By Donna V. Scaglione
Fighting fat isn’t easy, and it gets harder as we age. Temptation is seemingly everywhere, and it’s easy to feel deprived. But fat fighters found in a variety of healthy foods can help you stay on track by keeping you feeling full and satisfied, and by working to rid your blood of cholesterol. Consider them tools for boosting your weight-loss and heart-saving efforts, making you look and feel better, and perhaps even helping you live longer.
1. Water
Foods containing lots of water fill us up and make us feel full because they take up more room in our stomach, says WebMD.com. Replacing high-sugar drinks like soda and specialty coffees with water can save you loads of calories. Also, drinking water before meals can help you lose weight. A study presented last summer at the American Chemical Society conference showed middle-age participants who drank two 8-ounce glasses of water before meals lost weight and kept if off for a year after the study.
Good food sources: Raw vegetables, like lettuce, as well as raw fruits, including grapes, apples, pears, and berries. Sweet, thirst-quenching watermelon is 92 percent water and also contains vitamins C and A, and lots of lycopene, an antioxidant that helps fight prostate cancer. Broth-based soups are a good choice, too.
