By the USANA ANZ
Marketing Team
Skinny fat is a term that describes a person who is in a
healthy weight range but has more body fat than is healthy. Skinny fat is also
termed Metabolically Obese Normal Weight (MONW). It relates to the way fat
tissue is carried in the body. And, whether the body fat is visible or is invisible
(i.e. located deep inside you coating vital organs such as the heart, kidneys,
liver and pancreas). Too
much body fat (especially belly fat) causes metabolic changes such as
inflammation. That’s because visceral fat, the fat stored deep inside you is
metabolically active, triggering inflammation which stops blood from flowing
freely.
Essentially skinny fat happens when you carry too much fat
and not enough muscle.
Dangers of being skinny
fat
A staggering one in four people with MONW have pre-diabetes
according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association and you
may be affected if:
·
You
have a waist measurement of greater than 94cm for men or 80cm for women. Belly
fat is an indicator of internal fat deposits, which can coat the internal
organs, and increase the risk of chronic disease.
·
You have an abnormal blood cholesterol profile i.e. if you
have high triglycerides, especially with a low HDL- or good cholesterol.
·
Your
blood sugar is consistently higher than normal range and/or if you are diabetic
and your blood glucose is not well controlled.
·
You
have insulin resistance. This is when insulin is being produced but cannot take
blood glucose into the cells in order to keep blood glucose levels to within
the normal range. Too much circulating insulin prevents the breakdown of fat in
body cells and encourages the production of more fat from the excess
circulating glucose.
·
You
have an abnormal liver function test. This can be an early indicator of excess
fat in the liver. Your doctor will discuss this with you.
What you can do?
Cut down on sugary carbohydrates and white bread, pasta and foods made from white flour.
- Choose low GI carbohydrates (NutrimealTM and USANA Snacks are both ultra-low GI).
Ditch soft drinks (including juices)
- Moderate alcohol (is also converted into triglycerides and stored in the liver and around the belly)
Try cereals like quinoa and amaranth which contain more protein and fewer carbs.
- Boost your aerobic exercise to cut down fat sores and increase strength training to help muscle fibres grow in size
Try a liver lovin’ cleanse with USANA’s HepaPlus™ supplement. It contains numerous ingredients including milk thistle extract, alpha lipoic acid to support healthy liver function. Alpha lipoic acid is a naturally occurring antioxidant that helps neutralize free radicals. Most antioxidants are either soluble in fat or water soluble so they can’t access every part of every cell. Alpha lipoic acid is able to enter both the fatty and aqueous (water-based) sections of the cell, boosting its ability to trap free radicals wherever they are.
HepaPlus contains choline a substance which
helps to emulsify (break down) fats. This helps them to be removed from the
liver. Food sources of choline include eggs, beef, salmon, wheat germ and
broccoli. All of these ingredients not only help cleanse and remove fat in
liver but they also help to regenerate cells.
Labels: #liverlovin'cleanse, #USANAAustralia, central obesity, HepaPlus™, insulin resistance, Nutrimeal, skinny fat, waist
