Stress And Belly Fat - Is It Connected?

One main contributor to belly fat: stress. You have to understand the relationship between stress and belly fat. Your stress level will determine how stressed out you become. There are many causes of stress and some of them are: physical, emotional, or chemical. Some of these stressors are very obvious and some aren't. However, stress can have a huge impact on your health.

What exactly is belly fat? Belly fat is where most of the fat originates from. The main problem with this fat is that it's difficult to burn it off. Belly fat is different than other areas of the body because the skin is much thicker in this area. The connective tissues and nerves that run through this fat are also more resilient, making it even harder to lose this fat.

Sugar and insulin are the main culprits for causing belly fat. Sugar is what gives you that bumpy stomach you see in the mirror when you have been snacking too late at night. Insulin is what makes you feel full so that you eat more. Unfortunately, both of these hormones will make you consume more calories than you should be. This extra calories are stored as visceral fat.

Acute stress will raise your cortisol and glucose levels. This is something that has a much longer effect on the fat cells in your body. Chronic stress, especially chronic job-related stress, will cause cortisol and glucose to go up even after an acute stress event. This is an "acute stress response" that lasts about four to five hours.

This is why the biggest threat to your health is not a physical threat; it's a mental one. When we're stressed we are often thinking about what could happen. We worry about our jobs or finances. We get angry over things. We have cravings because we are thinking about food even when there are no cravings present. These cravings and the stress that accompanies them make us consume more calories and increase our weight.

What about the liver? The liver is designed to deal with all the extra glucose and fructose in your system. If you can't use the liver for its usual function, then your insulin and cortisol levels will spike and you'll be loading up on unwanted fructose and glucose. This will lead to excess belly fat because you are using up your liver to deal with the increased load. In addition to having extra belly fat, your liver is also increasing the risk for high blood pressure.

Stress and cravings can lead to weight gain and increased appetite. There is a direct correlation between stress and cravings. The greater the stress, the greater the cravings for sweets or foods with high sugar content. When your body perceives stress as something stressful, it releases hormones that increase appetite, leading to over-eating and obesity.

Our eating habits contribute to our stress and hormonal imbalance. So if you want to maintain optimal health, then you need to avoid stress and eat healthy. Start today by eating a diet with lots of vegetables and fruits, and lots of protein and fiber - high in carbohydrates and good fats, such as nuts and seeds.

Next, keep cortisol levels down by learning how to deactivate the inflammatory response. High cortisol levels are the biggest problem when it comes to insulin resistance. High levels of cortisol are indicative of being stressed or of chronic illness. Cortisol activates the "fight or flight" response. In short, it leads to excess belly fat and type 2 diabetes.

There are many ways to reduce cortisol levels. Exercise and diet can help, but they do not address the issue of excess glucose. That's where our second line of defense, the Glycogone Enzyme Release System comes in. This is a proprietary blend of herbs, amino acids and natural enzymes that allows our bodies to efficiently produce insulin, which prevents excessive glucose from being stored as fat.

As you can see, the most effective way to reduce cortisol production and levels remains keeping stress and glucose levels as stable as possible. This allows your body to respond to stress in a healthy way that does not lead to long term damage. It also allows you to maintain healthy blood glucose levels. In the long run, this means you will have an improved quality of life and will be less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, hypertension and other serious health issues.