Take a moment to look down at your belly. Do you like what you see? Is it flat, firm, and fiercely defiant to gravity? No? Uh oh. That thing that is blocking your view of your shoes is your enemy. You need to take aim at this enemy if you are going to have a healthy, productive, vital, joy-filled and long life. Belly fat is deadly.
I was asked to write an article on hypoglycemia. So why am I targeting belly fat? Can I possibly draw a direct line between hypoglycemia and this enemy? Watch me. Not only will I inscribe that connection, I will include how burnout (stress) is in that picture as well. Whaa? That's right - stay tuned.
Let's start with hypoglycemia. What is it? Most of us know it is a blood sugar condition. After you eat, your pancreas responds to a rise in blood sugar (glucose) by secreting insulin. Insulin is a storage hormone, and it ushers the glucose into your cells. When you consume a diet high in sugar and low in fiber, you are bombing your pancreas with demands for insulin to remove the sugar from your blood. This can lead to hypoglycemia, where the pancreas sends out too much insulin and blood sugar levels plummet below the level necessary to maintain well being. Constant assaults can destroy the insulin producing cells of the pancreas...leading to insulin resistance (a decreased sensitivity to insulin) and eventually diabetes (where your blood sugar remains high).The average American consumes 100 pounds of white sugar (sucrose) and 40 pounds of corn syrup (it is in just about everything - read labels) each year. As a result, diabetes and hypoglycemia are on the rise - not just in adults but also in children.
Now, I'd like to ask you a question. How do you handle your stress? Are you frequently stressed-out? When blood sugar levels take a nose dive, or if a person is under stress, it may result in the release of adrenaline and cortisol by the adrenal glands - supplying energy and vital assertiveness necessary for any active need, crisis or not. Constant stress will also stress out your adrenal glands, leading to adrenal 'insufficiency' or 'fatigue.' When your adrenal gland function becomes so impaired that you lose your ability to handle stress, you are in burnout. Once in burnout you, among other things, cannot assimilate nutrients from your food properly, and you are unable to access the sugar (glucose) reserves in your liver. You then constantly crave simple carbohydrates while in the throes of perpetual fatigue. The pancreas steps up and tries to compensate, serving as a back-up system for exhausted adrenals. In an effort to maintain energy levels, it over-secretes insulin. This over secretion of insulin results in an assortment of symptoms that are commonly lumped under the term hypoglycemia-headaches/migraines, brain fog, extreme fatigue, (especially a few hours after eating), shakiness, sweats, irritability, anxiety, dizziness upon standing, angina, extreme hunger, crying spells, fits of anger, and heart palpitations. But, it could be in fact a combination - a perfect storm of issues resulting from poor diet and lifestyle.
Okay, now you are tired. You are stressed. You are hungry and craving something sweet. So you slam a simple carbohydrate, which quickly elevates your blood sugar. Bam - insulin escorts the sugar from your blood. Boom - you crash. The vicious cycle continues - taxing your control mechanisms. Now your pancreas is exhausted - propelling your body beyond hypoglycemia into insulin resistance, the precursor to diabetes. Here comes the belly connection (you were waiting for that weren't you). With insulin resistance, fat tends to accumulate in the abdominal area. That's right. Your belly.
Research has revealed that the
re are different kinds of fat in and on our bodies. There is brown fat (good), beige fat (good), white subcutaneous fat (neutral but too much is not good - and its not pretty), and white visceral fat (bad). Visceral fat is the demon that wraps around your inner organs, extending your abdomen (often making it very hard). It is incredibly dangerous. Think of it as an alien (yes you can recall that movie image - might help). It doesn't even come from the same set of stem cells as other fat. It has evolved in a completely different way. And it spits out horrible chemicals that elevate your blood pressure, and increase your risk of stroke. All the toxins and fatty acids given off by this monster are dumped into the liver, and can wreak all kinds of havoc - like high cholesterol, depression, insulin resistance, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and liver failure. Belly fat is not a benign extension of your self. It is a living parasite eager to grow. And we now know that a diet low in fiber, high in simple carbs, and high in saturated fat help it grow. Every time you take in more energy than you spend, each individual visceral fat cell in your body becomes larger. The larger they grow, the more metabolically active they are. And their prime directive is to become even bigger. So they release more chemicals, which cause more inflammation, and make you crave more carbs and saturated fats. And around and around it goes - with your belly fat gaining in size and power. But not only your belly. The white subcutaneous fat on the rest of your body grows too. You are an increasingly vulnerable, weakened, fat victim - under attack by a force youhelped create. Think about it. But you are not defeated - yet. There are weapons in your arsenal that can vanquish this foe, and as in all good sci-fi movies - you will emerge victorious. You can reverse all of this - the fat, the blood sugar issues, the health risks, the mental and emotional woes - all of it. Hallelujah!
As I said at the jump - stay tuned...
Resources available on request
