Excess Abdominal Fat is Not Only Ugly, but Extremely Dangerous to Your Health - This is More Than a Vanity Issue!

The difference between subcutaneous fat and the more deadly "visceral fat"

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
author of best-selling program:  The Truth about Six-Pack Abs

Although this picture depicts an extremely overweight man, this article applies to dangerous types of fat inside the bodies of both men and women... and this discussion also applies even if you only have a slight amount of excess stomach fat.

Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat?  It's true -- as much as 70% of the population in some "westernized" countries such as the US and Australia are now considered either overweight or obese.  The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.

However, what most people don't realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly determined that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.

There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.

The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that "beer belly" appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.

Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown thathaving excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat.  Both types of fat greatly increase your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases. 

Excess stomach fat has also been associated in studies with higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of inflammation within the body that can lead to heart disease and other health issues.

Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that studies show that it releases more inflammatory molecules into your system on a consistent basis.

One of the major reasons that some people accumulate more visceral fat than others can be from a high carbohydrate diet that leads to insulin resistance over time (years of bombarding your system with too much sugars and starches for your body to properly handle the constant excess blood sugar) ... and studies show that high fructose intake particularly from high-fructose corn syrup can be a major contributor to excess visceral fat.

If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat (including reducing visceral fat) should be one of your TOP priorities! There's just no way around it. Besides, a side effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those attractive six pack abs that everyone wants.

So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat, including visceral fat? 

Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for "miracle" fat loss products?

The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can't spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn't work that way.

The only solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.

I've actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise & diet combined group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group.

Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this every day at the gym.

Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.

Well, the good news is that I've spent over a decade researching this topic, analyzing the science, and applying it "in the trenches" with myself as well as thousands of my clients from all over the world to see what works to really stimulate abdominal fat loss.

From my research, two of the most important aspects to getting rid of visceral fat are:

1. The use of high intensity forms of exercise and full-body resistance training.  Low intensity cardio exercise simply isn't as effective for removing visceral fat in particular.  High intensity exercise such as interval training or full-body weight training are very effective at helping to improve your body's ability to manage glucose and increases insulin sensitivity, a crucial step in removing visceral fat.  These types of high intensity exercise routines are also very effective at increasing your fat-burning hormones and creating a hormonal environment conducive to burning off abdominal fat, including visceral fat.

2.  In addition, it's vitally important to get blood sugar under control to help restore insulin sensitivity through the right nutrition.  This means greatly reducing sugars and refined starches in your diet (including fully eliminating any use of harmful high fructose corn syrup!), and focusing more of your diet on healthy fats (such as avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut fat, olive oil, free-range eggs, fatty fish and fish oils, etc), as well as increasing protein and fiber intake.  The standard diet recommended by the government, which contains an unnaturally high grain intake is NOT conducive to controlling blood sugar and reducing visceral fat! 

Reducing grain-based foods in your diet and getting more of your carbs from veggies and high fiber fruits such as berries can go a long way to helping to solve this problem.

Learn the Truth about Losing Your Stomach Fat Permanently

You may not realize this, but the entire basis of my Truth about Six Pack Abs program is NOT about abs exercises... instead, it's actually about detailed strategies for both nutrition and exercise that maximize your ability to lose abdominal fat.  The entire solution... all of the nutritional strategies, as well as training sequences, exercise combinations, and more have all been compiled in my Truth About Six Pack Abs Program in order to help you to burn stomach fat faster.

Keep in mind that the whole point of this program is NOT abdominal exercises (that is only a very small portion of it). The main point of this program is showing you the absolute most effective nutritional strategies for losing your stubborn abdominal fat, and maximizing a fat-burning hormonal environment in your body so you can get rid of that dangerous health risk, as well as get a flatter more defined midsection.

If you follow the guidelines, you WILL lose your belly fat that has been plaguing you for years. This is not guesswork... it is a proven system that works time and time again for all of my clients on every corner of the globe that actually apply these strategies. If you apply it, the results will come. It's really that simple.

One of the main reasons that most people fail in their fitness goals is that they have good intentions at first to adopt a new lifestyle, yet after a few weeks or months, they abandon their good intentions and slip right back into their old bad habits that gave them the excess body fat in the first place.

I want to help you succeed in finally getting rid of that extra abdominal fat that is not only UGLY, but also DANGEROUS. A lot of people have emailed my support team with questions about whether they need any special equipment for these workouts, if they're too old or too young for this program, if the diet tips will apply to them, etc.  I've made a page that should answer all of your questions...

FAQ - Questions about the Truth about Six Pack Abs abdominal fat loss program

Also, I completely understand that you're skeptical if this will actually work for you... so I think you'll want to see some of the reader reviews from people just like you that are using the system and getting killer results...

Reader Reviews of the Truth about Six Pack Abs abdominal fat loss program

Don't waste another day allowing that nasty abdominal fat to kill your confidence as well as contribute to your risk for MAJOR diseases.

Get the solution to rid yourself for life of this problem by reading more details about this unique workout and diet program at the home page -- Losing Dangerous Abdominal Fat

Train hard, eat right, and enjoy life!

Ayurveda approach to Genital Herpes

Dosha theory which help in diagnosis of the diseases

According to ayurveda three doshas or three energetic forces control the activities of the body. These doshas are
1.Vata
2.Pitta
3.Kapha

VATA: The Vata dosha is the most important of the three doshas. It has been said in ayurveda classic books that pitta , Kapha and all other body tissues are considered lame without assistance of VATA . Vata dominates the lower part of the body, which is below umbilicus. The movements of body fluid, metabolism, elimination of waste products, semen ejaculation, pushing the fetus out of body, relaying stimulus to brain and response to organs and tissues, heart beat, respiration, body movements etc are assisted by VATA.

Vata dominated regions are intestines, lumbar region, ears, bones and skin.

Vata gets vitiated due to following reasons.
1.Controlling natural urges like urination, defecation, hunger, thirst, etc.
2.Late nights.
3.Irregular food habits.
4.Talking in a high pitch.
5.Over physical and mental exertion.
6.Consumption of spicy, dry, bitter foods.
7.Exposure to severe dry and cold climate.

The opposites of above-mentioned reason normalize the vitiated vata.

PITTA: The pitta dosha assists the body fire or Agni, which plays a major role in bodys metabolic activities. The locations where pitta dominates are digestive system, skin, eyes, brain, and blood. Pitta maintains body temperature. The secretions like digestive juices pigments like melanin (bhrajaka pitta), hemoglobin (ranjaka pitta) are all types of pitta.

Pitta is dominant in regions of Umbilicus, stomach, sweat, lymph, blood, eyes and skin.

Vata gets vitiated due to following reasons.
1.Excess consumption of spicy, sour, salty foods.
2.Consuming alcohol in excess.
3.Over exposure to hot sunny climate.
4.Short temperedness.
5.Using dried vegetables.
6.Indigestion of food.

The opposites of above-mentioned reason normalize the vitiated pitta.

KAPHA: Kapha provides bulk to body, lubrications, moistness, fertility, stability, strength, and memory. Helps in binding process wherever necessary. This is heaviest of all doshas.

Kapha dominated regions are chest, neck, head, stomach, body fat, nose and tongue

Kapha gets vitiated due to following reasons.
1.Sleeping in daytime.
2.Consuming sweets , chilled food, in excess.
3.Consuming fish, sesame, sugarcane, milk and milk products.

The opposites of above-mentioned reason normalize the vitiated kapha.

When these doshas are in balanced condition the body remains healthy. If these doshas get imbalanced the body succumbs to diseases. Doshas get imbalanced frequently due to change in climate, seasons, lifestyles, diet etc. The treatment is to bring back the doshas to normalcy and expel the toxin or ama produced during the imbalanced condition.

Causes of Genital Herpes
Herpes is caused by a virus the herpes simplex virus (HSV), which belongs to the same family of viruses that cause chickenpox. There are two types of herpes simplex viruses
1.Herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) and mostly causes oral herpes
2.Herpes simplex type 2 (HSV-2). And mostly causes genital herpes
However, both type-1 and type-2 can occur in the genitals, oral area or both.
Due to unhealthy life styles and diet the delicate balance between doshas get disturbed. This disturbs the body fire or Agni.
(Agni is the body fire, which is responsible for transformation of one substance to another. It breaks down the food substances, eliminates toxins and wastes, maintains body temperature, and resists the invasion of microbes by maintaining strong body immunity.
The body fire, which is assisted by balanced doshas, digests the food completely to form Pakwa Anna rasa (the liquid form of food which is completely digested by digestive enzymes), which is ready to get absorbed by body tissues. According to ayurveda Pakwa Anna Rasa nourishes the body and its components to keep the body devoid of diseases. But when body fire is impaired there will be an incomplete digestion of food forming Apakwa Rasa (indigested food). The indigested food fails to nourish the body components leading to lowered body resistance.)

The disturbed Agni fails to digest the food and toxins get accumulated in body due to improper metabolism. Accumulation of toxins reduces the body immunity and paves the way for invasion by microbes.
When a person who has low immunity comes in contact with HSV virus, he/she gets the genital or oral herpes.
Unhealthy lifestyle
1.Over eating
2.Sleeping in afternoons.
3.Over physical exertion.
4.Over mental exertion
5.Consuming food frequently even when not hungry.
6.Constant exposure to hot sunny climates
Unhealthy diet
Excessive consumption of
1. Salty, sour, hot, spicy food.
2.Sour curds
3.Alcohol.
4.Cheese
5.Charred and overcooked food.
6.Sesame, Bengal gram, horse gram, sesame oil, rice flour, garlic, fish.
Opposite foods
1.Curds, salt, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, sour fruits, meat, prawn, pork, should not be consumed with milk. The above-mentioned foods should not be consumed by mixing one item with another.
2.Sprouts, honey and milk should not be consumed with meat and fish.
3.Fish & milk: fish &sugarcane juice; jaggery & pork; honey & pork; milk & mango; banana & milk; are opposite foods.
The Transmission Of genital Herpes
A person can get genital herpes in following conditions
1.If he is sexual active and when he performs sex (oral or genital) with infected partners.
2.A person who has oral herpes transmits herpes to genital organs of a partner during oral sex and a person who has genital herpes transmits this to his partner during coitus when they have a genital contact.
3.The disease gets transmitted when mucous membrane comes in contact with infected area.
The disease gets transmitted mostly during active phase. But it may spread even during asymptomatic (when person is free of symptoms for a particular duration) phase. The virus needs a fluid media for its transportation. The body fluids like saliva, semen, vaginal tract secretions etc. Mucous membranes in mouth, vagina, urethra or open wounds facilitate the virus invasion due to their moistness.
In Genital herpes there is an imbalance of all three doshas (VATA, PITTA, KAPHA), which in turn vitiate lasika (lymph), blood (rakta), muscle (mamsa) and skin (twacha).
The imbalanced doshas vitiate skin and the immunity of skin cells is lowered. The virus attacks these weak cells and starts exhibiting symptoms on affected area.
Local symptoms
1.Pricking sensation
2.Edema
3.Pain
4.Feeling of constriction
5.A sensation of ant creeping
6.Many small eruptions gathering in a small area.
7.These eruptions or blisters burst soon with exudates.
8.These blisters will have different colors according to involvement of doshas. (Blackish red or blue in vata, red, yellow, copper colored in pitta, shades of white in kapha).

The weakened body immune system tries to resist the virus invasion but fails to achieve the goal. In this futile attempt the following systemic symptoms are exhibited.

Systemic symptoms
1.Fever
2.Weakness
3.Indigestion
4.Impaired bowels
5.Increased frequency of urination.
6.Body pain.
7.Increased thirst.

Imbalanced vata causes the symptoms like pain, swelling and body ache

The imbalanced pitta and vitiated blood and skin cause
1.Blisters,
2.Change the color of skin,
3.Cause burning sensation, and fever.

The imbalanced kapha and vitiated lymph cause itching, tingling sensation.

After the first attack the virus moves from skin through the nerve paths to base of the nerve and becomes inactive. Now the herpes infected person will be devoid of all symptoms. But the imbalance of doshas still persists.
Reactivation of Virus to cause outbreaks
At unpredictable times, the virus becomes active. It multiplies and resurfaces on skin by traveling through the nerve path and exhibits the symptoms locally. The severity of symptoms of out break depends on the strength of body immunity.
The pelvis or shroni, nerves and skin are dominated by vata. When vata gets vitiated due to precipitating factors, it reactivates the virus dormant in base of nerve end and the virus travel through nerve paths to reach the skin surface.
Precipitating Factors
As we know the outbreaks have few precipitating factors like
1.Excessive exposure to sun.
2.Illness,
3.Poor diet,
4.Emotional stress
5.Physical stress,
6.Friction,
7.Steroids
8.Menstruation.
9.Emotional stress.
10.Genital trauma and intercourse.
11.Repeated infections such as a cold or pneumonia.
These factors increase vata and increased vata activates the virus, which is dormant.
Low Immunity The systemically imbalanced doshas interfere with the body metabolism by vitiating the body fire (agni). This leads to indigestion and malassimilation of nutrients, which in turn causes poor immunity. Due to decreased immunity the body fails to offer resistance to outbreaks.

Ayurveda Tips to avoid outbreaks

Avoid
1.Spicy, sour, fried and junk food, which aggravates vata.
2.Precipitating factors.
3.Sleeping in afternoon.
4.Meat products over fried or deep fried in oil or fat.
5. Charred and overcooked food.
6. Consuming opposite food like fish and milk etc
7. Physical exertion after a meal
8. Taking bath immediately after exercise or heavy outdoor work.

Include honey, pomegranate, and fruits of Emblica officinalis, legumes, dates and raisins in your diet.
Practice Yoga and Meditation to control emotional disturbances
Ayurveda References
1. Sushruta Samhita
2.Charaka Samhita
3.Madhava nidana
4.Ashtanga Sangraha
5.Yoga Ratnakara

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Attacking the Deadly Herpes Virus with Acyclovir

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are thousands of Americans who are infected with one of the most active virus known to man — the Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV). Scientists have been studying how the virus works because it is among the most difficult to control. The virus

has spread to different countries around the world. It causes a variety of illnesses, including mucocutaneous infections. or herpes simplex virus (HSV), is one of the most common agents infecting humans of all ages.

There are two types of Herpes virus, namely: Type 1 Herpes which is carried by over 80 per cent of the population and is the culprit behind recurrent cold sores; and Type 2 Herpes which affects five to 20 per cent of the population. This type is often associated with genital herpes.

Studies show that genital herpes simplex virus infects more than 1 of 5 adolescents and adults. It is more common in blacks than in whites, and more likely to infect women than men. Most people with genital herpes don’t know they have it, and are unaware that they are spreading it to others. Many have no symptoms or mistake their symptoms for something else such as jock itch, insect bites, hemorrhoids, yeast infections, razor burn, or allergies to laundry detergent.

Infection in the genital region initially produces a painful, red, ulcerating crop of lesions that can spread over a wide area and may involve the perinuem and anus. Genital infection can also be associated with temporary numbness in the affected area, swelling glands in the groin, difficulty passing urine, and fever. Occasionally, primary infections such as these can also trigger viral meningitis.

Some years ago, genital herpes was diagnosed solely by visual inspection and laboratory culture of an active sore. Today, herpes may be diagnosed with a blood test, even when no symptoms are apparent or after sores have healed. Antiviral drugs have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in reducing the infection.

There is no cure for any herpes viruses. Once a person caught a herpes virus it stays in the body for life although it is latent most of the time. However, a medication that can treat the outbreaks and symptoms of herpes as well as reduce future outbreaks is available.

Acyclovir is a drug used for the treatment of several conditions including herpes infections. Acyclovir medication is available over the counter and commonly known under the brand name Zovirax. Acyclovir medication Zovirax is usually used for the treatment of facial cold sores.

Acyclovir ointment is used topically to treat initial genital herpes where it has been shown to decrease pain, reduce healing time, and limit the spread of the infection. Acyclovir is also available as a prescription tablet used to treat genital herpes infections and to treat patients with recurrent severe genital herpes. The dosage will be determined by the doctor. It is very common to prescribe a 5-day course of 3 tablets a day taken with 4 hour intervals, but this may vary. It is very important not to miss any doses because the patient needs to keep the level of Acyclovir up in their body. This episodic treatment will reduce the severity, frequency and duration of the outbreak as well as reduce future outbreaks and reduce the risk of spreading. Acyclovir can also be used to treat chicken pox and acts to reduce the healing time, limit the number of lesions, and reduce fever if used within the first 24 hours after the onset of the disease.

However, before starting to take this medicine, it is vital for a person with herpes to consult a doctor. Most anti-viral medications should not be used without medical advice or doctor’s prescription.

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