, you are far more likely to develop
both visceral and subcutaneous fat.
Alcohol puts a very heavy burden on your liver, as it's a solvent, the liver has to break
it down into small particles in order to detoxify it.
Over time this strain damages the hepatocytes (liver cells), which causes inflammation and
lowers your body's ability to metabolise fat and sugar properly.
This causes fatty liver disease, and fat starts to build up inside the organ until there is
no longer any space,
so it starts to spill over to the spaces between your organs, pushing your belly outward.
Alcohol also has to be burnt off before the liver can burn other fuels.
So if your drinking alcohol, eating fructose, sugar, grains it reaches a point where it
can no longer process the fuel and starts leaking fluid that makes your belly even bigger
(ascites).
If you do have a protruding belly, you'll definitely want to clean up your diet as this
massively raises the risk of diabetes, heart attacks and liver cancer later in life.
How Stress Causes Belly Fat
Now that your aware of the foods that you should be avoiding if you want to burn/prevent
belly fat, it's important to understand how stress can also trigger the accumulation of
belly fat.
When you are anxious, stressed or fearful your glands release a hormone called cortisol
(the stress hormone).
This quickly turns proteins in your body into sugar so that you can have a burst of energy
to run away or fight in an emergency situation.
Historically this could have been a fear response to escaping a predator like a lion or a tiger.
However the body isn't designed to experience long term mental stress that we create for
ourselves from relationships, life situations and financial concerns.
(for example)
Over time if you stay stressed and you keep producing cortisol, your body continues to
raise the sugar in your blood.
This triggers another hormone called insulin, which goes in to remove the excess sugar and
turns it into body fat, which tends to accumulate around the stomach.
So, if you're eating well and your still not losing weight, you'll need to find ways to
turn off cortisol and reduce the stressful situations in your life.
I recommend walking in nature for at least 45 minutes each day with fresh air and sunshine.
This helps to calm down your nervous system and turn off this "fight or flight" response
that's making you gain weight.
Studies also show that listening to slow and calm music, that has around 60 beats per minute
(BPM), has a relaxing effect on the body, helping to ease stress and lower cortisol.
You can also use guided meditations which are freely available online.
I'll drop a link below to a meditation I created to help trigger relaxation.
Finally getting at least 8 hours of sleep is undoubtably the best way to manage stress
, as your hormones tend to rebalance and reset during REM sleep.
Sleeping more also helps to raise glucagon, the hormone that helps you burn more fat.
For the top 12 BELLY FAT burning foods, tap here.
Thank you so much for watching my video today, and as always I wish you great health, wealth
and happiness.