Remarkable Myths And Facts About Body Fat

Body fat: that's the reason that your looking at this article. Irrespective of whether you want to lose body fat from your whole body or if you're looking to just get a leaner stomach, you want to look and feel great. Apart from the fact that fat does not look very nice, your health in the long-term is directly connected to the amount of excess body fat that you have.

But first, let's get one thing clear from the start. Body fat in and of itself is not bad. You do need some fat on your body for a number of reasons. However excessive body fat can lead to problems.

Myths And Facts About Body Fat.

Fat is the second energy resource in your body. The first is dietary sugars and starches. You must have blood sugar to maintain your body processes. After approximately 10 minutes of heavy work or exercise, dietary energy sources give out. Your body then starts to take energy from the tissues around them which is usually the fat stored in the tissues. It takes this stored fat and converts it into sugar, which is then used for energy.

A woman is curvier because of fat and in spite of social and cultural "norms" pushed on us through Hollywood and advertisements, a woman's body comes hardwired to have fat stores in a number of places, especially because of her childbearing potential. While women may struggle with it, they will store fat around their stomach and thighs particularly during their childbearing years as a internal protection when pregnant.

Why you don't want to drop body fat completely.

Another purpose for body fat is that it insulates you from adverse temperatures - both heat and cold. Like a layer of blankets, fat acts to protect your internal organs from temperature extremes.

Fat is also the main pad on the base of your feet and the palms of your hands. Think about trying to walk on your bones for a moment and then be grateful for fat. Fat is used to pad organs throughout your body, too. This is a bit like when we stuff paper into a box before sealing it up to stop the contents from moving around.

The dangers of excess body fat.

So now we know we do need some body fat. The problem is obviously that the majority of us carry too much overall body fat, which shows up as a spare tire around our waistline or as embarrassing saddle bags.

Excess belly fat leads to problems with chronic diseases. There has been a direct relationship between the accumulation of belly fat and diabetes. Many people are ignorant to the fact that diabetes is the leading cause of blindness and a major cause of kidney disease.

In addition to this, diabetes increases your chance of having heart disease and suffering from a stroke by almost 400%. Suffering from heart disease is one of the reasons to lose body fat if you've got too much of it. When you're at risk for heart disease, you're also at risk for stroke. Strokes occur when blood vessels in the brain burst. This can cause death of specific areas of the brain that go without oxygen and nutrients.