Unlike subcutaneous fats, which is discovered just below the pores and skin, visceral fat is saved deep inside the belly.
A specific amount is required to guard and insulate important organs, nevertheless, having an excessive amount of can put you in danger for varied well being problems.
Doctor Deborah Lee, from Dr Fox Online Pharmacy, spoke solely with Express.co.uk about methods to cut back visceral fats.
“Visceral fat (belly fat) is the fat that sits inside the abdominal cavity and surrounds your organs,” she mentioned.
“When trying to lose weight, it’s harder to lose visceral fat than subcutaneous fat because visceral fat is linked to a metabolic condition called insulin resistance (IR).
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Having too much visceral fat can be dangerous (Image: Getty Images)
“IR occurs when the cells of the body have become less sensitive to the glucose-lowering effects of insulin.
“As a result, levels of glucose in the blood are higher than they should be, but glucose does not pass inside cells as it should, meaning the interior of the cells are relatively starved of glucose – which is essential for their cellular processes.
“As a result, the body thinks it is severely energy-depleted, and hangs on to visceral fat in desperation, as a means of survival.”
She shared eight methods to cut back visceral fats within the physique.
She mentioned: “The body usually relies on carbs (glucose) for energy. But restricting carbs (no glucose) means the body is forced to burn fat for fuel.
“Some studies have shown a three-fold greater visceral fat loss from a very low calorie ketogenic diet as compared to a low fat diet. The keto diet also lowers IR.”
Cutting out trans fat and upping protein consumption is one method to decrease visceral fats (Image: Getty)
“Whether you fast on alternate days, 5;2 or 16:8, the principle is the same,” she mentioned.
“After 12 hours with no food, the metabolic switch is flipped, as the body has to start breaking down fat to produce ketones instead of glucose for energy.
“Intermittent fasting lowers IR. Note that fasting is low calorie - not no calories. On a fasting day, a typical intake is 500 to 600 calories.”
Dr Lee mentioned: “In one randomised controlled study of older men, those who ate 1.3g protein/Kg of body weight lost significantly more visceral fat than those who ate 0.8g protein/Kg.
“A high protein diet is known to result in an increase in appetite controlling hormones – GLP-1, cholecystokinin and ghrelin.”
She suggested: “These are often high in fat, sugar, salt and preservatives. Trans fats are especially linked to visceral fat.
The difference between visceral fat and subcutaneous fat (Image: Getty Images)
“They are solid fats found in butter, cheese, lard, ghee and found in cakes, cookies, pizza, and ready meals.
“Trans fats are ‘bad’ - saturated fats - which become deposited in visceral fat, and encourage weight gain and obesity.”
“Research shows that high intensity (HIT) exercise stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, increasing levels of adrenaline, cortisol and growth hormone,” she mentioned.
“High intensity exercise also lowers IR. HIT is any vigorous exercise where you are working at 70 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate – such as fast jogging, running, cycling, or swimming.
“20 minutes of HIT three times a week has been shown to reduce visceral fat without making changes to the diet.”
She warned: “Alcohol stops your body breaking down fat. When you drink alcohol, the liver has to focus on metabolising the alcohol, and forgets to metabolise fat.
“Alcohol is a form of ‘empty’ calories as alcoholic drinks have virtually no other nutritional value.”
Dr Lee mentioned: “Make sure you get seven hours of good quality sleep per night. Poor sleepers have a higher BMI and more visceral fat than those who obtain the required amount of sleep.
“While you sleep, leptin and ghrelin, the hunger hormones which help you feel full and control your appetite, are being released.”
“Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system ‘fight, fright and flight’ system,” she added.
“This leads to production of adrenaline and cortisol, and increases IR. It’s time to destress – take some time out, and actively pursue rest and relaxation.”
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