healingways
BYE-BYE, BELLY FAT
Strategies to Win the Battle of the Bulge by Anjula Razdan
L
ooking good at the beach isn’t the only reason to flatten our tum- mies. It turns out that abdominal fat has a major impact on whether we stay healthy and vital or put ourselves at increased risk for several chronic diseases.
All of us need a bit of internal belly fat, according to nutritional expert Dr. Pamela Peeke, who says, “We need stomach fat to help cushion organs and maintain internal body tem- perature; it’s also a good source of backup fuel.” Peeke is the author of Body for Life for Women and Fight Fat After Forty.
Two Types of Fat Ringing all our midsections are two different kinds of fat: subcu- taneous, beneath the skin; and visceral, stored deep in the body around major organs. Each functions differently on a biological level. Subcutaneous, or “passive” fat, requires metabolic interven- tion from other body systems and glands in order to be processed for energy. Visceral, or “ac- tive,” fat functions
much like a gland itself: It is pro- grammed to break down and release fatty acids and other hormonal
36 Collier/Lee Counties
swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com
substances that are metabolized by the liver (it’s also what tends to make a tummy protrude in classic “beer belly” fashion).
Health experts Dr. Marie Savard, and Carol Svec, co-authors of The Body Shape Solution to Weight Loss and Wellness, state in their book, “Excess visceral fat can lead to increased blood sugar and higher insulin lev- els, and it also gener- ates increased inflam- mation, all of which are the perfect setup for diabetes, certain types of cancers and stroke.”
Four Factors There is no single answer to the riddle of
weight gain; it involves four fac- tors—ge- netics, eat- ing habits, stress and hor-
mones. Some of us, says Savard, are des-
tined to be
“apples,” gaining weight in the stomach and upper-body region, while others are fated to be “pears,” putting it on in the hips, buttocks, thighs and lower legs.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64