Dear Donovan,

What is the best way to lose a big belly and what are the best foods to eat? Also, what helps lower blood cholesterol and blood pressure?

— David

Hi David,

Excess belly fat is definitely an area of concern for many Jamaican men and women and indeed people all over the world. To be honest, many people want to lose this excess fat because they want to look good. However, this belly fat is extremely dangerous to your overall health. Belly fat is an example of visceral fat, meaning that it is stored between and around the organs of the abdomen. This kind of fat is extremely hard to lose and creates problems for the organs. It is also a big risk factor for many diseases, for example diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, high cholesterol and also cancer.

While poor diet and physical inactivity can be major contributing factors to belly fat, other factors include the hormonal changes, age, stress and hereditary factors. Belly fat can be reduced by a combination of detox programmes, healthy diet, aerobic exercises, and targeted strengthening abdominal exercises.

For people who want to lose belly fat, the first thing I would suggest is that you do a detox programme. In many cases, a large tummy is due to a build-up of faeces and other semi-digested materials in the gut. In addition, reducing calories and losing weight will cause a general reduction in belly fat as well.

Eating foods in the right combination, for example, protein with vegetables and carbohydrates with vegetables is also a good way to reduce belly fat. A great deal of effort must be put to reduce the intake of processed carbohydrates, pastries and also fatty foods. The diet should contain more fruits, vegetables, vegetable juices and fibre in order to keep belly fat down.

High cholesterol comes from too much stored cholesterol in the body. If the blood vessels become clogged, this could lead to high blood pressure, which in turn could cause a stroke. High blood pressure can be caused by a number of risk factors like smoking, being overweight, too much salt in the diet, stress, age and family history, among other things. In the case of hypertension, in some cases the underlying factor cannot be determined. To reduce the chance of hypertension, it is important to exercise and also to eat well. A diet low in processed carbohydrates, salts and animal product is very important. Every effort should also be made to eat fruits, vegetables and drink vegetable juices. Drinking six to eight glasses of water daily is very important in the control of excess belly fat and hypertension.

Good luck.

We will answer your weight- related questions

Are you struggling to lose weight or just need some advice on living a healthier life? Tell us about your health issues and we’ll have nutritionist and wellness coach Donovan Grant answer them for you. Grant has over 12 years’ experience in the fitness industry and is the owner of DG’s Nutrition and Wellness Centre, Suite 16, 39 Lady Musgrave Road, Kingston 5. Send your questions to clarkep@jamaicaobserver.com.