Understanding insulin resistance

What is visceral adipose tissue and why is it important?

Visceral adipose tissue is the fat found deep within the abdominal cavity underneath the muscle layer and surrounds the organs found there. This includes the liver, the pancreas, the kidneys, the adrenal glands, the spleen, and more.

A certain amount of fat in this cavity is important to protect the organs. However, whenever the fat in this cavity begins to increase beyond what is considered healthy, this can have a variety of bad health consequences.

Lack of physical activity

Sugar-sweetened beverages (regular sodas and juice)

Ultra-refined and ultra-processed foods

All of the above are associated with increased visceral adipose tissue.

High amounts of visceral adipose tissue, in turn, increase the risk of:

*heart disease

*insulin resistance

*diabetes

*obesity

*fatty liver disease - which, unfortunately, is on track to become the number one cause of cirrhosis here in the U.S.