How to increase the amount of brown fat that crunches into calories during the cold winter months

Brown fat burning energy when we are cold.Staunch scientists are trying to harness its power to fight obesity and type 2 diabetes.

How to increase your calorie intake during the cold winter months

Brown fat is burned for energy when we are cold.Now scientists are trying to combine their power to fight obesity and type 2 diabetes.

When the nights fall, the leaves fall from the trees and the outside world is covered in frost, many of us will be tempted to reach for the thermostat and turn on the heating.When we go outside, we'll likely be wrapped up in a scarf and hat, piled on layers in a desperate attempt to stay warm.However, being cold and uncomfortable may be the key to improving health and losing weight.

The reason comes down to a special type of fat called brown fat.Unlike white fat, stubbornly adhering to the hips, waist and hips, brown fat burns calories, turning them into heat when we are cold.Some believe that if used correctly, it can make us thinner.Interestingly, all we have to theoretically do to activate is to take a cold shower or eat a lot of spicy and caffeine food.

But before you reach the frozen lake, the fourth cup of coffee is down and it follows the brown oil.

What is the form of chocolate fat?

When we are born, we have abundant reserves of brown fat, which acts as a heater in our bodies. Babies don't have enough muscle mass to shiver, so they rely on brown fat to turn sugars and fats into heat.

Brown fat cells contain a large number of mitochondria - cells that produce energy within the cell.But they lack the normal mitochondria that produce adenosine (ATP) – a type of the body's medium energy currency.

"When stimulated, brown fat can produce 300 times more heat per unit mass than any other tissue or organ in the body," says Michael Symonds, professor of developmental physiology at the University of Nottingham in the UK.

Most of what we know about brown fat comes from studies on small mammals like mice and rats.Thy, which helps them stay nice and warm during the winter months when they go into hibernation.

"For our ancestors, or small animals like mice, cold temperatures were a serious survival risk, so it was advantageous to have tissue that could convert energy sources into heat," says Paul Cohen, an assistant professor who studies molecular metabolism at Rockefeller University in New York.

Decades of research have shown that, at least in rats, brown fat absorbs sugar and fat from the blood.Brown fat has also been shown to protect mice against obesity and weight-related metabolic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

Brown fat in adults

Adults, however, have the ability to find other ways to get warm - turn on the heaters, dry under the chew or pull a warm coat.You believed that brown fat all but disappeared in puberty, destroying it with pure white fat-very deceptive.

And it also meant that most scientists thought that brown fat couldn't play a significant role in health after childhood.However, this changed in 2009 when researchers from Finland and Sweden showed that not only do adults still have brown fat, but at temperatures below 16C (60.8F) the fat is activated and begins to absorb glucose and fat from the blood.

Not only that, there was a clear correlation between a person's body weight and fat reserves.There were more people in the city and fewer obese people.Those with more brown fat had a higher metabolic rate in the cold.Together, this suggests that brown fat may be a target for the treatment of obesity.

The field got a boost in 2021 thanks to a study by Cohen and colleagues at Rockefeller University in New York.Cohen and his team examined positron emission tomography (PET) of the lesion in more than 52,000 people.Compared nonintelligent individuals with brown fat to those with brown fat, they found rates of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure among those with brown fat.They found that lean people had more brown fat than lean people.

In addition, those with greater stores of brown fat had better blood glucose and triglyceride (a type of fat) levels, improved insulin sensitivity, and the "good" type of cholesterol -- high-density lipoprotein (HDL) -- all signs of a healthy metabolism.

Can Brown Fat Cause Weight Loss?

However, it is uncertain whether brown fat is actually responsible for these health benefits.The truth is that our body is very large and contains brown fat, and brown fat is used to burn ordinary white fat for a meaningful difference to our weight.Most adults have extremely small amounts of the substance—only 0.02 to 300 grams, or less than 0.5% of the total human body mass.

"Although white fat has an almost unlimited capacity to expand, there are some people who have more than 100 kg (220 pounds) of white fat and hundreds of grams of brown fat," says Cohen.

However, brown fat may not only help you shed pounds, but it can improve your health in other ways.For example, instead of burning calories, it can help improve your health - the body's ability to process and use energy from food efficiently.Can act with hormones and secrete regulating hormones.

"In terms of total body energy expenditure, it probably doesn't play the same role in humans as it does in mice."

"However, the data is much stronger to suggest that activating brown fat can lower glucose levels and improve measures of obesity per se.

But how can we activate brown fat and harness the superpowers it may or may not contain?One way is to expose ourselves to cold temperatures, no matter how uncomfortable.Think ice baths, cold water swimming, or cryotherapy chambers—special devices that expose the body to extremely low temperatures for one to three minutes to promote healing and well-being.The shock of being immersed in cold water makes the body think it is in danger, triggering the fight or flight response.This releases the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which binds to and “activates” brown fat cells.

Susanna Søberg, a metabolic scientist who founded the Søberg Institute in Denmark to promote the health benefits of cold and heat therapy, has spent years studying the effects of cold water swimming on the human body.In one study, her team compared men who regularly plunged into icy Scandinavian lakes in winter with men who didn't engage in the seemingly crazy practice.

Participants were given a glass of water with sugar, and two hours later their glucose and insulin levels were measured. Cold water swimmers are able to remove glucose from the blood faster and have better insulin sensitivity. Studies show that just a few minutes of exposure to freezing temperatures two to three times a week is enough to activate brown fat, improve insulin sensitivity and reduce stress.

However, it is likely that they thought that people who took frequent breaks could swim or exercise in general, which could explain their better health.

Cohen's team is also studying whether the same results can be found in people who regularly swim in the frozen lakes of Minneapolis, Minnesota in the winter.

"It's so cold there in the winter that the lakes freeze, so they [swimmers] often have to cut a hole in the ice to get in," said Cohen.

Increase your brown fat intake

However, it is possible to achieve a cool effect - but cancer - temperature.For example, in a 2014 study, five healthy people slept in a bedroom in a cottage, wearing hospital clothes and a warm blanket.After the trial ended, their population grew by 42 percent.The onslaught of sex, however, brown fat also disappeared when the researchers raised the thermostat to 24C (75F).

Meanwhile, in 2013, researchers in the Netherlands exposed 17 healthy adults to temperatures of 15-16k (59-60.8F) for six hours a day.A 10-day course of this treatment was sufficient to increase brown fat activity and reduce tremors, and participants reported that they could tolerate the cold after the experiment.

Meanwhile, Cohen's group is now investigating whether wearing a "cold vest" for three hours a day has the same effects.

“Vest tuesti, it’s like a life jacket and cold water flows through it,” Cothen said.

It's possible that turning down the thermostat or taking a cold shower can improve health in a similar way.One study found that living in a room heated to 14-15°C (57.2-59F) was enough to increase insulin sensitivity in eight patients with type 2 diabetes, while a randomized controlled trial from the Netherlands found that people who took a cold shower every day had fewer sick days at work – with just 30 seconds of standing under ice-cold water enough to deliver benefits.

"Small studies show that things like exposure to cold showers can have beneficial effects, even in healthy people,"

So, are there other ways to promote brown fat breakdown without freezing?

Symonds' research suggests that caffeine, and coffee in particular, can stimulate brown fat and encourage it to start burning glucose and turning it into heat.However, other scientists argue that to reap the benefits, you need to cut back on 100 cups of coffee a day, an unrealistic amount for even the most dedicated coffee drinker.

Capsaicin, a compound found in chili peppers, has been shown to activate brown fat in mice, and there is some evidence that it could have the same effect in humans.In one study, ten men took capsaicin pills every day for six weeks.At the end of the trial, the men who took the pills had greater activation of brown fat when exposed to cold temperatures than at the start of the trial.

Others:

Why can some people tolerate the cold?

• How living in a cold home affects your health

• Five myths about warmth in cold weather

So, should we all leave the thermostat alone and embrace the cold weather a little more?Maybe, even if you want to do eld-fire to increase your health, there are other things to try first.Chehen points to eating a heart-healthy diet;do regular exercises;Remember that your cholesterol, blood pressure and blood pressure are well controlled;and living at or near a healthy body weight is equally important.

It is also important to consult your doctor before trying to swim in cold water, as it is not safe and suitable for everyone.Simon believes that activating brown fat can play a role in improving health and weight loss, but only in conjunction with other healthy lifestyle changes.

"When we published our research on caffeine to activate brown fat, I wrote to myself that I was drinking 10 cups of coffee a day, and I still had a weight problem."

"The more caffeine you drink, the more weight you lose."

All content in this column is provided for general information only and should not be construed as a substitute for the medical advice of your physician or other health care professional.It is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based on the content of this site.It is not responsible for the content of any external websites mentioned, nor does it endorse any commercial products or services mentioned or advised on any of the sites.your health.

For reliable information about the best way to health and fitness is rooted in science, while the list of participants provides a selection of features and information.

For more science, technology, environment and health stories, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.