Visceral fat, also known as organ fat or internal fat, is fat that become stored in a cavity between internal body organs. Subcutaneous fat is found just underneath the skin, and intramuscular fat is found in skeletal muscles. Visceral fat is by far the most dangerous type and the most difficult to eliminate. However, the potential health risks that accompany it make it necessary to take action.
Most people mistake their visceral fat that often accumulates around the middle area as extra tummy fat that is simply not aesthetically pleasing without taking into consideration the fact that it could be potential deadly. Instead, they simply become self-conscious, cover it up the protruding beer belly, and attempt to forget.
Scientific evidence has undisputedly and repeatedly resulted in conclusions that excess fat is unhealthy, particularly with visceral fat. With the increase of visceral fat in the body, there is a direct correlation with the increase of developing heart diseases, hypertension, high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, stroke, certain types of cancer, and numerous other degenerative diseases. The main reason for these health issues being related to visceral fat is that this type releases more inflammatory molecules into the body on a continual basis.
The liver may be at the greatest risk for deteriorating because of visceral fat. This is because the liver metabolizes it. As it does so, it releases the visceral fat into the blood stream as cholesterol, LDL, that builds up into a plaque that blocks the arteries.
Part of the danger of visceral fat is the fact that it is so deeply embedded in the tissue of the body. Because of this it can only be measured accurately by using an imagine machine that can look directly into the abdomen. This is why even those that do not have a weight problem should be checked for visceral fat.
While overweight and obese people are more susceptible to large amounts of visceral fat, the thin and slender are not excluded. Those who are sedentary smoke regularly, and drink more than one drink per day are also at greater risk. In addition, visceral fat has also been found to be greater in those with high stress jobs.
The first step to ridding the body of visceral fat is to analyze the diet. The less fat a person eats, the less fat build up that can accumulate. Those who have a diet that consists of 30% fat calories are at the greatest risk. Reducing this number will greatly reduce the dangers of visceral fat.
The next step to eliminating visceral fat is to increase physical activity. Experts have named walking as the best way to control it, even better than swimming or other activities. Walking at a fairly brisk pace for only half an hour six days a week has been proven to break down visceral fat. Walking on only three days a week has not shown any noticeable results. However, the less exercise a person performs, the quicker visceral fat can accumulate. Therefore, even if someone cannot dedicate that amount of time, any little bit can help.
The only effective way of preventing and reducing the risks of all those mentioned issues is to remove the fat. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix. Getting rid of visceral fat takes dedication and determination, but the slight sacrifices that will inevitably have to be made are far less disappointing then waiting for the consequences of not making them catching up with you.
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This guest post is written by Chuck Edwards, who frequently writes on the subject of visceral fat.
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