A Diet For Apple-shaped Women

No one likes to carry around extra pounds, whether those pounds make you apple-shaped or pear-shaped. Appearance aside, however, it seems that excess weight in the abdominal area may be more damaging to your health than weight carried in the hips and thighs. Even if you were more pear-shaped or slender in your youth, after menopause, body fat often tends to accumulate in the abdomen.

Visceral Fat

Subcutaneous fat, such as you find on your hips and thighs, lies just under the skin, while visceral fat surrounds your internal organs. While you can have subcutaneous fat in your waist and abdominal area, a larger proportion is usually visceral fat. Visceral fat produces chemicals called cytokines, among them tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-6, which can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. These chemicals and others produced by visceral fat cells can also affect insulin sensitivity, blood pressure and clotting.

Fatty Liver

Washington University in St. Louis says having a fatty liver leads to a higher risk of metabolic problems, which can lead to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. While this can occur even in pear-shaped people, it is more often found in conjunction with visible abdominal fat. The good news is that fat in the liver is quickly lost if you reduce your caloric intake.

Healthy Food for a Flat Belly

The healthy way to lose weight regardless of its location is by eating smaller portions of healthy food. Eat fruits and vegetables -- minus butter or rich sauces -- and whole grains. Avoid fatty meats and processed meats; instead, eat lean poultry or fish. Bake, grill or steam foods instead of frying. Reduce or eliminate soda from your diet. A can of soda is simply a can of calories without any nutritional value.

Green Tea

All tea contains antioxidants called catechins, but green tea has the highest concentrations. A 2009 study published by the American Society for Nutrition found that overweight people given 625 mg of green tea catechins daily lost more abdominal fat than participants who did not receive catechins. In addition, the participants receiving catechins lowered their triglyceride levels. A high triglyceride level is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. One cup of green tea contains from 150 to 250 mg of catechins. To increase catechins, brew tea longer to increase its strength.

Blueberries

Proof of the benefits of antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables comes from a study done at the University of Michigan. Rats were fed powder made from freeze-dried blueberries. Half were put on a low-fat diet, while the rest were given a high-fat diet. Another group of rats was not fed blueberry powder. At the end of the 90-day study, researchers found that rats who ate the blueberry powder had less abdominal fat, lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels and improved insulin sensitivity. Whether the same effects would be seen in people is unclear, but since the health benefits of fruits and vegetables are well known, there is no downside to eating more of them.