Studies show that adding more chickpeas to the diet can help to significantly reduce visceral fat, which is deposited in the abdomen.
Doctors talk about visceral obesity, when there is an accumulation of adipose tissue around the internal organs, including vital ones. A person who accumulates visceral fat in the abdomen is at high risk of stroke, heart disease, and diabetes.
In turn, scientists believe that eating chickpeas, the main ingredient in hummus, is one way to prevent the appearance and growth of this type of belly fat.
“Eating foods rich in protein and low in fat is a good way to control body fat. It is to such products that chickpeas belong. In animal studies, chickpeas have been found to reduce the ratio of fat to total body weight.”
The results of a rodent study have been published in The British Journal of Nutrition. The researchers fed them chickpeas for eight months as part of a high-fat diet. These animals were compared with other rodents that also received a high-fat diet, but without chickpeas.
Scientists found that rats fed chickpeas had the lowest ratio of abdominal fat mass to total body weight.
Animals given chickpeas were also found to have improved insulin resistance. In rats, which
fed with chickpeas, by the end of the experiment, the level of sugar in the blood decreased. The authors of the work concluded that “chickpeas may be useful as a functional food ingredient for the correction of dyslipidemia and the prevention of diabetes.”
An unusual effect of hummus has been discovered
According to experts, chickpeas contain beneficial substances such as carotenoids and polyphenols. Carotenoids have the ability to reduce obesity by promoting the breakdown of fatty acids that make up fat cells. Polyphenols, a type of antioxidant, are effective in helping to maintain body weight.
Hummus: A Lenten Snack for a Healthier Life
“Tests have shown that eating one serving of chickpeas a day (130 grams) contributes to the consumption of fewer unhealthy saturated and trans -fats and leads to a five percent reduction in blood cholesterol levels,” scientific experts stated.
Earlier, the portal MedikForum.ru wrote that addiction to dairy products is fraught for men with the development of prostate cancer.