The Fibrous Tummy Tuck

So you already knew fiber was good for you — but could you manage squeezing just a bit more into your diet?

Research shows just a tiny bit more fiber — we’re talking six grams, or the amount in a single whole wheat tortilla — could have a huge impact on your belly fat. That, for the record, is the most dangerous type of fat, upping the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

In a study done at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 85 overweight boys and girls aged 11 to 17 filled out a questionnaire about their eating habits, and then reported on their diets again two years later. (Teenage years are when diets tend to go south in terms of health content, lead researcher Dr. Jaimie N. Davis told Reuters.)

Fiber intake dipped by an average of 3 grams per 1,000 calories consumed for 46 of the study participants, while it increased by 3 grams for the other 35. The study participants who were eating less fiber piled on 21 percent more body fat, but the teens who ate more fiber had a 4 per cent reduction in belly fat.

"Even slight decreases in dietary fibre are having a pretty significant metabolic impact," Davis told Reuters. The recommended fiber intake is 14 grams per 1,000 calories consumed, or about 25 to 30 grams daily. Based on the current findings, she said, upping fiber intake by just six grams a day could trim your tummy fat.

Bring on the beans!

Photo courtesy bernat via Flickr.