Visceral Fat…What’s That?

Ever heard of “Syndrome X”? This syndrome is also known as Metabolic syndrome. A person is said to suffer from this when they have any of these 3 symptoms

• abdominal obesity
• high triglycerides
• high blood sugar
• high blood pressure
• low HDL cholesterol

One of the most telling signs of metabolic syndrome is the accumulation of abdominal fat. I am sure you have seen bodies with smaller waist but large hips. Well, these pear shapes are healthier than those with apple shapes where the fat sits around the waist.

To pinch more than an inch of abdominal fat at the waist is considered to increase your risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.

But what makes things more complex is that not all fat is created equal. There are 3 main areas where fat can develop in the abdomen:

1. it can be stored between the skin and the abdominal wall (abdominal)
2. it can be in and around the internal organs (visceral)
3. and it can be in the back and sides commonly known as (love handles)

Any or all of these conditions are known to contribute to disease. But interestingly, visceral fat is considered to be the best indicator of your risk for disease.

Why is this so dangerous? Well, the veins of the internal organs drain into the liver and visceral fat is the only type that shares this circulation. And your liver is your biggest filter which can get clogged up with this type of fat.

Obviously, our diet is of paramount importance in controlling visceral fat. Too much highly refined sugar and carbohydrates and too little fiber , if eaten in large quantities, cannot be utilized and therefore gets stored in fat cells for later use.

Dieting alone isn’t an effective way to get rid of visceral fat.

Why?

Although dieting will reduce the fat between the skin and the abdominal wall, it’s the fat within and surrounding the internal organs that you have to worry about getting rid of.

A perfect example of this is my husband. He had “love handles” around the waist and was wearing a snug 34 inch waist pant. Overall, he looked slim and healthy. But it wasn’t until he lost 19 pounds that he realized that most of the fat he had was visceral fat surrounding his internal organs.

Targeting visceral fat doesn’t have to be hard although high intensity exercise can be effective. Don’t forget that the body surrounds toxins with fat to protect us from harm. So doesn’t it go without saying that getting rid of the toxins is a must first step in getting rid of visceral fat?

There are supplements such as CLA ( conjugated linoleic acid) that can also be of help, but the best tool and the quickest results will be through cleansing.

My husband is now love handle free with a 31 inch waist and we know that his internal organs also are finally working with optimum efficiency.

Check it out for yourself!

Tags: cleansing, toxins, visceral fat