For most people losing body fat and achieving their desired body should be a pleasant journey rather than a short trip, but circumstances can arise, and losing body fat quickly is necessary.
The world health organization recommends 400g of vegetables and fruits per day. That is to say, taking in 400g of vegetables will supply a good amount of vitamins and minerals for our well being.
What if I told you that certain vegetables due to their nutritional content can assist us in our fat loss journey. let's take a look at some of these mechanisms.
Fiber is perhaps the most common component of vegetables that help with weight loss by filling us up and discouraging us to eat more. how much fiber would we need in this case? In the European journal of clinical nutrition, https://rdcu.be/cd1jj, 30g of fiber intake lowered total energy consumption by 5%. that could work out too 150kcal for those consuming 3000kcal daily.
The fiber intake from vegetables has another unexpected benefit, it tires you out from all that chewing. Chewing more also has these benefits :
Enhancing oral processing by prolonged chewing influences appetite and food intake.
Meta-analysis revealed that chewing significantly reduced self-reported hunger.
Systematic review revealed an effect of chewing on food intake.
Increasing the number of chews per bite increased gut hormone release.
Mastication promotes satiety by influencing appetite, intake, and hormone release.
Now let us take a look specifically at the nutrients generally found in vegetables that could help with fat loss. What we are focusing on are nutrients that help in the process of fat release, fat transportation, and fat utilization.
Niacin which is vitamin B3 has some interesting impacts on fat loss. The first one is triglyceride synthesis. which is simply fat creation. Although this benefit doesn't necessarily fit into fat loss it is worth mentioning for long-term success. Niacin does however help in dilating blood vessels which means it will help in the transportation of fatty acids.
Another vitamin B that's helpful for fat loss that's found in vegetables is folate. Folate is important in the conversion of carbohydrates into energy. For those who tend to eat more carb-based, getting in enough high folate foods would help with fat loss and better energy overall.
Manganese, a mineral, found in high amounts in vegetables has the following benefits for fat loss. It is a critical component of the most important antioxidant in the body. Optimizing the removal of toxins in the body will remove the burden on the liver and helps the liver metabolize fat effectively.
Manganese has also strong anti-inflammation properties. reducing inflammation not only is healthier for the body but also essential for fat loss. there's a lot of evidence linking inflammation and weight gain/fat loss that this requires an article on its own.
Manganese also plays a role in regulating blood sugar levels. unhealthy blood sugar levels, in terms of fat loss, prevent the body from releasing and utilizing fat for fuel efficiently. a 100g of spinach is already 45% of the daily requirements for manganese.
A suggestion I would make is to get half your vegetable intake thru food and juice the other half to get the best of both, benefits from fiber and nutrient content. If you can slowly increase your vegetable intake that would be good but do pay attention as some vegetables drastically lower blood pressure.
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