Years ago when studying for my Nutritional Biochemistry degree, I learnt about the two types of fat – white and brown that are bodies are composed of. Learning that brown fat is the ‘healthier’ of the two and generates heat by burning calories. The white fat is what stores energy and any excess is stored around the middle, hips and thighs. Not all fat is visible, for instance we cannot see internal fat with the naked eye, only with specialist equipment. Brown fat is derived from muscle tissue and is found primarily in hibernating animals and newborns. Infants have the highest quantity of brown fat which decreases as we get older. And it appears that having more brown fat keeps one lean and slim, as shown in countless rodent studies. Although white fat is a thermal insulator and cushions our internal organs, it is a major endocrine organ, which means its active and produces one form of oestrogen, leptin- a hormone that helps regulate appetite and hunger. It also has receptors for insulin, growth hormone, adrenaline, and cortisol. So, it’s a myth that fat cells just sit there and do nothing all day long and this is the type of fat we do not want a lot of.
A brown fat cell -on fire 😉
One way to activate brown fat production and burn calories is by exposing yourself to the cold regularly, such as exercising outdoors in the wintertime or in being in a cold room. However many of you are in heated indoor spaces which makes it difficult to get cool. So if you can lower the temperature in your living and working spaces it will be beneficial. The obsession with staying warm potentially has switched off natural weight controlled responses. Tempting as it is to hibernate under the duvet all day when its cold outside, do your body and mind a favour by getting at least 10 mins of fresh air. In addition to getting some cold blasts a day, any kind of exercising especially swimming in cold swimming pool :-), a healthy diet, along with getting enough high-quality sleep will enable your body to produce more metabolically active brown fat. So in a nutshell the message is not to be freezing cold that your fingers turn blue but comfortably cool. Our bodies have in built mechanisms that keep us warm. So lets use them first instead of relying on artificial heating 24/7.
