Tart cherries
Secret fat burner: Melatonin
Tart cherries contain high levels of the hormone melatonin, key to healthy sleep. And good quality sleep is crucial for maintaining your weight. “Research shows that when we don’t get enough sleep and we feel tired, we crave more high-calorie foods. We’re probably also less active because we’re tired,” says Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, a nutrition and diabetes expert, and author of the 2-Day Diabetes Diet. “I generally recommend that people consume the tart cherries – fresh, dried, or in juice – within two or three hours before bed.”
Sweet potato
Secret fat burner: Beta carotene
Sweet and starchy foods are often off-limits to dieters, but sweet potatoes satisfy both those cravings – plus, they’re foods that burn fat too. Unlike other sweet and starchy foods, sweet potatoes are high in fibre. They also have high levels of beta-carotene, a type of antioxidant, that gives the tubers their bright orange colour and also helps stabilise your blood sugar. Beta carotene also lowers insulin resistance, which prevents kilojoules from being converted into fat. Some research suggests that sweet potatoes may even boost a hormone called adiponectin, which helps mobilise fat in the body. Find out the classic diet advice you can probably ignore.
Brown rice
Secret fat burner: Fibre
“People can burn up to 418 more kilojoules a day when they eat whole grains versus fluffy white ones,” says Samantha Cassetty, MS, RD, a nutritionist based in New York City. “Eating foods in their most natural state is how our bodies are designed to handle them,” she explains. “Bodies are less efficient at processing foods in their natural state, so that’s what gives you an advantage.” A Tufts University study found that people who ate three or more daily servings of whole grains had less belly fat than people who ate the same amount of kilojoules from processed carbohydrates like white rice, pasta, or bread. Find out the 49 foods nutritionists will never touch.