6 Healthy Foods That Will Help Heal Your Liver So That Stubborn Belly Fat Just Falls Off
Shrink your waistline with tasty treats! Here are six foods that speed your liver metabolism and support in burning belly fat.
Berries Activate Slimming Genes
Snacking on one cup of berries (fresh or frozen) each day has the potential to melt as much as four pounds — and three inches — off your waistline this month. That’s according to Cleveland Clinic researchers, who say that berry compounds (carotenoids) switch on the genes that help to quickly break down stored abdominal fat and turn it into fuel.
Cherries Curb Cortisol Release
Great news for cherry lovers: These sweet gems brim with pigments (anthocyanins) that calm your adrenal glands. This helps to reduce the adrenal glands’ production of cortisol, the fat-storing stress hormone. Tip: Choose ripe cherries with the richest, darkest color; they contain four times the anthocyanins to offer the speediest slimming.
Radishes Target Visceral Fat
Eating three crisp, spicy radishes could boost your fat burn by 25 percent for two hours— and munching on them daily will help you shed visceral fat (the risky, inflammation-producing adipose tissue that surrounds abdominal organs). Stanford University researchers say radish compounds (isothiocyanates) signal adipose tissue to incinerate excess fat stores.
Endive Steadies Blood Sugar
Endive nutrients (flavonoids) slow sugar absorption in the intestines for up to three hours per serving, making this crispy green as effective as legumes at blocking the sugar spikes that fuel belly-fat formation. Australian researchers say enjoying one cup of endive daily could help you lose up to five pounds of belly fat this summer.
Coconut Speeds Liver Metabolism
Coconut oil contains a rare group of plant compounds (MCFAs) that stimulate liver cells to burn fatty acids for energy. No wonder Columbia University scientists say you could lose up to 67 percent more abdominal fat just by substituting two tablespoons of coconut oil for the less healthy fats in your daily diet.
Eggs Halt ‘Hangry’
If irresistible munchies have been sabotaging your healthy eating goals, serving up two eggs daily could banish cravings and fast track your slimming, helping you effortlessly shed 17 pounds (and 3 inches off your waistline) this year, British research suggests. Thanks goes to egg nutrients (vitamin B-12 and choline) that shut down your stomach’s production of ghrelin, the troublesome, hunger-promoting hormone.
A version of this article originally appeared in our print magazine, First for Women.
