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Canola Oil Helps Reduce Abdominal Fat in Four Weeks

Canola Oil Helps Reduce Abdominal Fat in Four Weeks

by Shirley Johanna on Nov 2 2016 6:59 PM
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Highlights:
  • A diet enriched with canola oil can help reduce abdominal fat in four weeks, claims a study.
  • Abdominal fat increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
  • Canola oil is a type of rapeseed oil which is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids that target abdominal fat.
  • Canola oil can be used for sauteing, baking and added to salads.
The accumulation of body fat tends to change over the years. People who follow unhealthy lifestyle practices and poor dietary practices are more likely to accumulate fat in the abdomen. Abdominal fat is also called as visceral fat, which has been linked to metabolic disturbances and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. A healthy diet and regular exercise help reduce abdominal fat. Now, a new study claims that including canola oil in the diet may help reduce abdominal fat in just four weeks.

Reduction of Abdominal Fat with Canola Oil

Penn State researchers conducted the study to assess the effect of canola oil in reducing abdominal fat. "Abdominal fat increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, and is also associated with increased risk for conditions such as metabolic syndrome and diabetes," said Penny M. Kris-Etherton, Distinguished Professor of Nutrition, Penn State.

The study group involved 101 participants’ with abdominal obesity or increased waist circumference. All the participants were either at risk for or had metabolic syndrome. The researchers studied the effect of five different vegetable oil blends in the study participants.

The five vegetable oil blends include conventional canola, high oleic acid canola, high oleic acid canola with DHA (a type of omega-3 fatty acid), corn/safflower and flax/safflower. The participants were randomly assigned to follow each of the oil diets for four weeks. At the end of each four-week diet, participants were given a four-week break before starting the next diet.

The participants were given the specific oil blend in smoothies. Based on the participants’ daily energy requirement, the quantity of oil was calculated. A participant on a 3,000-calorie diet received 60 grams of the oil per day. The oil provided 18 percent of the daily dietary energy.

Two smoothies containing the specific oil were given during the day. Each smoothie contained 100 grams of orange sherbet, 100 grams of frozen unsweetened strawberries, 100 grams of non-fat milk, and 30 grams of canola oil.

After one month of adherence to the diet that included canola oil, the participants had reduced 0.11 kilograms of abdominal fat that they did before the diet. The researchers found that the weight loss in the abdominal region did not redistribute to other parts of the body. The researchers noted that monounsaturated fatty acids in canola oil reduced accumulated fat in the abdomen. Participants who consumed conventional canola oil or high-oleic acid canola oil for four weeks had lost fat in the midsection.

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Kris-Etherton, said, "As a general rule, you can't target weight loss to specific body regions. But monounsaturated fatty acids in canola oil seem to target abdominal fat specifically."

The researchers concluded that further studies are needed to look at the long-term effects of a including canola oil in the diet.

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Canola Oil

Canola oil is a type of rapeseed oil which is high in monounsaturated fatty acids. It is used as a common cooking oil as it has less than half the saturated fat of olive or soybean oil. The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) authorized that replacing saturated fat with canola oil can reduce the risk of heart disease. Studies have also shown that canola oil can have beneficial effects on body composition, especially in people with obesity.

Canola oil is light in texture and has a neutral taste. It can be incorporated into the diet by adding it to smoothie, salad dressing and also to saute foods. Canola oil has high heat tolerance and it can also be used in baking, stir-frying, deep-frying and grilling.

Reference:
  1. What is Canola Oil? - (http://www.canolainfo.org/canola/)
Source-Medindia


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