Thursday, April 30, 2009

Trying to get rid of belly fat? Try whole grains.

I had just finished reading the post on whole grains on Sybil's blog "Nutrition Nibbles" and was browsing for some studies to prove that whole foods were indeed good.That's when I found this study that was conducted about a year ago by Heather I Katcher at the Pennsylvania State University and published in the American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition.
The study was conducted on 50 obese adults with metabolic syndrome (metabolic syndrome is a collection of risk factors that increase the risk for diabetes and heart disease). They were divided into two groups and put on a reduced calorie diet for 12 weeks.One group was given only whole foods while the other group had absolutely no whole foods. At the end of the study,both groups lost weight and also showed a decrease in body fat,but the whole foods group lost more belly fat. Not just that,the whole foods group even had a decline in C-reactive protein (a marker for inflammation in the body and high levels of CRP are associated with increased risk of heart disease).
The bottom line: if you want a flat stomach ('wash board abs' as it's more popularly known as), just exercising may not be enough. Include more whole grains and REDUCE the consumption of refined foods.
Read more:
  1. Nutrition Nibbles: What's A Whole Grain?
  2. WebMD: Whole Grains Fight Belly Fat
  3. American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition: The Effects Of Whole Grains
  4. Mayo Clinic: Whole Grains-Hearty Options for a Healthy Diet.

14 comments:

Pooja said...

That was a great info! Glad to know about this. Thanks for sharing :)

Gina; The Candid RD said...

Great information! I think I have heard about this research. If only people could respect the whole grain...it's actually so much better than anything white (in my opinion), it should be easy to include in a diet!

chow and chatter said...

Good research and yep they fill you up so you eat less!!

Lavanya said...

good info on whole grains..thanks swetha!!

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

I follow that because I seriously need to shed a few pounds.

Anonymous said...

I like this post, because it just shoots down the low-carb hype! LOVE me some carbs, and the more unrefined the better! but what is your fav kind of whole grains? just curious!

Anonymous said...

Great info! We do try to eat whole grains as much as we can!

sangeeta said...

hey i am a fan of whole grains too....i use multigrain flour for my breads n chapatis n the results confirm the studies you mentioned.......i handpick my organic whole grains n get them floured in my neighborhood flour mill , am a bit obsessive about it.

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

Pooja,Lavanya,5 Star Foodie-thank you :)
Gina,Rebecca-isn't it as simple as making the right choice :)
Sangeeta,Smitha-good to hear that you are making the right choices for your family!!
Burpandslurp-wheat is my all time fave,can't do without my whole wheat four chapathis!!

Anonymous said...

Love it! so many of my clients/patients are so scared of carbohydrates- this just shows that we need carbs - just need to pay attention to what type of carbohydrate and how much.
Thanks for sharing!

ARUNA said...

wow that's a very good information. I will have to follow this!!

ARUNA said...

Hi Sweta, thanks for visiting me.....u know even i was not a sweet fan till sometime back but its a phase i guess, now its the other way...i just drool over!!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

What an interesting post. I probably serve too much in the carb department to my family. We're just som pasta loving people.

Tina said...

completely new nd healthy recipe nd great information abt whole grains.....thanku for sharing dis dear...