Eat kimchi – and five easy ways to reduce belly fat (and they don’t involve exercise)

Even if you’ve never had a spare tire before, the hormonal and metabolic changes that come with midlife can lead to fat around the middle.

No diet can guarantee weight loss in a specific area, but some foods can reduce your risk of developing belly, or dangerous visceral fat. One of those foods is kimchi, made from fermented cabbage.

A major new study shows that eating up to three servings a day of kimchi may reduce your risk of developing fat around your middle. ​​​​Researchers from Chung Ang University in South Korea found that men who ate kimchi several times a day were less likely to be overweight or carry belly fat, the most dangerous type of fat related to diabetes.

But how could kimchi help reduce our risk of developing belly fat?

Kimchi contains probiotics known to support the good bacteria in our gut and there is a growing consensus that they may also play a role in weight control.

The Korean study is not the first to find a positive correlation between the presence of probiotics and weight control.

There is a growing consensus that probiotics from the Lactobacillus family – the best food sources of which are live yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, kombucha and tempeh – may help with weight loss, including belly fat loss.

If the thought of kimchi for breakfast is a step too far, eating more yogurt is a good place to start, but choose a quality strained Greek yogurt that contains no other ingredients, just milk and live cultures. You can have it with berries and granola for breakfast, instead of mayonnaise in the filling of a sandwich with eggs or tuna, or for something a little different, make this healthy potato salad:

• Boil 500g baby potatoes in their skins until soft (about 10 minutes) then drain and put in cold water.

• Mix together 4 tbsp plain Greek yogurt, 1 cup Dijon mustard, lemon juice, 2 finely sliced ​​spring onions and season with salt and pepper.

• Drain the potatoes, cut in half and place in a bowl.

• Add the yogurt mixture and toss well to coat completely.

• If you happen to have some chives you can cut some off before serving.

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* Recipe removed Supercharge Your Diet: Ten Easy Ways to Get Everything Out of Your Food by Sam Rice

But fermented foods are not the only dietary strategies to help avoid the dreaded middle age spread. Here are five more ways to help get rid of belly fat.

A good number of studies have linked sugar consumption to obesity, in particular, an increase in belly fat. Combat this by radically cutting your free sugar intake. In this context, free means sugar that is added to food rather than naturally occurring, the obvious culprits being sugary drinks, breakfast cereals, cakes, biscuits and most processed foods. This does not mean that you cannot eat any sugar at all.

The intrinsic sugar in whole fruit is fine, as it comes packaged with fiber and other nutrients that slow down digestion, preventing excess blood sugar from eventually being stored as fat.

Try this healthy berry for pudding and you won’t miss those cheap sugars at all.

Here’s how to do it:

• Preheat the oven to 180C. For the crumble topping, melt 50g coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat

• Remove from heat and add 75g oats, 30g flaked almonds, 30g sunflower seeds, 70g cassava flour, 1 tsp cinnamon and 4 chopped

• Place 500g of frozen mixed berries in a single layer in a shallow baking dish and cover with the oat topping

• Bake for 25 minutes until the fruit is sticky and bubbling and the topping is nice and crisp

An independent study published in the peer-reviewed journal BioMed Central found that quality protein intake is inversely associated with abdominal fat. High-quality protein means foods that are high in the nine essential amino acids (EAAs) that our bodies need to stay healthy.

The best sources are whole eggs, fish, legumes, nuts, high quality lean meat and dairy products. It’s easy to increase our intake of animal-based protein sources but some plant foods are particularly good because they contain all nine EAAs, such as soy, quinoa, buckwheat, chia seeds and hemp seeds.

Try this delicious chia porridge for breakfast:

• Put 250ml milk, 3 tbsp chia seeds, ½ tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp vanilla extract in a small saucepan and bring to the boil

• Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the mixture has thickened to a porridge-like consistency, stirring occasionally

• Top with sliced ​​banana

The benefits of dietary fiber are well documented: better gut health, improved appetite and blood sugar regulation and lowering cholesterol levels to name a few.

Current NHS guidelines recommend having 30g of fiber per day but the average adult in the UK only eats 19g.

You can increase your fiber intake by switching to whole grain versions of bread, pasta and rice. Other quick tips include keeping the skins on potatoes, eating nuts (note that only 30g though, as they are high in calories) and nut butter, eat lots of beans and lentils – and yes, old beans on (grain) toast is included – and don’t forget that fridge staple, hummus. Pair with whole grain crackers for a tasty fiber-rich snack.

A daily cup of green tea every day is a simple way to help protect against abdominal fat. In a 2022 randomized controlled trial, overweight participants who were given a daily dose of green tea for 12 weeks experienced a significant reduction in visceral fat. Scientists believe that it is the antioxidant catechins in the tea that increase fat metabolism leading to weight loss.

If you don’t drink tea, another way to get the benefits is to use matcha – a Japanese version of green tea with the highest concentration of catechins – to make this “super green” porridge:

• Put 50g oats, 2 tsp honey, a pinch of salt and 250ml water in a pan and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes until it starts to thicken.

• Dissolve 1 tsp of matcha powder in a little boiling water and stir well. Add to the porridge along with one small mashed banana.

• Serve with a few blueberries sprinkled on top.

Numerous studies have found that omega-3 fatty acids have a positive effect on brain health, but recent research has found that it can help target visceral fat as well. Why is not fully understood but there is some evidence that eating more omega-3 rich foods, such as fatty fish, increases our metabolic rate. Another theory is that a diet rich in omega-3 helps to regulate hunger and appetite. In any case, it’s a good idea to increase omega-3 in your diet if you want to see the spare tire.

An easy way to eat more oily fish is a good old can of sardines. Here’s how to make a delicious sardine toast topper:

• Mash up a tin of sardines in olive oil (drain most of the oil first) with ½ a small red onion, finely diced, a small handful of chopped parsley leaves, 6 black olives, pitted and chopped, juice ½ a. lemon and a dash of tabasco or hot sauce

• Mix well and serve on whole grain toast.

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