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Posts Tagged ‘brown fat’

What can Brown Fat Do for You?

April 9th, 2009

More specifically, what can brown fat do for 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.

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The Latest in Weight Loss Research: Cryotherapy

January 9th, 2009

A quick dip into the frigid water, and he lost 80 lbs and found the girl of his dreams

Gus couldn't believe his luck: A quick dip into the frigid water, and he lost 90 lbs and found the girl of his dreams

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute may have discovered the holy grail of fat loss.

The only problem?

In order for their plan to work, dieters may be required to subject their chubby love handles and thunder thighs to extremely low temperatures.

The Research

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In their study, the researchers found that “mice exposed to low temperatures develop more blood vessels in their adipose tissue and metabolize body fat more quickly.”

Prior studies told the researchers that the growth of fat cells depends on oxygen and blood-borne nutrients. So, because of that discovery, they theorized that body fat loss can be manipulated by altering the development of blood vessels in the fat itself.

To test this theory, they exposed a group of “pleasantly plump” mice to a low temperature environment.

This resulted in the mice developing new blood vessels in their fat tissue.

This resulted in the transformation of Mickey’s normal “white” fat into the more metabolically active “brown” fat.

And since brown fat breaks down more quickly than white fat, the fat mice became skinny mice.

What does this mean for us?

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The big brains at Karolinska believe that by increasing the blood vessel development in your fat tissue, you should be able to melt off your body-fat faster than a pound of bacon hitting a hot griddle.

The bad news?

This is very early in the research and a treatment is years away at best….if ever.

So, what now?

Maybe we should try taking a cue from Big Gus and join the local Polar Bear club….just kidding, that cold water could give you a heart attack.

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