Eat eggs daily to blast ‘stubborn’ visceral fat, says expert

Dr Zoe Williams discusses visceral fat on This Morning

We all have a certain amount of visceral fat in our bodies. Found deep in the belly, it is needed to protect and insulate vital organs.

However, storing too much of it is dangerous, raising our risk of conditions and diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.

One expert spoke exclusively with Express.co.uk about ways to reduce your visceral fat.

Doctor Deborah Lee, from the Dr Fox Online Pharmacy, recommended adding eggs to your diet to do so.

She explained: “Many studies have shown that increasing your protein intake helps with weight loss – and this includes the loss of visceral (belly) fat.

“One very high-protein food option is eggs. The average egg (weighing around 52 grams) contains 6.3g of protein – so two eggs provide 12 to 14g of protein.

“Adults need 45 to 56 g of protein per day, depending on how active they are. Eggs are a perfect source of essential amino acids for human health.

“They are low in calories – there are around 60 calories in an average egg. Eggs are a great source of vitamin D, choline along with B vitamins and vitamin A.

“It is quite safe to eat eggs every day – this does not increase your risk of heart disease.

“On a weight loss diet, eat up to three eggs a day to get the maximum benefit.”

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Protein and weight loss

Dr Lee advised that upping your protein intake can help to lose “stubborn” visceral fat.

“Increasing your protein intake speeds up your metabolic rate,” she said,

“Increasing your protein intake from 20 percent to 30 percent per day can help you burn an extra 60 calories.

“After eating protein your body temperature rises – this is called diet-induced thermogenesis. The maximal effect is seen from eating protein.

“High protein diets help you feel fuller for longer.

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“Ingestion of protein stimulates the release of cholecystokinin (CKK) in the gut, a hormone which delays gastric emptying. CKK is linked to reduced food intake, smaller portion sizes and increased satiety.

“Increasing your protein intake can help reduce food cravings. In one 2017 study, women who ate a high protein diet (124 g per day) reduced their desire to eat and food cravings by 15 percent in comparison to the group who had a normal protein intake (48g).

“Eating a high-protein diet helps preserve muscle mass. Weight loss results in loss of fat as well as loss of lean body mass (muscle).

“Ways to retain lean body mass when dieting include doing regular physical exercise, especially resistance training, and eating more protein.”

What does research say?

One study, published in the Clinical Nutrition journal in 2022, trialled the effects of eating eggs on 355 university students in Spain.

It said: “Participants reporting high egg consumption (five or more eggs a week) showed significantly lower body mass index, weight circumference and body fat mass percentage values and higher body lean mass percentage values than those reporting low egg consumption (less than one egg per week).”

The study concluded: “This finding is important from a public health perspective, suggesting that higher egg consumption (five or more eggs a week) may lead to a healthier body composition, especially due to higher protein intake.”

A separate paper, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in 2020, looked at the link between egg consumption and weight loss in more than 2,200 participants.

“Egg consumption might be beneficial for weight regulation, especially for overweight with excessive body fat/central obesity in females,” it said.

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