Worried about having a bigger gut? Here’s one way to avoid it: Eat polyunsaturated fat.
New research from Uppsala University in Sweden reveals that humans who consume a diet high in saturated fat are more likely to have more fat and less muscle when compared to those who opt for a healthier, polyunsaturated fat diet.
While previous research has shown that eating more saturated fat is bad for weight loss, this is the first study to show that certain fats also change the composition of your body–for the better.
“This is of great interest, as we lack preventive treatments for fatty liver and visceral fat today,” says researcher Ulf Riserus. “The new findings also support international dietary recommendations including the new Nordic nutritional recommendations, which, among other things, recommend replacing some saturated fat from meat, butter, and palm oil, for example, with unsaturated fats from plant oils and fatty fish.”
Published in the health journal Diabetes, researchers recruited 39 adult men and women described as a having a “normal weight”–and then asked them to eat 750 extra calories every day for seven weeks. The goal was to make them gain 3 percent of their starting weight.
However, researchers asked them to eat those extra calories by following one of two diets: A diet with the extra calories coming from polyunsaturated fat or from saturated fat. All of the other calorie and macronutrient requirements were kept the same, however, so there were no differences in protein, carbohydrate, or fat intake.
After seven weeks had elapsed, researchers quickly measured the increase and distribution of their weight gain using magnetic resonance imagining (MRI), and the effect was astonishing.
“Both groups gained similar weight,” say researchers. “SFA [saturated fat] however markedly increased liver fat compared with PUFA [polyunsaturated fat] and caused 2-fold larger increase in VAT [visceral fat] than PUFA [polyunsaturated fat]. Conversely, PUFA [polyunsaturated fat] caused a nearly 3-fold larger increase in lean tissue than SFA [saturated fat].”
In addition to an increase in visceral fat, saturated fat also increased hepatic fat storage, or fat stored in the liver. That’s not good, as it can lead to fatty liver disease, a condition which may increase a person’s risk of liver cancer in later life.
Obviously, this isn’t a good thing–and it goes to show why saturated fat just shouldn’t be in anyone’s diet.
“In conclusion, overeating SFA [saturated fat] promotes hepatic and visceral fat storage whereas excess energy from PUFA [polyunsaturated fat] may instead promote lean tissue in healthy humans,” say researchers.
What You Should Do
Want to have a slimmer tummy? Then the choice couldn’t be easier: Switch out foods high in saturated fat for healthier options instead, such as walnuts, seeds, or fatty fish, which will help lessen visceral fat in your mid region. Make sure you’re practicing other healthy eating habits as well, too, such as eating plenty of whole grains and avoiding processed foods.
Readers: Do you try to watch your fat intake while on a diet?
Sources:
Study: Saturated Fat Increases Fat Storage; Polyunsaturated Fat Does Not – DiabetesJournals.org
Release: Saturated Fat Bad for Your Belly – ScienceDaily.com
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