Getting rid of excess body fat can be an uphill battle. If you're overweight, ask your doctor about treatment options to help you get lean. A healthy diet filled with fresh, unprocessed foods will help you lose body fat. Additionally, adding foods for fat burning to your reduced-calorie diet can help you achieve more fat-loss results than dieting alone.
Green Tea
Green tea is a staple food in Asian cultures such as Japan and China. In addition to helping you wash down a meal, the caffeine and epigallocatechin gallate in green tea burns body fat. In research published in the 1999 "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," subjects given a green tea extract boosted their metabolism and fat-burning ability by approximately 4 percent.
Yogurt
Yogurt and other dairy products are bursting with calcium and vitamin D. This tag team of nutrients isn't just for building strong bones. When obtained from dairy products during a dieting bout, these nutrients can boost fat burning. A study in the September 2009 issue of "Nutrients" found that dieters who ate three servings of low-fat dairy products per day burned off 50 percent more fat from their bellies than those who cut calories without dairy. Opt for yogurt that's low in total fat and added sugar.
Spicy Peppers
Spicy peppers such as jalapenos don't just light your mouth aflame; they help your body remove extra fat too. A research review published in the July 2006 "American Journal of Physiology" states that a compound in spicy peppers known as capsaicin increases fat-burning soon after consumption. The research review also states that eating capsaicin-rich foods also reduces the amount of food you eat at meals by slowing down the rate that you chew and swallow.
Oily Fish
Many people know that consumption of oily fish like salmon and herring is associated with a lower heart-disease risk. In addition to promoting heart health, the omega-3s in oily fish burn off fat, according to the December 2007 "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition." In the published research study, subjects that took a fish-oil supplement while dieting and exercising lost more fat over a 12-week period compared to those who didn't consume the fish oil.
References
- "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Efficacy of a Green Tea Extract Rich in Catechin Polyphenols and Caffeine in Increasing 24-h Energy Expenditure and Fat Oxidation in Humans; Abdul G. Dulloo, et al.; December 1999
- "Nutrients"; Dairy-Rich Diets Augment Fat Loss on an Energy-Restricted Diet: A Multicenter Trial; Michael B. Zemel, et al.; September 2009
- "American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology"; Obesity and Thermogenesis Related to the Consumption of Caffeine, Ephedrine, Capsaicin, and Green Tea; Kristel Diepvens, et al.; July 2006
- "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Combining Fish-oil Supplements with Regular Aerobic Exercise Improves Body Composition and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors; Alison M. Hill, et al.; May 2007
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