Visceral fat is becoming one of the most silent killers in America today. It has become an epidemic and, unfortunately, many don’t even know that it exists.
Visceral fat or also known as organ fat, is located inside the abdominal cavity, and is packed between the organs (stomach, lungs, heart, liver, intestines, kidneys, etc.). Visceral fat is unlike subcutaneous fat underneath the skin, and intramuscular fat interspersed in skeletal muscles as it can directly affect the organs of the body.
Everyone has a certain amount of visceral fat, but an excess of visceral fat has been come to known as central obesity, or “belly fat”. The abdomen bulges excessively. From a general health standpoint, excessive deposits of visceral fat is linked to many serious health problems and can be the “final straw” in terms of an early death.
How Visceral Fat Builds
There are many reasons that people create fat; eating foods with high fat or sugar, being inactive, not drinking enough water, stress, and negative thinking. Because of our cultural shift, having a sedentary lifestyle has become the norm which only increases the amount of fat being deposited. Another factor that leads to increased fat is something none of us can avoid; aging. Our metabolisms start to slow down in our mid to late twenties and goes down as we age. Even hormones can affect the way we store fat. Genetics also can play a big role in how fast we “get fat” as we age. Bottom line is that there are some things we can control and some we can’t when it comes to accumulating fat stores in our bodies.
How Visceral Fat Affects Health
Visceral fat affects health without a person knowing until it is too late as it is related to several health problems, including; dementia, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, hormonal imbalances, type 2 diabetes, and a myriad of other conditions that can lead to premature death.
The problem is that the visceral fat can act like an organ itself and emit substances that affect the other organs. The substances expelled by the visceral fat can go into the liver and then impact the levels of fat and cholesterol in the blood. Visceral fat is also connected to decreased HDL (good cholesterol) and increased LDL (bad cholesterol). Furthermore, visceral fat has also been correlated with different forms of cancer such as; colon cancer, endometrial cancer, and breast cancer. Visceral fat is basically poisoning the body from within.
How To Lose Visceral Fat
One of the biggest factors in losing visceral fat is exercise and diet. With a combination of aerobic exercise and diet changes, one can start to reduce the amount of visceral fat within the organs. But, focusing on weight training, sit ups, etc., will NOT touch this type of fat. Science has found that a minimum of 30 minutes of aerobic activity at least four times a week is optimal to start shedding the organs of this dangerous fat.
From a diet standpoint, research suggests diets that are heavy on fruits and vegetables, high fiber foods, and lean meats can help target visceral fat. Get away from the sugar, saturated fats, and high carb meals. Another aspect to watch is caloric intake. It is very simple; your caloric output should be greater than your caloric intake.