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Hands down, visceral fat or visceral adipose tissue (VAT) could be the most dangerous thing inside your body. I am shocked we are not having more conversations surrounding visceral fat and the profound health implications it has on our bodies. When measuring health and talking about chronic diseases, visceral fat somehow goes without mention.
For this post, I aim to raise your awareness about visceral fat, highlight recent studies by Dr. Sean O'Mara, and list ways to reduce visceral fat and begin transforming your body into an optimal state.
What is Visceral Fat?
Visceral fat is a type of fat stored deep inside the body. This fat is stored underneath the subcutaneous fat and burrows in the peritoneum (abdominal cavity). In contrast to subcutaneous fat, visceral fat is hard to pinch and resembles a solid substance.
An indicator of visceral fat is most notably seen in protruding abdomens - imagine an apple-shaped torso.
Data and research connect high visceral fat to heart attacks, strokes, type-2 diabetes, various cancers, Alzheimer's, and many other chronic diseases.
Is it possible to reduce visceral fat and its negative health implications through dietary intervention alone? Absolutely! Read below for tips on how to start reducing visceral fat and becoming a more optimal being.
Dr. Sean O'Mara’s research provides both studies below. Sean is doing incredible work in this area right now, and I highly recommend giving him a follow at @drseanomara on IG and @DrSeanOMara for Twitter.
Case Study #1
The patient is a 68-year-old male who wanted no exercise and only dietary intervention.
Dr. Sean O'Mara put his patient on a meat and vegetable (whole) based diet with a heavy emphasis on eliminating processed foods and seed oils.
The MRI image below shows us a cross-sectional view of the patient's abdominal cavity from Week 0 - Week 35.
Looking at the image, we see that the patient had unbelievable results in visceral fat reduction in just 35 weeks. Even the first two weeks of dietary change are highly notable.
Highlights:
The patient only made dietary changes. Again, NO EXERCISE
Visceral Fat Loss went from 5.6lbs to 1.8lbs!
Dietary changes focused on eliminating processed foods and seed oils.
Week 2 - Week 5 patient reintroduced processed foods and seed oils (pizza and chips). Here we see an increase of 0.3lbs of visceral fat in the MRI image.
The patient reinstates the elimination of processed foods and seed oils, and we see a dramatic decrease in visceral fat and body composition.
Without a doubt, the amount of visceral fat reduction led to a substantial overall weight loss.
The shrinkage in diameter from the belly button to back muscles over the 35-week study is staggering.
This gives us another example of why the mainstream idea of eating less and moving more health model is flawed. This patient did no exercise and only changed the types of food consumed and radically improved his performance, body composition, and overall metabolic health.
I am a huge advocate for exercise and strongly promote it when working with people. But this study demonstrates that a healthy dietary intervention alone contains the power to unlock and achieve optimal health.
Case Study #2
For this next study, we will view a before and after image of a cerebral MRI scan. This patient had elevated visceral fat, which led to atherosclerosis in the brain.
While working with his patients on visceral fat loss, Sean noted that individuals were claiming to have heightened cognitive functions, thinking more clearly, and feeling quicker in their tasks. This feedback from patients led Sean to start capturing images of arteries in the brain.
Below is an image of the 'Circle of Willis.' I added this to give you an overview of the arterial branches throughout the brain.
Below is the patient’s first image that shows us an MRI of the brain's arteries that have developed plaques. These are the obvious darkened areas within the arteries. I labeled the most noticeable ones, but several other locations are impacted—the darkening displays where the blood flow has been affected, and atherosclerosis in the brain has developed. In one area, we can see what looks like a disjointed artery.
Here is the same patient nine months later. How freaking cool is that!!
All the arteries are lighting up, and we no longer see the darkened areas that show plaque formation. Blood is now traveling freely through the arteries and has replaced the plaques!
Sean put this client on a low-carb, high-fat Ketogenic diet, and the results are simply astonishing. Sean reports that this client lost a significant amount of visceral fat, overall weight, and the patient greatly enhanced his cognition.
Just look at the vast difference in blood flow and the complete absence of atherosclerosis in the brain.
If you want to achieve optimal health in your brain and body, start immediately focusing on reducing and getting rid of visceral fat.
Five tips to reduce visceral fat
Eliminate Processed Foods and Seed Oils
Eat a lower carbohydrate diet. Keeping your carbohydrate intake under 30% of calories is easily achievable.
Carbohydrate sources need to be in their whole form. Think fruits and low-toxic vegetables
Increase your fat and protein intake. These macros should be fundamental to your health and health goals. A focus on these foods will, without a doubt, help you achieve an optimal state.
Consume more fermented foods. Fermented foods like kefir, unsweetened yogurt, sauerkraut, apple cider vinegar, and kimchi will start promoting the beneficial microbes in your digestive tract and starve out the harmful ones.
The harmful microbes are responsible for your cravings for processed foods, sugar, seed oils, and other junk that serves no purpose in our bodies. The sooner you eliminate these detrimental microbes, the quicker your cravings for harmful foods subsides.
Bonus tips for visceral fat reduction:
Start getting adequate sleep.
Get outside and get sunlight.
Do HIIT training or sprint interval training (my favorite)
Reduce your cortisol levels
For an accurate biomarker of chronic diseases and illnesses within the human body, measure and track your visceral fat. If your visceral fat is elevated, then immediately start implementing the tips listed above.
Here is a video from Dr. Sean O'Mara's youtube channel on how you can measure and track your visceral fat without an MRI scan:
If you have any questions, concerns, or just general comments, I would love to hear from you.
I’m here to help!
Take care of yourself and each other,
- Zach Winfield
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