LOSE YOUR BELLY!

Discover the micronutrient proven to help women melt ab fat 2 to 3 times faster

- ALLISON NEMETZ

Wanna make belly fat disappear fast? Then let's talk about polyphenols, powerful compounds packed in everyday staples like coffee, nuts and berries. Growing evidence shows the tiny nutrients set off a domino effect in the body that can truly turbocharge shape-up efforts. One famous study even found that extra polyphenols help melt belly fat at double or triple speed—with only “simple changes to your diet and lifestyle,” according to UCLA scientist Hila Zelicha, R.D., Ph.D. She calls the effect “dramatic.” We bet you'll agree!

While virtually all whole plants contain at least a smidge of polyphenols, that's not so with processed plants. White flour has up to 5 times fewer polyphenols than whole wheat, for example; refined sugar 140 times fewer than unrefined. And since 60% of what we eat is processed, we're getting shortchanged on natural chemicals “that increase the efficiency of the human body, helping us live better and longer,” says nutrition expert and Eat For Life author Joel Fuhrman, M.D. Polyphenols help us thrive. But how does that translate to looser waistbands?

3 ways polyphenols shrink your middle

Zelicha's clinical trial compared a traditional diet to a Mediterranean diet and a Mediterranean diet enhanced with extra polyphenols (more on how they did this in a minute). The result? Polyphenol dieters lost significantly more weight and 2 times more belly fat than the other Mediterranean group and 3.5 times more than the traditional group. Key reasons polyphenols have this effect:

• They amp up fat burn