According to the results of a large-scale clinical trial conducted in Israel, the green Mediterranean diet, with additional amounts of duckweed and green tea, It has been able to reduce visceral adipose tissue by 14% compared to 7% in the Mediterranean diet and 4.5% in the healthy diet.
“In this 18-month dietary intervention study, a green Mediterranean diet, without red meat and Rich in dietary polyphenols and proteins of plant origin, According to the research team, this may be a more effective strategy for reducing visceral or abdominal fat than the traditional Mediterranean diet.
Calories Aren’t the Only Thing
The concept of the “Mediterranean Green Diet” originated from the first study conducted in 2020 by the Direct Plus research team on its effects on cardiometabolic risk.
After identifying improvements in LDL cholesterol, diastolic blood pressure and insulin resistance, subsequent research found beneficial results of the diet on age-related brain atrophy and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
“From the results of our experiment we learned that The quality of food is no less important than the amount of calories consumed. The current goal is to understand the mechanisms of different nutrients, for example, positive and negative ones like polyphenols. empty carbohydrates and processed red meat, on the rate of fat cell differentiation and aggregation in the viscera,” Professor Iris Shai of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and lead author explained the study in a press release.
Modified Mediterranean Diet eliminate red meat completely Favors proteins of plant origin and includes green tea rich in polyphenols, nuts and green tea wolffia globosa Mankai variety, a green plant also known as Duckweed.
wolffia globosa It is an aquatic plant rich in polyphenols and high quality proteins, which have beneficial effects on postprandial and fasting glycemic control. According to researchers, it provides Bioavailable essential amino acids, iron and available vitamin B12. Independent laboratory tests have confirmed that it is rich in phenolic metabolites, including ellagic acid, benzoic acid, naringenin, luteolin, quercetin, p-coumaric acid and caffeic acid.
with double polyphenols
An 18-month intervention evaluated the effects of three different diets in 294 adults with abdominal obesity or dyslipidemia recruited from the workforce of the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center in Dimona, Israel. Participants were randomized into three groups: a Healthy Dietary Guidelines (HDG) control group, a traditional Mediterranean diet (MED) group, or a green-Mediterranean diet (Green-MED) group. Dietary interventions combined with physical activity.
A in Made and Green-Made diets similar calorie restriction (1,500–1,800 kcal/day for men and 1,200–1,400 kcal/day for women) with similar components including 28 grams of walnuts per day.
Participants in the green-made group consumed three to four cups of green tea per day as well as one smoothie. 100 grams duck as a substitute for meat protein at dinner, which doubled the polyphenol content in their diets.
Abdominal fat stores were assessed at baseline and 18 months, while weight, waist circumference, and blood and urine biomarkers were assessed at baseline, six months, and 18 months. Polyphenol compounds were measured in both plasma and urine samples.
Polyphenols may act as a prebiotic
It is known that polyphenols have antioxidant properties, but how do they work on belly fat? The Direct-Plus team observed a significant association between total plasma polyphenols and visceral fat loss, and hypothesized that Polyphenols have a prebiotic effect Modulator on the intestinal microbiota.
“As we searched for specific polyphenols, we found that urolithin A, A gut microbiota-derived metabolite of ellagitannin was significantly correlated with decreased abdominal fat,” the study authors elaborated.
test correlated elevated urolithin A consumption of nuts and duckweed, Since its predecessor, ellagic acid, Found in both. In addition, plasma hippuric acid, a combination of glycine and benzoic acid metabolites found in duckweed, was significantly associated with decreased abdominal fat.
hippuric acid or hippurate It is an end product of microbial metabolism of different classes of dietary polyphenols, and high fasting plasma levels indicate upregulation of total polyphenol metabolism by the microbiome. Hippurate appears to be the most important metabolite linking diet and visceral fat.
The researchers called for future studies to explore the exact mechanisms specific polyphenol-rich foods have on visceral fat, which is not only part of the obesity problem, but also increases cardiovascular risk.
published in the magazine BMC Medicine, The study was funded through grants from the German Research Foundation, the Israel Ministry of Health, the Israel Ministry of Science and Technology and the California Walnut Commission. It is part of the DIRECT-PLUS project, which investigates the properties of polyphenols in the framework of a healthy diet under the direction of researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, in collaboration with the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Leipzig. ,
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