Belly Up!

Alright, let's 'belly up' here for a minute! Today, we are talking about the "dangerous" fat, visceral fat. It's important to know what causes this type of fat and what we can do to prevent it.

I think it's safe to say that we all want to live long and healthy lives. Lets gain some knowledge on this subject so we can do our part to avoid it at all cost!

1. What is Visceral Fat?

• Visceral fat is the fat that gets stored around your vital organs...Now, you should already see why this type of fat is so dangerous to our bodies.

• The gel-like fat wraps it's self around our pancreas, our liver, our kidneys. We need these organs to survive.

• While many of us can live with this type of fat for some time...the real danger can sometimes come from changing the way our bodies operate.

2. The Causes (Disclaimer: This gets a little technical)

• Visceral fat develops from having too much glucose in our system.

• Too much glucose has been linked to excess sugar and refined carbohydrates.

• Insulin...,aka the fat-storing hormone, kicks into high gear when the body is present with high amounts of glucose.

• To break it down simply if you're not consuming a healthy diet of protein, carbohydrates, and good fat....AND you have a protruding belly, the chances are very high that you're body contains this unhealthy fat substance.

• The longer your insulin levels remain high, the more fat your body will store.

• Stress is also linked in connection to visceral fat. When you're body goes into stress mode, via everyday stressors or bodily stressors, like having too much insulin production, the cortisol levels remain elevated which can contribute to eating with hunger isn't necessarily present.

3. The Dangers

• Here are just a few dangers of your body containing unhealthy fat.

• Heart Disease

• Stroke

• Cancer

• Depression

• Obesity

• Sleep Issues

• Diabtetes

• Memory Issues

• Increases Inflammation

• Weight Loss Difficulty

4. Prevention

• These Lifestyle & Diet choices can help you avoid having Visceral Fat in your body.

• Getting enough 'good sleep'

• Exercise on a regular basis

• De-stress as much as possible (meditation & exercise can be great for this)

• Reduce intake of sugar & refined carbohydrates

• Have a diet consisting of protein, carbohydrates, & good fats.

Okay, I hope this week's blog wasn't too much scientific jargon. If you have any further questions, or if I confused you more, please don't hesitate to reach out! See you next week!