Dr. Oz's All-Star Advice
PAGE 5
Is it really a big deal to be overweight?
Dr. Oz: A big problem many of us haveis that we don't really understand deep down inside of us what is going on. ... Inside of the belly, under the muscle, we've got something called the omentum. Now the normal omentum looks like pantyhose. You can sort of see through it. When you get an infection, the omentum moves over, walls off the infection. It's critically important for us. Our ancestors were able to store fat in this pad.
Now, the problem with the omentum is when you've got a lot of belly fat, that fat does three things. It puts pressure on your kidneys, which generates high blood pressure. It poisons your liver, which causes your blood to look like it's got cream in it. And it gets your cholesterol up off the wall. And that fat ultimately paralyzes insulin, and you get diabetes.
I think part of what happens is we get mad at ourselves, and we beat ourselves [up]. And when we get stressed out in life, what's the first thing we do? Eat. That's a natural response because stress 1,000 years ago was a famine. ...When you have belly fat, you also get fat in your liver, and that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. Twenty percent of us—20 percent of people in this audience, people at home—already have evidence of fat in their liver.
Think about these issues, all of them, because they're reversible. That's why we are here together. These issues you've got are ones that we can deal with, but if your liver has fat in it, and it's getting cirrhosis; and if your insulin is paralyzed and you've developed diabetes; and if your kidneys are already beginning to show the evidence of damage; that, I tell you, [means] we're getting toward the edge. I mean, you're a candy bar away from falling off over that edge and having the issues we are talking about. I want to be clear about this.
Next:??What do high blood pressure and high cholesterol do to your body?
Dr. Oz: A big problem many of us haveis that we don't really understand deep down inside of us what is going on. ... Inside of the belly, under the muscle, we've got something called the omentum. Now the normal omentum looks like pantyhose. You can sort of see through it. When you get an infection, the omentum moves over, walls off the infection. It's critically important for us. Our ancestors were able to store fat in this pad.
Now, the problem with the omentum is when you've got a lot of belly fat, that fat does three things. It puts pressure on your kidneys, which generates high blood pressure. It poisons your liver, which causes your blood to look like it's got cream in it. And it gets your cholesterol up off the wall. And that fat ultimately paralyzes insulin, and you get diabetes.
I think part of what happens is we get mad at ourselves, and we beat ourselves [up]. And when we get stressed out in life, what's the first thing we do? Eat. That's a natural response because stress 1,000 years ago was a famine. ...When you have belly fat, you also get fat in your liver, and that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. Twenty percent of us—20 percent of people in this audience, people at home—already have evidence of fat in their liver.
Think about these issues, all of them, because they're reversible. That's why we are here together. These issues you've got are ones that we can deal with, but if your liver has fat in it, and it's getting cirrhosis; and if your insulin is paralyzed and you've developed diabetes; and if your kidneys are already beginning to show the evidence of damage; that, I tell you, [means] we're getting toward the edge. I mean, you're a candy bar away from falling off over that edge and having the issues we are talking about. I want to be clear about this.
Next:??What do high blood pressure and high cholesterol do to your body?
As a reminder, always consult your doctor for medical advice and treatment before starting any program.
