What is fat and why do we need it?
Firstly, you need to know what fat is. Fat is a natural oily or greasy substance occurring in animal bodies, esp. when deposited as a layer under the skin or around certain organs. It contains the fatty acids that are have many important functions as a nutrient.
Fat is a concentrated source of energy and it is important for providing the necessary building blocks for the cells in your body. It is also a carrier for fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and it contains the essential fatty acids (omega 3 and 6). Your body needs fat to support natural growth, and for the maintenance of healthy skin, reproduction, immune function as well as the development of the brain and visual systems. But just as interesting, dietary fat makes the food you eat taste delicous!
As you can see, fat is important to our survival as a human being but as with everything in life, too much of it is not good for our health. Which brings us to belly fat or stomach fat or tummy fat or abdominal fat as some would like to call it.
What exactly is belly fat?
Everyone of us want less of this thing called belly fat. Even thin people can do with less of this fat. What? Even a skinny guy has belly fat? Yes, even if you are thin, you may still have belly fat because it hides deep inside, around your inner organs, where it may pose a silent health threat if there’s too much of it. So it does not matter what your size is, you may still have too much belly fat.
According to Carol Shively, PhD, a pathology professor at Wake Forest School of Medicine, not all fat is the same. Fat behaves differently in different places and its behavior is the key to what your fat is doing to your health.
There are two types of fat and humans store most of their fat in two different ways:
i) Subcutaneous fat – stored just under the skin in the thighs, hips, buttocks, and abdomen.
ii) Visceral fat – stored deeper inside, around the vital organs (heart, lungs, digestive tract, liver, etc.) in the chest, abdomen, and pelvis.
In simple terms, subcutaneous fat is the fat we can see, and visceral fat is the fat we can’t. Contrary to what most people believe, scientific research shows that hidden fat (visceral) may pose the bigger health threat. And it is this belly fat that you should be concerned about.
To be fair, visceral fat provides necessary cushioning around organs but it also secretes a lof of harmful substances that can be absorbed by the neighboring organs. For example, visceral fat cells release inflammatory compounds that can lead to insulin resistance and some cancers. Too much visceral fat is linked to a higher risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and cancers of the breast, colon, and endometrium.
So it is crucial that you are aware of the dangers of having too much fat in your body, especially visceral fat. Knowing this is definitely not enough. You need to know how to get rid of or at least burn off some og these excessive harmful fat in your body. Browse around this blog for all the info you need.
