Belly Fat & Heart Health:
By Chef K.T. Murphy
Whether you’re looking at a box of Cheerios or an ad driving down the freeway, 
everyone seems to be concerned about your heart health. One thing that could be warning you about your heart’s health is staring you in the face every day. Your belly fat could be the key to deciphering whether or not you’re at risk for heart disease.
There are two main types of fat in the body, subcutaneous fat, and visceral fat
- Subcutaneous fat is the pinchable fat, which is the kind that you can squeeze between your fingers.
- Visceral fat is found deep within the abdominal cavity. You would not be able to pinch this fat with your fingers. Visceral fat wraps itself around your internal organs and is often responsible for conditions like fatty liver.
What Type Of Belly Fat Is Dangerous?
Well, excess belly fat is not healthy in any form. Visceral fat is considered the more dangerous of the two types. Visceral fat can be in excess, even in people who have normal body weights. This is one of the reasons that visceral fat is considered more dangerous because health complications associated with it are seen even for people who would usually not see other obesity complications.
Generally speaking, your risk is increased when your waist reaches a certain circumference. For women who have a waist circumference of over 35 inches complications associated with visceral fat are more pronounced. For men, the health risk related to visceral fat is seen when the waist circumference is over 40 inches.
What Makes Belly Fat Bad For Heart Health?
Now that we know there are multiple types of fat and the indications for high visceral fat content in the body, why is this important?
Visceral fat is a fat that is metabolized by the liver. Once this fat is metabolized by the liver, it turns into cholesterol and is released into the bloodstream.
According to WebMD, the bad type of cholesterol LDL, leads to thickening of arterial walls and increased risk for heart attack, heart failure and premature avoidable death.
What Contributes To Visceral Fat?
The interesting thing about visceral fat is that it is directly related to your diet. The worst dietary contributor to visceral fat is saturated fat. Saturated fat is a fat that will be hard when at room temperature and softens when heated. Saturated fat is most commonly associated with animal products. The most frequently consumed saturated fat is butter and the fat that is found in red meats. WebMD notes that in a clinical study, patients whose diet consisted of more than 30% fat had higher rates of visceral fat than patients whose diets consisted of lower percentages of fat intake.
How Can I Tell If My Belly Fat Is Visceral?
Now that you know the dangers of visceral fat, I’m sure you are wondering how to tell whether the belly fat you have is visceral fat or subcutaneous fat. Unfortunately, the only true method to tell whether your fat is visceral or subcutaneous is to have an MRI, or CT scan conducted. Neither of these evaluation methods are cost-effective for the evaluation of body fat type.
If you do have a large waist circumference, the best plan is to follow a healthy diet and exercise program aimed at overall body fat reduction. Spot reduction of fat is not something that is possible, but diet and exercise will reduce all fat levels in the body. Visceral fat has been shown to respond very quickly to exercise and healthy eating.
If you are following a healthy diet and exercise program and still not seeing a reduction in your waist circumference, it may be time to visit your physician. They may recommend a different diet plan or refer you to a registered dietitian.
Registered dietitians can monitor specialized diets like very low calorie or low carbohydrate diets to help you reduce your overall body fat and help you blast that stubborn belly fat.
All the best, Good Food makes For Better Decisions.
Chef Murph
