There’s been a lot of talk about the MUFA diet, also called the “Flat Belly Diet” so I thought we’d break it down a little bit.  MUFA stands for monounsaturated fatty acids.  These are basically the fats that are found in plants.  There are five categories of foods that are rich in mufas: plant oils (including olive, flaxseed and canola), nuts and seeds, avocados, olives, and dark chocolate.  In the MUFA diet, the idea is to satisfy hunger by including these good fats in our diet every day. The diet plan says to eat one serving of mufa at each meal, and to eat four meals a day, of 400 calories each.  While this may reduce our daily caloric intake, research shows that a diet rich in mufas also prevents the accumulation of belly fat, which is linked to heart disease.  The plan also calls for vegetables and whole grains in addition to the mufas, as well as exercise and stress management.