How Much Sugar In Your Food?

Well.......do you still dare to have them?

Depression Linked With Accumulation Of Visceral Fat

Numerous studies have shown that depression is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, but exactly how has never been clear.

Now, researchers at Rush University Medical Center have shown that depression is linked with the accumulation of visceral fat, the kind of fat packed between internal organs at the waistline, which has long been known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The study is posted online and will be published in the May issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

"Our results suggest that central adiposity – which is commonly called belly fat – is an important pathway by which depression contributes to the risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes," said Lynda Powell, PhD, chairperson of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Rush and the study's principal investigator. "In our study, depressive symptoms were clearly related to deposits of visceral fat, which is the type of fat involved in disease."

The study included 409 middle-aged women, about half African-American and half Caucasian, who were participating in the Women in the South Side Health Project (WISH) in Chicago, a longitudinal study of the menopausal transition. Depressive symptoms were assessed using a common screening test, and visceral fat measured with a CT scan. Although waist size is often used as a proxy for the amount of visceral fat, it is an inaccurate measure because it includes subcutaneous fat, or fat deposited just beneath the skin.

The researchers found a strong correlation between depression and visceral fat, particularly among overweight and obese women. The results were the same even when the analysis adjusted for other variables that might explain the accumulation of visceral fat, such as the level of physical activity. The study found no association between depressive symptoms and subcutaneous fat. The findings were the same for both black and white women.

Powell speculated that depression triggers the accumulation of visceral fat by means of certain chemical changes in the body – like the production of cortisol and inflammatory compounds – but said that more research is needed to pinpoint the exact mechanism.

Triglycerides Too High?

Triglycerides are the form in which fat moves through the bloodstream to your body's tissues. Whenever your LDL ("bad") cholesterol is measured, triglycerides are checked, too. Levels lower than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) are considered normal and levels above 200 mg/dL are considered too high. However, those parameters may be changing in light of recent research on cardiovascular health. Desired normal levels may be as low as 100 mg/dl.

High triglyceride levels can be genetic, and may be related to obesity or untreated diabetes, but dietary influences are strong. Carbohydrates in the diet are the main factor affecting their levels in the blood, especially quick-digesting (high glycemic load) carbs. In many people, these foods elevate insulin levels, and insulin affects triglyceride synthesis and the storage of fat. High triglyceride levels usually accompany low HDL (good) cholesterol and often travel with tendencies toward high blood pressure and central (abdominal) obesity. These are the markers of metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, very common disorders that increase risks of heart and adult-onset diabetes.

I recommend several lifestyle changes to help keep your serum triglyceride levels down in the desirable range. You will want to get regular exercise; lose weight if you're overweight; reduce the amount of saturated fats and trans fat in your diet; and cut back on alcohol, avoiding beer especially. (Even small amounts of alcohol can elevate triglyceride levels.) Also increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids by eating salmon, sardines, black cod, and herring on a regular basis. Or take a good fish oil supplement, as you are doing, 1-2 grams a day.

The conventional medical recommendation for a low-fat, high carbohydrate diet to lower triglycerides and bring down cholesterol is dead wrong in my opinion. Instead you want to be on a low carbohydrate diet, such as my anti-inflammatory diet. Familiarize yourself with the concept of glycemic load (http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm) and choose carbohydrate foods that rank low on that scale.