Healthy Foods that Help Burn Fat

For those of you looking to shed some extra pounds, you will be glad to know that by eating certain healthy foods, you can not only control your hunger pangs, but you can also help to burn extra body fat at the same time. You can eat these health foods any time, as a light snack, or with your meal or just to subside your hunger cravings.

These health foods are called negative calorie foods, as they burn more calories than they actually provide. This is due to the fact that the body has to do work to digest these foods, which uses up energy. However, these foods do not provide that much amount of energy which is required by the body to digest and absorb them, so increasing the amounts of negative calorie foods, or fat fighters in your diet along with an exercise plan can help you lose weight quickly. Here is a list of these foods that burn fat.

Citrus Fruits – All fruits which are rich in Vitamin C like limes, lemons, oranges, grapefruit, papaya, and tomatoes have lots of fibre and Vitamin C which contain fat burning properties. Vitamin C not only helps the body to speed up its fat burning capacity, but it also stimulates the carnitine amino acid, which actually helps in releasing fat from the body.

Note:  A recent study found plasma vitamin C to be inversely related to markers of adiposity particularly in women (Johnston et al, 2007).

Green leafy Vegetables – Green leafy vegetables including cabbage, celery, cucumber, asparagus, beet root, broccoli and carrots all are rich in fiber and have vegetable proteins which help to build a lean and toned body. You can eat these vegetables sliced with salad or just raw if you prefer. You can also toss in a few tomatoes in the salad, along with any fruit if you like to make it tastier.

Berries (Blackberries, Raspberries and Strawberries) – Berries make a great snack and you can eat them raw or take them with a bowl of oatmeal or cereals in the breakfast.

Apples – Apples contain pectin and other antioxidants which restrict the digestive tract to absorb fat. Apples also encourage the absorption of water from the food, which helps in releasing fat deposits from the body. These antioxidants are very effective in reducing excess belly fat, which is why you can take an apple during the day just anytime you want.

Nuts – Nuts are a rich source of nutrients and proteins required by bodybuilders and those looking to lose extra pounds. They help you to feel full, and increase the body’s ability to burn fat.

Chillies – Foods containing chillies or cayenne pepper also help to burn fat. Chillies contain capsaicin which helps increase metabolism and hence burn the extra body fat.

Protein rich foods – Protein rich foods such as dairy products, beans, whole grains and eggs provide lesser calories as compared to fat rich foods, and take more energy to digest, which is why they are called fat burners. Lentils are also high in proteins and low on fat, so lentil soup is also beneficial for those who want to lose extra pounds. Bodybuilders include extra proteins in their diets in the form of proteinpulver, protein shakes, protein bars and other protein supplements to get a lean and toned body.

Apart from including these healthy foods in your diet, you also need to do some kind of physical activity for your body to burn off the excess stored fat. Make sure you follow a plan to lose weight, and follow it to see positive results from your efforts.

Reference:

Johnston CS, Beezhold BL, Mostow B, Swan PD. Plasma vitamin C is inversely related to body mass index and waist circumference but not to plasma adiponectin in nonsmoking adults. J Nutr. 2007 Jul;137(7):1757-62.

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