This Is the Best Food for Visceral Fat Loss, According to Registered Dietitians and Physicians
Plus, what visceral fat actually is.
Visceral body fat—the layer of fat located deep within the abdominal cavity—protects organs such as the liver, stomach and intestines. However, too much of it can be hazardous to your health, especially when it starts to press against those essential organs.
Luckily, there are ways to prevent and reduce extra visceral fat, and one big one involves the food you're putting in your body. Here's what you need to know about the type of food you should be eating to get rid of visceral fat, as well as what to avoid.
What Is Visceral Fat and How Does It Form?
Kellyann Petrucci, MS, ND, board-certified naturopathic physician and nutrition expert, explains that there are two types of fat: subcutaneous and visceral. “Subcutaneous fat is the fat just below your skin,” she says. Visceral fat, on the other hand, lies deeper within the abdomen and surrounds your organs, including your liver, intestines, stomach and pancreas. In fact, visceral fat is “biologically active” and considered a “metabolically active organ,” which means it plays an active role in how the body functions, she says.
A certain degree of visceral fat can help protect the organs, adds Bubu A. Banini, MD, Ph.D., Yale Medicine Obesity Medicine Doctor and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Section of Digestive Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, “However, too much of it can be dangerous to health as it produces inflammatory markers that are linked with diseases such as type 2 diabetes, fatty liver and heart disease.”
In fact, “it's been shown to be the most harmful type of fat in the body,” says David Creel, PhD., RD, a psychologist and registered dietitian in the Bariatric & Metabolic Institute at Cleveland Clinic and ACSM-certified clinical exercise physiologist.
According to Dr. Banini, a number of factors contribute to excess visceral fat, including poor diet, inadequate exercise, genetics and inadequate sleep.
Related: 30 Ways to Lose Belly Fat
How Can You Lose Visceral Fat?
Because visceral fat is located deep in the body and helps cushion the body organs, it is hard to target it to get rid of it. “However, it is actually easier to lose visceral fat than subcutaneous fat, as it metabolizes quicker,” says Dr. Banini.
If you want to lose visceral fat, you should go about it the same way as reducing overall fat. “Visceral fat tends to come off most easily when we lose weight,” says Creel. “So when we consume less calories, as well as exercise, visceral fat is very responsive to that.”
Banini agrees, suggesting dietary changes, lifting weights and doing resistance training. “Muscle burns more calories than fat. So when you add lean muscle to your body with resistance training, you may burn more energy all day long,” she says. “Research studies have also shown that when inactive people start exercising regularly, they lose visceral fat even if they don’t lose weight overall,” says Creel.
Other healthy habits, including hydration and getting enough sleep, can also help fight visceral fat.
Related: 20 Drinks That Can Help You Lose Weight (It's Not Just Water!)
The Best Food for Visceral Fat Loss
Unfortunately, no one food alone will help prevent visceral fat. However, there is one type of food that can help quite a bit—and ironically, it's fat. The healthy type, of course. "Think healthy fats like olive oils, avocado, nuts and seeds,” Petrucci explains. “You can also focus on low carbohydrate foods like lean protein and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower which can help detoxify the body." She also suggests foods that promote good gut health like prebiotics, probiotics, fermented foods and fiber.
Related: Eating These 10 Foods Can Help Prevent Visceral Fat, According to Nutritionists
The Worst Foods for Visceral Fat Loss
The top foods to avoid to prevent visceral fat are processed sugar-sweetened beverages and foods that are high in saturated fat, “like animal products that are fatty,” says Creel. However, any time you are consuming extra calories, it can lead to the formation of visceral fat, which makes maintaining a healthy, balanced diet crucial. For example, he points out that skipping meals and then overeating later, can lead to consuming more calories, resulting in more visceral fat.
Focus on a Healthy Lifestyle to Combat Visceral Fat
In order to combat visceral fat, you should focus on maintaining a healthy weight in general. While certain foods, especially lean protein, good fats like avocado, and fibrous starches, can combat visceral fat, it all comes down to the simple equation of calories consumed versus calories burned, says Creel.
Next up: This Is the Worst Food for Brain Fog
Sources
Kellyann Petrucci, MS, ND, board-certified naturopathic physician, and nutrition expert
Bubu A. Banini, MD, PhD, Yale Medicine Obesity Medicine Doctor and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Section of Digestive Diseases, Yale School of Medicine
David Creel, Ph.D., RD, a psychologist and registered dietitian in the Bariatric & Metabolic Institute at Cleveland Clinic and ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist
