What can Brown Fat Do for You?
More specifically, what can brown fat to you?
Well, according to some new research, brown fat may just turn out to be a very powerful tool in the fight against obesity and type 2 diabetes.
And while I have written previously about the potential fat-melting benefits of brown fat, this latest research:
- has determined that brown fat does survive our evolution from babies to adults,
- has pinpointed where those hard to find stores of brown fat are located on our bodies, and
- has found that your adult brown fat is metabolically active.
And before you say….So What?
Why is this important?
It’s important because, up until now, the general consensus was that brown fat existed only in humans during childhood and that it disappeared as we grew into adulthood.
Brown Fat Distribution Patterns – Adult / Baby
For obesity researchers, this is huge.
Now, instead of:
- trying to discover the new-est and best-est drug to kill your appetite
- or to speed up your metabolism (without frying your heart – fen-phen),
- they can look for ways to turn up the re-activate your heat generating / fat burning brown fat.
And they may be closer than you think.
Joslin Diabetes Center researchers are looking at a protein called BMP-7 that they think can promote the development of brown fat.
Check out this post for more info on BMP-7.
Reference
- Cold-Activated Brown Adipose Tissue in Healthy Men
- Identification and Importance of Brown Adipose Tissue in Adult Humans
- Functional Brown Adipose Tissue in Healthy Adults
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Chris Kilber
November 21, 2009 at 6:19 pm
This is a move in the right direction…. sort of. If the emphasis on obesity was aimed at prevention via exercise and nutritional education and the health care system wasn’t run by the AMA who are in the back pocket of the pharmaceutical industry maybe we would get some where….
Rose T
August 1, 2009 at 10:37 am
Is brown fat involved in Hoodia poisoning (leading to irreversible malnutrition)? A quick antidote would be most appreciated!
Riayn
April 9, 2009 at 7:54 pm
I have had a read of the journal article and the discovery of brown fat is extremely interesting. However, I would love to know how we can activate our brown fat that doesn’t involve sitting in a freezing room for 2 hours. There has to be a way to do it, I am sure. I guess we just need to wait for the scientists to find it.