Dr Zoe Williams discusses visceral fat on This Morning
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Hidden deep inside the belly, visceral fat wraps around various vital organs, ranging from the pancreas to the intestines. Unlike subcutaneous fat, visceral fat isn’t visible to the naked eye. Silent yet harmful, it can lead to health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. Here’s one ingredient, possibly already stored in your kitchen, which may help cut the body fat.
Belly fat doesn’t just describe the jiggly substance underneath your skin that you can pinch.
Lurking in your abdominal cavity, visceral fat accounts for about one-tenth of your overall body fat but remains hidden.
What’s worse, this harmful fat can negatively impact processes in your body and even cause serious health problems.
Overall diet plays a crucial role in shedding visceral fat but supplementing with a certain ingredient could help, according to research.
A study published in the journal Phytotherapy Research suggests that the promising ingredient could be turmeric.
The bright yellow spice has been used for thousands of years as both seasoning and medicine in India.
Turmeric is thought to offer benefits for your body and brain.
However, the potent part of this spice is the active ingredient called curcumin.
Curcumin is an antioxidant linked to anti-inflammatory effects.
Interestingly, the research didn’t set out to explore the effects of curcumin on visceral fat but on fatty liver.
The researchers wanted to see what the active ingredient can do with body mass index, body weight and waist circumference in patients with this condition.
However, they also found that curcumin supplementation might have “positive” effects on visceral fat.
Looking at 520 participants, the study consisted of eight controlled trials.
The supplemented dose of curcumin varied between 70 to 3,000mg a day during a period of eight to 12 weeks.
The study saw a “significant” drop in body mass index and waist circumference during this time.
If you’re not familiar, a greater waist circumference is also associated with visceral fat tissue.
One thing to consider is that the study only focused on patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
However, this isn’t the only research looking at the weight loss benefits of curcumin.
Another research published in European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences found that taking the ingredient two times a day was beneficial for fat loss and reducing belly fat.
Further confirming these findings, a study from the Journal of Nutrition saw a body fat and weight reduction after 12 weeks of curcumin protocol in mice.
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