Belly Fat

Why do we get belly fat?

Belly fat is a common side effect of poor lifestyle behaviors and stress. Many people between the age of 40 and 60 years of age experience the accumulation of belly fat, but it can happen in younger and older years as well.  Belly fat, also known as visceral fat, is the accumulation of fatty tissue around your organs in the abdominal area. Belly fat is a direct consequence to insulin resistance from poor eating habits, low physical activity and chronic stress.

Insulin resistance occurs when there are excessive surges of blood glucose in the body. This can happen in a number of ways. The body requires sugar or glucose for energy. Most of your food is broken down into glucose for energy and metabolized in your cells by your mitochondria. The body requires a hormone called insulin to bring those sugars into the cells. Insulin acts almost like a lock and key system. When you eat a meal, your blood glucose rises. Your body responds to this by secreting insulin from your pancreas to “unlock” the key and allow the glucose to enter the cell for energy and metabolism. When you eat large amounts of sugars or refined carbohydrates, your body excretes large amounts of insulin. This can eventually lead to the “tiring” of your insulin receptors. Your cells  require  insulin to grab onto the cells insulin receptors in order to “unlock” the door and allow the sugar to enter. Large or continued surges of insulin can make the receptors desensitized. When this happens, the door does not open correctly, and your blood sugars continue to rise. This can lead to diabetes. The cell also starves.  You experience low energy and become more susceptible to illness. This is what leads to metabolic imbalances. The body must then compensate for the high blood sugars by releasing cortisol (another hormone). Cortisol is responsible for the increase of triglycerides. Triglycerides are simply transporters. They transport the excess blood glucose into your fat cells for storage.   So, you see, high blood sugars leads to an increase in fatty tissue due to insulin resistance.

Stress creates a similar environment. Stress in the form of fear, worry and anxiety is a natural response to our environment, but our bodies were never meant to experience this type of stress for long periods of time. This stress response, also known as the fight or flight response, is helpful in times where we need to respond quickly and have quick surges of energy. Unfortunately, today, we experience chronic stress. Stress signals your body to secrete blood sugars from the liver to use as energy, as when you might need to fight off a bear in the woods. The body responds by secreting insulin. High blood sugars signal insulin which then signals cortisol.  This is the cycle. The body is made up of balancing systems. When one is out of balance, they must all compensate for this imbalance.  Other forms of stress include skipping meals and lack of sleep.

As you can see, belly fat is a symptom of chronically high insulin levels. The belly or visceral tissue has a high amount of cortisol receptors. This is why belly fat is the number one indicator of insulin resistance and metabolic imbalance. The only way to decrease belly fat is to regain metabolic balance by healing your insulin receptors so they can function efficiently again. Exercise, stress management and the right food plan is essential to accomplishing metabolic balance.