More Fibre for a Flat Stomach
Comment from your online personal trainer Dean Piazza :
Alot of media focus on protein when it comes to losing weight and looking good but fibre is just as important.
Most foods high in fibre are carb based foods so this is where it gets tricky and most people who follow high protein diet are more than likely not getting enough fibre.
What are best high fibre choices ?
Unprocessed foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables, wholemeal or wholegrain breads, cereals such as all bran and oats , nuts and seeds and a product called physillium husks which is not a harsh as bran.
Dean Piazza
Your Online Personal Trainer
www.getfit.com.au
Eating just a little bit more fibre could have a big impact on a flat stomach, new research shows.
American adolescents and teens who increased their fibre intake over a two-year period had significant decreases in the amount of fat around their waists, while young people whose fibre intake fell saw their bellies expand, Dr. Jaimie N. Davis of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and her colleagues found.
Davis and her team were looking at belly fat, which is the most dangerous type of body fat. Fatter waistlines increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
The investigators had 85 overweight boys and girls 11 to 17 years old fill out a questionnaire on their eating habits, and then report on their diet again two years later. At this stage of life, Davis noted in an interview, the diets of some young people tend to get worse.
Fibre intake fell by 3 grams per 1000 calories consumed, on average, for 46 of the study participants, while it increased by the same average amount for the remaining 35.
Belly fat increased 21 per cent for the study participants who were eating less fibre, but the young people who upped their fibre intake had a 4 per cent reduction in belly fat.
The study findings appear in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
"Even slight decreases in dietary fibre are having a pretty significant metabolic impact," Davis noted in an interview. The recommended fibre intake for young people, she added, is 14 grams per 1000 calories consumed, or about 25 to 30 grams daily.
Based on the current findings, Davis noted, increasing fibre intake by six grams a day - the amount found in half a cup of beans or a single whole-wheat tortilla - could have a significant impact on young people's belly fat. "That's not an unrealistic goal for kids to set," she said.
People of any age who want to boost their fibre intake need to take a careful look at food labels, Davis added. "Just because it says 'whole wheat' or 'multigrain' doesn't mean it's a good source of fibre," she explained. "People think if it's brown, if it's wheat, it's good, but not necessarily."
Instead, she advised, people should check the Nutrition Information panel on packaging to see how many grams of fibre per serving the food actually contains.
Reuters