Visceral fat is what bothers millions of Americans.
But many people don’t know what it is, or how to lose it.
Having high levels of visceral fat, such as diabetes and affecting heart health, can be at risk for your health.
This article explores the relationship between diabetes and visceral fat and summarizes what you can do to lose visceral fat.
What is visceral fat?
Visceral fat, also known as intraperitoneal fat, is fat deep inside the abdominal cavity.
This is body fat packed between the organs of the lower abdomen, including the intestines, stomach, liver, pancreas and kidneys.
Visceral fat differs from fat just below the skin known as subcutaneous fat.
Subcutaneous fat can be detected by gently pinching the skin from the body.
It is mainly found around the waist, thighs, bottom and belly.
However, visceral fat cannot be seen directly from the outside. It can be seen around the abdomen and abdomen.
Visceral fat usually accounts for about 10% of a person’s body fat. As the overall fat increases, the amount of visceral fat usually increases proportionally.
However, many factors can cause increased visceral fat beyond the expected levels.
Excess visceral fat is known as abdominal obesity.
Too much visceral fat can be dangerous to your health.
Does sugar cause visceral fat?
While many foods and behaviors can contribute to excess visceral fat, sugar intake is actually a key factor.
A 2020 study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that diets containing sugar and sugar-subscribed drinks were associated with increased visceral fat.
This study found that consumption of 50 grams or more of additional sugar per day is associated with higher amounts of visceral fat, in addition to higher body mass index (BMI) scores.
We also established that drinking sugary drinks correlate with more volumes of visceral fat and the amount of fat found around the heart.
If you are trying to lose visceral fat, consider avoiding foods with sugar or refined carbohydrates.
What are the main causes of visceral fat?
Calories imbalances and poor diet are the main causes of excess visceral fat and abdominal obesity.
Sugar, sugar-added drinks, refined carbohydrates, and high-calorie fatty foods are key contributors to the increase in visceral fat.
A sedentary lifestyle contributes to visceral fat as it brings more calories than going out. Your metabolism tends to slow down without consistent exercise.
Other secondary factors are also important contributors.
If you don’t get enough sleep and are exposed to too much stress over the long term, your body can also play a role in preserving excessive visceral fat.
Just like acute stress, lack of sleep increases cortisol (stress hormone) levels in your body. This increases the amount of visceral fat stored by the body.
Overprocessed foods, unhealthy hydrogenated vegetable oils, and trans fats can also be the cause.
If you have diabetes, how do you remove visceral fat?
Studies have shown that visceral fat is a major determinant of the extent to which a person experiences insulin resistance.
Research also suggests that too much visceral fat is associated with both type 2 diabetes and prediabetes.
Excessive visceral fat can guide the human body and lead to an excessive inflammatory response. This can have many negative health effects.
Abdominal obesity associated with having high levels of visceral fat is also associated with high cholesterol, hyperglycemia (hyperglycemia), heart disease, high blood pressure and high risk of stroke.
For this reason, many healthcare providers recommend trying to reduce excessive visceral fat if diabetics have it.
Fortunately, people with diabetes can reduce the amount of visceral fat in their bodies. Some great first steps are:
Eating healthy foods
It’s important to look at calories, but it’s also important to add protein (particularly lean protein) and fiber, especially from vegetables, beans and legumes. It limits or eliminates trans fats, sugar-added drinks, refined carbohydrates, and over-processed foods. Add healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil.
Add more movement
There is a big difference in exercise consistently every day at least 30 minutes. Aerobic exercises such as resistance activities such as jogging and weightlifting can help you burn calories and increase your resting metabolic rate.
Drink plenty of water
Maintaining hydration is important and can help reduce thirst, which can otherwise be quenched by unhealthy options such as soda or excess alcohol.
Get a higher quality sleep
Getting enough sleep is important to maintain healthy levels of stress hormones.
Manage your stress levels
Long-term stress can have many negative effects, such as the body retaining excessive visceral fat. Breathing exercises, getting out in nature, meditating, or taking a break with friends and family can help you manage your stress hormones.
Keeps blood sugar levels within range
In addition to the myriad health benefits of staying in range, people generally feel better when they don’t have too much hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia. This means it’s easier to keep going smoothly with other health goals.
Does metformin reduce visceral fat?
Many people with diabetes are prescribed the oral drug metformin.
Metformin is primarily used to help keep blood sugar levels low in people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.
A 2017 human and animal studies found that taking metformin can help reduce visceral fat mass in some circumstances.
Since then, many studies have confirmed that taking metformin as prescribed can help people who are overweight or obese lose weight.
The biggest weight loss benefit for people taking metformin comes when they incorporate more moderately intense physical activity and at the same time bring about healthy dietary changes.
If you are prescribing metformin or similar medications, it is important to consult with your doctor or healthcare provider for guidance on starting your diet and exercise.
Which foods burn visceral fat?
If you are trying to burn visceral fat, we recommend cooking as many meals as possible at home. This gives you more control over the ingredients and portion sizes.
Whether you cook food at home or go out or not, there is a handful of foods that can help your body wash away excess visceral fat.
Here are some great foods to consider:
Legumes and beans
Beans and legumes are rich in protein and have plenty of fiber, which means they are low in pure carbohydrates.
Salmon, sardines and other fatty fish
In addition to being an excellent source of protein, the high levels of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are known to be healthy and are hypothesized to help reduce visceral fat.
Dark lush green
Greens such as spinach, chard and kale are great sources of micronutrients and fiber.
Fermented food
Eating fermented foods is a good way to help your body reduce excess visceral fat. This is because it helps them support the gut microbiota. Intestinal health plays an important role in metabolism and fat storage.
Avocado and extra virgin olive oil
These are healthier sources of fat than refined vegetable oils and processed trans fats. These healthy fats are satisfying and can be easily added to your diet.
nuts
Nuts are an excellent source of protein, healthy fats and fiber. Everything is important for burning visceral fat. However, don’t forget to come a little longer because nuts are packed with calories.
Spices, garlic, onions
As important as flavor, adding food aromas and irritating flavors like garlic can help reduce excess visceral fat, improve heart health, and improve intestinal microbiome health.
It is important to experiment and check what is best for your body, energy, and blood sugar levels.
Your nutritionist and your healthcare provider can also help you assess dietary changes that are safe and helpful for your goals.
Conclusion
Visceral fat, also known as intraperitoneal fat, is fat deep inside the abdominal cavity.
Everyone has visceral fat.
However, excess visceral fat, also known as abdominal obesity, can be extremely dangerous to a person’s health. It is associated with heart disease, hypertension and insulin resistance.
Visceral fat is also associated with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Calories imbalances and poor diet are the main causes of excess visceral fat and abdominal obesity. Eating a diet with too much refined sugar is also a risk factor.
Reducing excess visceral fat has benefits, allowing diabetics to fight visceral fat through a combination of diet and exercise changes.
Metformin is hypothesized to help burn visceral fat, but it appears to be the most effective when taken in combination with a healthy diet and a consistent exercise routine.
Finally, there are foods that can help you burn visceral fat. Cooking at home is a great way to ensure that those foods are integrated into your diet.
The information and strategies found in this article will help you lose excess visceral fat and better understand the relationship between visceral fat and diabetes.
