Eat More of This to Help Banish Belly Fat

Already considered a superfood, blueberries now have another benefit, discovered in a University of Michigan lab: a diet rich in blueberries may help diminish belly fat. Although the study was performed on rats, researchers found that the beneficial decrease of belly fat occurred in both of high- and low-fat diets, which leads them to believe blueberries affect the way the body stores and breaks down sugar. While more research is needed on humans, these findings back up data from earlier studies on the benefits of blueberries on male populations at risk for heart disease. All good news since abdominal fat has been linked to both heart disease and diabetes, even in individuals with a normal BMI.

Don't count the benefits out in colder months either! The antioxidants found in the berries, which also create their rich hue, are not affected by freezing. Frozen blueberries do lose a small amount of their vitamin E content though, as well as a bit of beta carotene.