What is brown fat anyway?
What is brown fat? Scientists call it brown adipose tissue and it literally is brown colored fat, but fat unlike anything you have encountered before. Unlike its regular ‘white’ cousin that we are all-too familiar with, brown fat actually consumes ordinary fat and in doing so it burns calories like a furnace. Brown fat cells literally suck the regular, horrible fat cells out of the rest of the body and burn it as an energy source.
How does brown fat work?
How does brown fat burn up regular fat and use it for energy you might be wondering? Scientists have discovered that brown fat cells are full to the brim of mitochondria (also the reason they are darker in color than white fat). Mitochondria are like little energy factories inside the body that take the glucose from the food we are digesting and transform it into energy that powers everything inside our bodies. A recent study found that brown fat actually burns 250 calories over three hours – that about how many calories you would burn jogging for one whole hour!
When you were born you actually had very high levels of brown fat in your body – in fact, brown fat makes up around 5% of a baby’s body weight. At that age it performs a vital role – regulating temperature and keeping you from getting too cold. For a long time it was believed that as a person grew up and became an adult all of their brown fat disappeared. However, just a few years ago scientists were amazed to discover that adults still have small stores of brown fat in their bodies. It is mostly found around your back, neck and shoulders. So how can we increase our levels of this energy-burning, fat-melting brown fat?
How to increase brown fat levels naturally.
These researchers found that brown fat is actually activated by cold. They exposed people to cold temperatures and got them to dip their feet in baths of chilled water which led to them discovering that their bodies responded by elevating the rate of activity in their brown fat regions. Does this mean you need to go sit in a walk-in fridge every day to lose some of those excess pounds? Probably not and that may not be the safest way to go about it but getting out for some fresh air when it cooler outside could be good for you. Keeping the heat down in winter and letting yourself feel a little cooler is probably a good move too, quite an easy way to up your metabolism and stoke the brown fat furnaces within.
Are there any other ways to stimulate the activity of brown fat? One study recently published in Nature reveals that when exercising, mice release a hormone, irisin, that actually converts white fat to our new friend brown fat. If irisin works the same way in humans, which may be true as the human body contains the same protein then this could point to a whole new reason for the importance of exercise when trying to lose weight.
Is brown fat the secret to fat loss that we have all been waiting for?
So, you may be wondering, is brown fat really something to be taken seriously in the war against belly fat and love handles? The US army certainly seems to think so. Recent reports indicate that the army is planning to manufacture brown fat cells and transplant it into soldiers to speed up weight loss and increase the metabolism of their soldiers to create leaner, healthier warriors. The army has invested in research to find new ways to do this and utilize the power of brown fat to give their soldiers who may be a little soft around the middle a fighting chance at getting leaner.
Now, we are all hoping that all this recent research will lead to a new super drug that harnesses the fat-burning power of brown fat and lets us all melt the fat away while sitting comfortably on the couch. Perhaps the hormon irisin and its effect on brown fat in humans holds the key to that kind of wonder drug but it is a long way off for now. So what can we do ourselves to boost brown fat levels and fire up our metabolisms?
What you can do to take advantage of the power of brown fat.
We know brown fat is affected by a few things – exposure to the cold, glucose levels and exercise. Therefore it seems logical that it is best to combine healthy levels of time spent in the cold (why not go for a swim even if its a little cooler outside?); a diet that keeps blood sugar levels low and under control; and a regular exercise program.
Brown Fat and The Cold
Exposure to cold is the easy part, unless you really hate the cold like some people do. In winter turn the thermostat down so you are toasty warm, that way you will be elevating brown fat levels and fueling your metabolism while going about your regular daily activities. If the weather is warmer you could take cold baths or showers or swim in a cold swimming pool.
Brown Fat Diet – what you should be eating
To help out that amazing brown fat in its war against the regular flabby stuff, eat a diet that controls blood sugar levels to prevent your body accumulating more of the yucky yellow fat that causes so many problems. The best way to do this is eat lots of low-GI carbs from vegetables and whole grains combined with enough protein and good fat like that found in olive oil, fish, avocado and other nutritious foods. Stay away from starchy white carbs, and foods that are high in sugar. One easy way to cut out a lot of sugar from your diet is to stop drink soda and fruit juices. Also stay well away from “low fat” diet products because they usually just replace the fat with more sugar to make it taste good.
Exercise to stimulate brown fat
As for exercise, follow a simple but regular program. Even just taking a ½ hour walk every few days is far better than sitting on the couch while munching on snacks. Don’t overcomplicate things and make it too overwhelming for yourself by trying to commit to a massive new workout regimen. Walking, riding a bike or going for a swim out in the fresh air will still help you stay active and actually getting out and breathing some fresh will make you feel better as well. If you do go to the gym don’t just stick to the cardio machines, follow a routine that has you lifting some heavy weights (this goes for women too – its the best way to keep your bones healthy!) and building your core strength. It stands to reason that if brown fat is found mostly around your back and shoulders and is also stimulated by exercise then you need to include some exercises that work those areas of the body. Deadlifts, rows, and overhead presses are excellent exercises that will improve your overall health and well-being when performed regularly.
Just remember the more you build those brown fat levels the more work the brown fat cells will do to help you keep the bad fat away, by exercising and eating properly you are investing in a powerful ally that can help keep you looking lean and amazing!
