Monday, August 16, 2010

Watch Your Waist

Many of us carry a “spare tire” around our middles.

What you may not know is that it’s not merely a cosmetic problem.

Visceral adipose tissue (VAT)—fat around the waistlines—is much more metabolically active than fat stored elsewhere.

Studies reveal that excessive VAT is associated with elevation in triglycerides, insulin, blood pressure, and with lower levels of the protective HDL cholesterol.

VAT is also indicative of increased risk of coronary heart disease, metabolic syndrome (the increasingly popular term for “syndrome X,” caused by insulin resistance), and type 2 diabetes.

To determine if you are at risk, take a measuring tape and measure your bare abdomen at the point high above your hip bones (typically about an inch below your belly button). Gentlemen, if your waist measures over 37 inches and, ladies, if yours is over 34.5 inches, you need to take action.

Watching portion sizes, cutting out unhealthy fats and refined carbohydrates, and exercising regularly will help you lose VAT—and reduce your health risks exponentially.

(Source: Dr. Julian Whitaker’s Health and Healing, June 2004, thru World Research Foundation, USA)

Tidbits: A basic element of fitness (and, of course, keeping a trim waistline!) is physical activity. Whether you are fat or lean, daily exercise is vitally important to your health. Some doctors consider it the most important single factor for survival.

“The human organism is so perfectly operated and has so many uncontrollable forces that work to keep the organism alive and healthy that it is incredible that anyone should ever become ill or even die.” This view is contained in the book, The Lives of a Cell by noted medical researcher, Dr. Lewis Thomas.

Dr, Hans Selye, another famous authority—this time—on stress and its effect on health and longevity, claims that although our body needs a certain amount of stress, the amount must be carefully controlled.

It will not hurt you, he says, to work hard for something you really want, but first make sure that you really want it and that you have a reasonable chance of attaining it.

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