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Deadly Dangers of Fats and Sweets

Visceral Fat Verses Subcutaneous Fat

Not all fat is alike. Aside from appearance consideration, there is a distinct medical difference in certain fats that we store on our bodies. The first type that we are all familiar with is called subcutaneous fat because it is that layer you can pinch just under the skin. Subcutaneous fat is stored all over the body and, for the purposes of our discussion here, is the lesser of evils.

The Deadly Fat

On the other hand, intra-abdominal fat – located deep in the body, so you can’t pinch it – is called visceral fat and this type, researchers have discovered, is deadly. Lying deep inside the body, visceral fat surrounds the vital organs: heart, liver or pancreas. Research has shown that while pear-shaped bodies (excess weight around hips and thighs) contain subcutaneous fat, apple-shaped bodies (excess weight is concentrated around the waistline) contain dangerous visceral fat and, for this reason, having a pear shape is more healthful than having an apple shape.

Sagittal Abdominal Diameter

In research published in the medical journal Lancet, scientists announced that a person's waist measurement is a more accurate predictor of heart attack than the standard weight-to-height ratio called body mass index (BMI).  Based on data of 27,000 people in 52 countries, scientists found a strong statistical correlation between people with visceral fat (measured as a high waist-to-hip ratio) and with people suffering heart attacks. To be more accurate, doctors are now using sagittal abdominal diameter, the distance from the back to the upper abdomen midway between the top of the pelvis and the bottom of the ribs. This represents a more standardized measurement than waist circumference and is less subject to error.

In addition to heart attacks, another study done by Kaiser Permanente revealed that patients with the high abdominal fat were 145% more likely to develop dementia, as compared with those with the least amount. Further research has also linked visceral fat to the formation of gallstones, breast cancer in women, and premature death in men.

Visceral Fat Damage

Why is this? Because visceral fat does several types of damage. First, visceral fat is often located right near the portal vein (which carries blood from the abdominal organs) and this blood is then carried directly into the liver. This overabundance of fatty acids then cause the liver to produce too much glucogen (sugar), which then interferes with the correct amount of insulin to be produced (remember insulin breaks down sugar for metabolism).

Second, visceral fat produces biochemicals that upset the balance of natural hormones, which work to control our weight. For example, these biochemicals: reduce leptin (a hormone which helps you fell full, to stop eating); reduce adiponectin (which helps fight insulin resistance – the precursor to diabetes); increase tumor necrosis factor-alpha (which increases insulin resistance and causes low-level inflammation in the body); increase interleukin-6 (which also increases insulin resistance and causes low-level inflammation in the body).

Now the good news about visceral fat is that it’s not hard to lose. Loss of visceral fat comes from a combination of dieting and exercise. Studies of people losing only 10-15% of body weight show that, in the process, they lost up to 30% of visceral fat! And those who combined dieting and exercise lost more than those who only dieted.

Dangers of Trans Fats

Everybody’s heard of trans fats being bad for our health; however most don’t really know why. Now research in the ongoing Nurses Health Study, which involves 32,000 women, has been able to measure the quantity of trans fat that is stored in red blood cells. In the study over 6 years, 166 had heart attacks or died of heart disease out the 32,000. All of the 166 women had slightly higher

quantities of trans fats than did 327 women – who matched with the same ages and personal statistics and who were free of heart disease.

Trans fats are artificial fats contained in hard margarines, many commercially baked goods, and the fried foods in many restaurants. A prime source of trans fat is partially hydrogenated oil, which many fast-food restaurants use for deep-frying. Another study, published in the journal Circulation, found that women with the highest trans fat quantities had three times the risk of having a heart attack and estimated that cutting out trans fats in the diet could avoid 264,000 heart attacks and heart-related deaths each year in the U.S.

Major Food Sources of Trans Fat

• 40% cakes, cookies, crackers, pies, bread, etc. 

• 21% animal products 

• 17% margarine

• 8% fried potatoes 

• 5% potato chips, corn chips, popcorn 

• 4% household shortening

• 3% salad dressing 

• 1% breakfast cereal

• 1% candy 

        Data based on FDA’s Analysis

Dangers of Too Much Body Fat

Consuming more calories than you burn up results in the storage of fat –no matter what type of food (fats, carbohydrates or proteins) they came from. And fat cells (medically called adipocytes) make and secrete biochemicals that influence the regulation of body weight. So when one has an excess of fat cells, it results in a too much of these secretions that play havoc with the body.

And over time, when excessive amounts of fat cell secretions build up, they damage blood vessels, tissues, impair blood flow and often result in diabetes, high blood pressure, "fatty liver disease," cardiovascular disease, and some cancers. When you lose that excess weight, fat cells shrink back to normal size along with a reduction in their secretions, which reverses or prevents the harmful diseases mentioned.

Body Mass Index (BMI) Determines Attractiveness
When men observe women, his gauge of attractiveness is based largely on her BMI (a ratio of weight to height). British researchers ran a study, published in the medical journal Lancet, involving 40 male under- graduates who evaluated images of 50 women, all of whom had their faces obscured. The women possessed varying degrees of BMI. The men consistently rated those women with a BMI of 20 as most attractive (which correlates as an ideal weight according to weight-control guidelines). The authors theorize that body mass index is closely related to fertility and health and is programmed into men’s instinctual senses.

High Fructose Corn Syrup – the Evil Sweetener

In the old days, before 1970, processed sugar came from sugar cane or sugar beets. Nowadays, mostly every product sweetened has high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a cheaper and more deadly product. HFCS contains nearly twice the amount of fructose in the previous sugars. Fructose contains no enzymes, vitamins or minerals and it drains micronutrients from the body.

Studies to “explore whether fructose consumption might be a contributing factor to the development of obesity and the accompanying metabolic abnormalities observed in the insulin resistance syndrome” (published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition), have found that HFCS can interfere with the heart's utilization of magnesium, copper and chromium; has been identified in causing elevated blood cholesterol levels and inhibiting the immune system's white blood cells; and diminishes the relationship of insulin for its receptor, leading to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes – great stuff!

A study at University of California, Davis found fructose-sweetened drinks lead to the develop- ment of fatty artery deposits in overweight adults more than glucose-sweetened ones. Fructose has been shown to be a contributor to the classic manifestations of insulin resistance syndrome. Read labels carefully. If you must sweeten the taste of food, use honey or an artificial sweetener.

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Sources: Visceral Fat Is an Independent Predictor of All-cause Mortality in Men Obesity (2006) 14, 336–341; doi: 10.1038/oby.2006.43 Protect Your Heart: Choose Fats Wisely (Trans Fats) American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/well-being/Choose-Fats.jsp) Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (Fatty Liver Disease) Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov) Optimum Body-Mass Index and Maximum Sexual AttractivenessThe Lancet 1998 Aug 15;352(9127):548 Visual Cues to Female Physical Attractiveness Proceedings. Biological Sciences 1999 January 22; 266(1415): 211–218 Dietary Fructose Reduces Circulating Insulin and Leptin, Attenuates Postprandial Suppression of Ghrelin, and Increases Triglycerides in Women The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2004 Jun;89(6):2963-72

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