Brown fat is very different from white adipose tissue. Because it uses energy instead of storing it, it’s said to help with a range of medical ailments.
The main function of brown fat is to keep the body warm. According to the Deutsche Apothekerzeitung, the special fat cells are found around the collarbone, on the shoulders, in the neck, along the spine and in the kidneys. For a long time, researchers assumed that only babies had brown adipose tissue. Because they are not yet able to compensate for the cold by trembling and have to be warmed up additionally.
Only in the last decade did researchers accidentally discover that brown fat is still found in adult bodies. However, these are significantly smaller quantities. What is special about brown fat cells is that they do not store energy, but burn energy to generate heat. Accordingly, a higher proportion of the particular body fat could help with weight loss. Brown fat is also said to be effective against diabetes and arteriosclerosis.
Brown fat: How it increases your energy expenditure
In medicine, the importance of brown fat is discussed, particularly in relation to weight loss. According to the medical journal, obesity is a major health problem and a risk factor for a number of serious diseases. According to the medical journal, a higher proportion of brown adipose tissue can help people burn more calories every day and thus lose excess weight.
The Professor of Human Nutrition Manfred Müller also confirms this to Deutschlandfunk. With a higher percentage of brown fat, an adult can burn about 200 more calories each day. The medical journal gives figures between 30 and 500 additional calories per day. In order to increase the proportion of fat cells, the cold helps above all. The doctor recommends taking cold showers regularly, going outside when the weather is cold and heating less.
The nutritionist Inga Asbeck from the University of Kiel shares this view. She recommends a so-called thermogenic lifestyle to Deutschlandfunk. This means that you repeatedly expose yourself to cold stimuli or temperature differences in everyday life. Asbeck advises, for example, to reduce the temperature in the apartment from 22 to 19 degrees Celsius and to take a really cold shower at the end of a shower. In order to build up brown fat cells in the long term, you should regularly integrate these behaviors into your everyday life.
A Dutch study from 2009 also confirms that this actually works. Test subjects exposed themselves to a temperature of 16 degrees Celsius for six hours a day. After ten days, the proportion of brown fat cells had doubled.
Brown fat against diabetes and arteriosclerosis
(Photo: CC0 / Pixabay / stevepb)
According to the medical journal, brown fat cells have a positive effect on the body’s cholesterol levels and insulin sensitivity. According to the Deutsche Apothekerzeitung, studies show that brown fat cells can increase insulin sensitivity. This means the body needs less insulin to regulate blood sugar levels. This can prevent diabetes because, according to the diabetes information portal, insulin resistance is one of the main causes of type II diabetes. The body then no longer reacts appropriately to the release of insulin.
Studies now also confirm in humans that brown fat cells improve the cholesterol levels in the blood, according to the medical journal. Accordingly, they can help prevent arteriosclerosis.
Drugs increase brown fat?
According to the Ärzteblatt, research on the proliferation of brown fat cells uses less cold therapy than certain drugs intended to activate the brown fat tissue. In a corresponding study, however, these proved to be less effective as weight loss aids, since the test period of four weeks was probably too short for this. However, the “Mirabegron” preparation used significantly improved the blood values of the test subjects and could thus be used primarily to prevent diseases that occur in connection with being overweight.
Physician and professor Manfred Müller explains to Deutschlandfunk that he still thinks that home remedies make more sense, with which we expose ourselves to the cold for a short time. If the cold is too uncomfortable for you, you can also try hot spices or the right foods. According to nutritionist Inga Asbeck, these can also help to stimulate the formation of brown fat cells. She particularly recommends red chillies and peppers.
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