Experts have warned about a 'hidden' fat in the body which can lead to serious health issues if you have too much of it. But there are a number of ways of reducing it - and one involves 'boiling the kettle'.
The fat, known as visceral fat, is stored deep inside the belly and wraps around the organs, including the liver, pancreas and intestines. It makes up around one-tenth of all the fat in the body.
You do need a certain amount of visceral fat to help insulate and protect viral organs - but higher levels can increase your risk of serious health issues, such as heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. It has been linked to a high-calorie diet and little physical activity, as reported by The Mirror.
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Bio-Synergy personal trainer Nathan Honess said: "It’s sometimes referred to as ‘hidden fat’ because it’s stored deep in your body and can be hard to distinguish. Too much visceral fat can lead to health problems such as lower back pain, heart disease and diabetes."
Cutting calories, saturated fats and sugar intake and being more active are key ways of burning fat - but swapping your regular cuppa for certain other teas can also help. Nathan said: "To help reduce visceral fat, there’s a few easy changes you can make to your diet and one involves boiling the kettle.
"Instead of your normal cuppa try switching to matcha green tea – a study found that the key nutrient – catechin – helped reduce the visceral fat in its participants, as well as overall body fat. If matcha is not for you, try a cup of green or peppermint tea to aid digestion and your metabolism."
The 2007 study, published by Obesity journal, involved 240 men and women with "visceral fat-type obesity" being given green tea with different levels of catechins each day for 12 weeks. Researchers found participants who drank the higher amount of catechins (583mg) saw a greater reduction in fat.
Of course, a healthier all-round diet and increased exercise are also important. Nathan continued: "Leafy greens are a good addition to your weekly shop to get rid of visceral fat; try a helping of spinach or kale with your evening meal or lunchtime salad.
"One of the best methods of exercise is to hit 10,000 steps a day (to increase your activity levels) and also through regular high intensity interval training sessions (HIIT). As the name suggests, HIIT is short, intense bursts of exercise – think lunges, squats, burpees – which get your heart rate pumping and can help reduce fat when done regularly alongside a healthy diet."
He added: "Regular exercise and eating wholesome, nutritious foods is the best approach at targeting visceral fat." Getting a good night's sleep, reducing stress levels and limiting alcohol intake can also help.
The findings of the 2007 study suggested that catechin helps to reduce "obesity and cardiovascular disease risks, according to the researchers. They said: "Decreases in body weight, body mass index, body fat ratio, body fat mass, waist circumference, hip circumference, visceral fat area, and subcutaneous fat area were found to be greater in the catechin group than in the control group.
"The continuous ingestion of a green tea extract high in catechins led to a reduction in body fat, systolic blood pressure, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, suggesting that the ingestion of such an extract contributes to a decrease in obesity and cardiovascular disease risks."
According to Diabetes.co.uk, it is important to define the difference between visceral fat and subcutaneous fat. Subcutaneous fat is the fat that we store just under our skin. The fat we may be able to feel on our arms and legs is subcutaneous fat.
A growing belly can be the result of both types of fat. The fat we can feel just under the skin is subcutaneous fat but we may also be storing significant extra fat within our abdomen where our organs reside. This intra-abdominal fat is our visceral fat.
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