VAT-TRAP Archives | Page 2 of 8 | Surrey Cardiovascular Clinic

The SCVC Blog

Cardiovascular care news and articles from our expert team

Your Genes and Fat: Why Some People’s Cholesterol Rises More Than Others

Reducing saturated fat intake is known to lower “bad” cholesterol (LDL-C) and reduce heart disease risk, but responses vary widely between individuals. Research shows that genetics strongly influence how much LDL rises when people eat foods like butter, cheese, or fatty meats compared with unsaturated fats such as olive oil, nuts, and oily fish. Even on the same diet, LDL responses can differ by up to 1 mmol/L, reflecting genetic differences in intestinal cholesterol absorption and how efficiently LDL is cleared from the bloodstream.

Who Can You Trust? The Rise of Anti-Statin Narratives and the Crisis of Trust in Modern Medicine

One of the greatest challenges in the online world is investigator bias. Any “expert” with a strong conviction — whether pro- or anti-statin — can easily find studies that appear to confirm their view. The internet is full of such cherry-picked data. When presented with confident authority, this can sound utterly convincing to a lay audience. The reality is that true medical understanding does not come from one paper, one YouTube video, or one self-proclaimed authority.

Ho Ho Healthy: What Santa’s Belly Can Teach Us About Metabolic Health

Santa’s famous belly is festive, but it highlights an important metabolic lesson: WHERE fat is stored matters more than how it looks. Visceral fat, hidden deep around the organs, drives inflammation and cardiometabolic risk — unlike softer, subcutaneous fat. Understanding this difference is key to real metabolic health.

Microdose GLP-1 Mimetics Reduce Visceral Adipose Tissue

The most effective path to reducing visceral fat with the help of GLP-1 mimetic is not just to “eat less.” It’s to build more muscle, eat smarter, and track your progress. In this blog, which also forms one of the chapters of an ebook, I outline the programme and tools our patients use in our cardiometabolic clinic.

If You’ve Had a Stent, Check Your Waist

A coronary stent treats a narrowed artery, not the biology that caused it. Insulin resistance driven by visceral fat promotes inflammation and abnormal healing, increasing restenosis risk. Diabetes is the end stage, but waist size often reveals risk much earlier — making metabolic health central to long-term outcomes after stenting.

The Insulin Paradox: How GLP-1 Drugs Reduce Belly Fat and Heart Risk

GLP-1 drugs seem paradoxical: they enhance insulin action yet shrink dangerous belly fat. The explanation lies in restoring normal insulin timing, reducing chronic insulin exposure, and reversing fat “spillover” from liver to abdomen. Real patient cases show rapid visceral fat loss alongside smoother glucose profiles and lower cardiovascular risk.

Are New Heart Medicines Revealing the Real Culprit? Why Visceral Fat May Be the Missing Link in Heart Disease

The keto and Atkins diets have profound effects on hepatic lipid metabolism, and hence on LDL cholesterol handling. Let’s unpack this carefully through the lens of the endogenous cholesterol pathway.

Epigenetics and Metabolic Health: How Lifestyle Rewrites Your Genes

Epigenetics is the molecular bridge between lifestyle and disease. It explains why two people eating the same meal can have very different glucose spikes, and why decades of stress or sleep loss can push one individual towards metabolic syndrome while another remains resilient.

Why Protein Matters More Than Ever as We Age

Adequate protein and resistance training are essential for healthy ageing and reducing visceral fat. As we grow older, muscles become less responsive, making higher protein intake vital to preserve strength, metabolism, and independence. Building and feeding muscle is the most effective way to improve insulin sensitivity, raise metabolic rate, and burn harmful VAT.

Cardiometabolic Health Tools

Patients often ask about home monitoring tools — ECG devices, blood pressure monitors, glucose apps. We now also encourage people to track their waistline and visceral fat, using body composition scales alongside more traditional equipment.To support this, I have created a page of recommended home gadgets that can help patients take greater ownership of their health — a vital step towards a more proactive, prevention-focused model of care, guided by their clinical and educational team.

How to Reduce Visceral Fat Without Medication

The most effective path to reducing visceral fat without medication is not just to “eat less.” It’s to build more muscle, eat smarter, and track your progress. In this blog, which also forms one of the chapters of an ebook, I outline the programme and tools our patients use in our cardiometabolic clinic.

N-of-1: Why Your Best Health Plan Starts With You

Traditional health improvement plans assume everyone responds the same way. Real life tells us otherwise. N-of-1 explains how to use a personalised, precision-medicine approach to reduce visceral fat, stabilise metabolism and rebuild long-term health. Through weekly reflections, practical tools and small self-experiments, the book guides you to uncover what truly works for you — not for the average patient, but for your own unique physiology.