These 10 Foods Could Help You Fight Fat

While some is speculative and others are based on various clinical trials, these are some of the foods that nutritionists suspect may aid the body in burning calories and thus fat more efficiently.

Green Tea. High in antioxidants, particularly in EGCG, green tea may help you burn more calories. Researchers suspect, based on a study in which green tea drinkers lost more weight than oolong tea drinkers, that the catechins (EGCG) in green tea may trigger weight loss by stimulating the body to burn calories and mildly decrease body fat.

Low fat dairy, including yogurt. In one study, dieters who consumed 1200-1300 mg of calcium a day lost nearly twice as much weight as those getting less to no calcium. Another study of 34 obese people whom ate 3 servings of fat free yogurt a day lost 22% more weight, 61% more body fat, and 81% more abdominal fat than other dieters eating the same amount of calories without the dairy.

Pear or Apples. In a 12 week study of 35 overweight women, those who ate 3 pears or apples per day lost 30% more weight than those women who ate a similar diet minus the added fruit. This is likely due to the high fiber, low calorie combination that these two fruits offer. Fiber leaves you feeling fuller than other foods.

Oily fish, like salmon and mackerel. These types of fish are a great source of leptin, a protein that acts like a hormone in your body and sends a message to your brain that you are full and to stop eating. It is thought that certain obese and overweight people have issues regulating leptin in their bodies while thin or normal weight people do not.

Safflower Oil. The linoleic acid in safflower oil reduced the amount of fat in the lower half of obese, postmenopausal women in a clinical trial. While safflower oil contains the highest percentage of linoleic oil in it there are also high percentage in grape seed oil and poppy seed oil.

Mustard. Turmeric, the spice that gives mustard its yellow color, may slow the growth of fat tissue. Mustard is preferable over ketchup as it is lower in calories, fat free, and lacks the sugar that is in ketchup.

Vinegar. Based on a study of 175 overweight Japanese people, it is thought that the primary substance (acetic acid) that gives vinegar its sour taste and strong odor may fight fat. In the study, each subject drank 1 or 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar a day, and at the end of the study they reported significantly lower body mass indexes, less visceral fat, and a smaller waist circumference after 12 weeks compared to the control group.

Red Wine. Resveratrol, a polyphenol found in grape skin, is an anti-inflammatory and is thought to possibly hold the fountain of youth, as well as stave off extra pounds. White wine does have resveratrol but it is thought that red wine is the best source. Your intake should be one glass, or 5 ounces a day.

Grapefruit. Anyone that has ever tried to "grapefruit diet" should know this. Grapefruit is thought to boost metabolism. Naringenin, a flavinoid found in grapefruit, balances blood sugar levels and help prevent metabolic syndrome, a pre-diabetic condition associated with weight gain. In a study at the University of California, obese people who drank grapefruit juice before every meal lost between 3.5-10 pounds over 3 months through this alone.

Chili Pepper. Capsaicin, the heat producing molecule in chili peppers is thermogenic, which means it speeds up metabolism and heat production. Cells can burn up to 25 percent more calories after eating chili and it is also thought to reduce appetite.

Sources: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/keeping-it-off-superfoods
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Rubino, Jessica. "Delicious Living". Boulder; November 17, 2009. Penton Insight online exclusive.