Why a Fat Belly Increases Heart Attack Risk

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Why a Fat Belly Increases Heart Attack Risk

A study from Denmark shows why having a fat belly and

elevated triglycerides markedly increases your chances of

suffering a heart attack (Circulation, Volume 111, 2005). Your

body makes triglycerides from sugar. Abdominal obesity comes

from high blood insulin levels. When you eat, your blood sugar

level rises. To prevent blood sugar levels from rising too high,

your pancreas releases insulin, which converts blood sugar to a

type of fat called triglyceride. Insulin also drives triglycerides into

the fat cells in your belly. So having high triglycerides and a fat

belly are signs of high blood insulin levels, and high blood levels

of insulin constrict arteries to cause heart attacks.

Fat cells in your belly are different from those on your

hips. The blood that flows from belly fat goes directly to your

liver, whereas the blood that flows from your hips goes into your

general circulation. The livers of those who store fat in their

bellies are blocked from removing insulin by the extra fat and

therefore do not remove insulin from the bloodstream as

effectively as the livers of people who store fat primarily in their

hips. People who store fat primarily in their bellies have higher

blood insulin and sugar levels, which raise levels of the bad LDL

cholesterol that causes heart attacks, and lower levels of the

good HDL cholesterol that prevents heart attacks.

If you store fat primarily in your belly you should restrict

refined carbohydrates found in foods made with flour, white rice,

milled corn or added sugars. See

http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/N196.html