Causes of Belly Fat
Belly Fat: Why You Have It and How to Lose It
You probably don’t want to hear this but...
Belly fat is a gift from nature in a way because it gets our attention. Case in point: you’re reading this blog post. Now before you get mad at me and close your browser, we gotta have a talk because it's actually a matter of life and death.
A large waistline is a warning sign that the body is not using carbohydrates efficiently, thus it is storing the excess as fat. You may feel like the fat is unsightly, but if you go beyond pure vanity, you can start to treat the underlying problems while shrinking your waistline in the process.
The #1 contributor to belly fat
Now this blog post title was not a trick to bait you. I actually have a solution for you. If you want to lose belly fat, you have to do this: cut out the starch.
I know what you're thinking - come on now Sunshine, you already want me to go vegan, and now you want to take away my fries too??? Yes! This is important even if you don't have a lot of belly fat to lose, and here's why.
"Starch is a binder. It is what links two unequal chemicals... starch is not a food! Starch is a chemical."
Our ancestor Dr. Sebi warned us of the dangers of starch. But what exactly is starch, and what’s so bad about it?
Starch is a white, odorless substance that occurs naturally in plant tissues. It is a type of carbohydrate. Starch is also referred to as a complex carbohydrate since it is made up of long chains of sugar molecules.
Starchy foods include peas, corn, potatoes, yams, and legumes. While starch does occur in nature, there are man-made or processed foods that contain concentrated amounts of starch beyond what is found in nature. Breads, pasta, rice and other grains are processed foods that are very high in dietary starch. And guess what? During digestion we make our body work extra hard to break down these starches.
A Recipe for Diabetes
Complex carbs have to be broken down into simple carbohydrates and metabolized or processed by the pancreas. From there, the blood transports these newly converted sugars to the liver. When you eat an abundance of starchy foods, not only do your organs have to go into overdrive to break down and process the complex carbs, but your blood glucose (sugar) levels also spike.
The pancreas produces a hormone called insulin. Insulin is like a key that unlocks your cells so that sugar can enter and be used as energy. Well when you have too much sugar floating around in your system, your cells start to ignore the signals from insulin because they don’t need the sugar. This is called insulin resistance.
When your body is insulin resistant, the pancreas starts to produce more and more insulin. Eventually your pancreas gets worn out and is no longer able to manage all of the sugar in the blood. This is how diabetes occurs in some people. In others, insulin resistance will lead to heart attack, stroke, and even cancer. The body’s defenses are lowered because of this ongoing battle with sugar.
Warning Signs
Some early signs of spiked blood sugar include: fatigue, headaches, frequent and dark urination, thirst, blurred vision, and trouble concentrating. Over time, this leads to increased belly fat, vaginal and skin infections, nerve damage, erectile dysfunction, constipation, and damage to your eyes, kidneys , and liver.
Five things you can do right away to prevent or reverse these issues are:
1 Reduce your intake of starchy foods
2 Drink more water
3 Make sure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals
4 Detox daily and cleanse seasonally
5 Exercise regularly