The Secret Ingredient to a Flatter Belly

Oil gets a bad rap, but you don’t have to completely banish it from your diet: In fact, eating certain kinds of vegetable oils might reduce abdominal fat and lower your risk for metabolic syndrome, according to a new study presented at the American Heart Association’s EPI/NPAM 2013 Scientific Sessions conference held in New Orleans last month. Metabolic syndrome is a pretty scary group of conditions—increased blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, excess abdominal body fat, and abnormal cholesterol levels—that can boost your risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

A team of American and Canadian researchers put 121 participants—all of whom were at risk for metabolic syndrome—on a four-week, 2,000-calorie-per-day diet that included a daily smoothie containing 40 grams of one of five oils: canola oil, high-oleic canola oil, a flax/safflower oil blend, a corn/safflower oil blend, or high-oleic canola oil enriched with omega-3 fatty acids. They then performed a type of X-ray that can measure fat mass in different body regions—once at the beginning of the study, and once at the end of the four-week diet period. What they discovered: Those who consumed the smoothies containing canola or high-oleic canola oils trimmed their belly fat by an average of 1.6 percent more than those who had the flax/safflower oil blend. And those who had either the corn/safflower oil blend or the high-oleic canola oil enriched with omega-3s didn’t see any change in their abdominal fat at all.

Although it’s unclear why eating these oils might help you shed that pesky stomach pooch, researchers say it might come down to the oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid found in both canola oil and high-oleic canola oil. “The oleic acid might just be metabolized differently,” says study author Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, a distinguished professor of nutrition at Penn State University. Your body might process it in a way that burns some fat, making less available to be stored in your body, she says.

But this doesn’t mean you should go on a canola oil bender: You’ll want to add a reasonable amount to an otherwise-healthy diet to avoid taking in too many calories, says Kris-Etherton. To see some of the same benefits, she suggests consuming 40 grams (about 2.7 tablespoons) of canola oil or high-oleic canola oil each day as part of a 2,000 calorie, heart-healthy diet. That comes out to less than one tablespoon per meal.

To sneak more canola oil into your diet, try these delicious recipes:

BBQ Pork Tacos *contains 2/3 tsp canola oil per serving