Trying to reduce belly fat? Try this snack

Eating right is an important part of overall health, but there some simple tricks that can benefit you in multiple ways. One of those tricks not only benefits your heart but can help decrease belly fat. All you have to do is have a healthy snack of almonds.

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Nuts aren’t necessarily the best snack for people counting calories, but for individuals looking for a well-rounded diet, nuts make an eating plan complete. The Mayo Clinic indicates contain unsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients, and it doesn’t necessarily matter which nuts you add to your diet; they call contain some quantity of heart-healthy substances.

Almonds, however, take heart health a step further. According to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, eating 1.5 ounces of almonds a day was enough to improve certain heart disease risk factors among study participants. What’s more, a daily ration of almonds was particularly effective in the reduction of leg fat and belly fat, a type of fat associated with early heart disease.

“Our research found that substituting almonds for a high-carbohydrate snack improved numerous heart health risk factors, including the new finding that eating almonds reduced belly fat,” Claire Berryman, PhD and lead researcher of the study, said in a press release. “Choosing almonds as a snack may be a simple way to help fight the onset of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.”

Researchers explained that one ounce serving of almonds provides 160 calories as well as 6 grams of protein, dietary fiber (4g), beneficial unsaturated fats (13g), and vitamins and minerals including vitamin E (35 percent  daily recommended value), magnesium (20 percent daily recommended value) and potassium (6 percent daily recommended value).

The high protein and fiber content of almonds make them an ideal snack to help stave off hunger throughout the day.

“In addition to improving participants’ cholesterol levels, snacking on almonds instead of muffins also reduced central adiposity (belly fat) and leg fat,” concluded the researchers. “These findings suggest that choosing almonds as a snack may be a simple heart-smart dietary strategy to help prevent the onset of metabolic syndrome or cardiovascular disease in those with elevated LDL cholesterol.”

SEE ALSO: Enjoy nuts? Make sure you do this first

It should be noted that adding almonds to diets in the study did not reduce overall weight in individuals because test subjects were not on a weight-loss diet. Almonds simply promoted the reduction of fat stores in certain areas of the body. When used in a calorie-restricted diet plan, it is possible almonds could be beneficial in helping people lose weight in “problem” areas.

If you are looking to add almonds to your diet, be sure to soak them in water first, to achieve the most nutrient value from them.

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