What Is Brown Fat? Is Brown Fat Really A Fat?

What Is Brown Fat? Is Brown Fat Really A Fat?

What Is Brown Fat? Is Brown Fat Really A Fat?

There is a lot of brown fat behind a baby's scapulae when it is born. Babies can't shiver, which is one way the body warms itself up. Brown fat is a natural heater. Most of the brown fat is lost as you get older, and when it gets cold, you start to shiver.


Researchers are interested in brown fat because it seems to be able to use normal body fat as fuel. Also, exercise may trigger hormones that make brown fat work. People, who know about the benefits of brown fat, often ask how to increase brown fat.


What is brown fat?

People generally ask if brown fat is really fat. Different colours of fat make up your body. Researchers have distinguished between two types of fat: white fat and brown fat. The brown colour is also sometimes called "brown adipose tissue that can be made brown" (BAT).


What is the purpose of brown fat?

Brown fat is also called brown adipose tissue. It is a specific form of fat in your body that becomes active when exposed to low temperatures. Brown fat gives off heat, which helps keep your body warm when it is cold. The mitochondria present in brown fat burn calories to make heat.


How does brown fat differ from other fats?

You mostly have two kinds of fat. When you eat more than you need, white fat builds up. White fat stores these extra calories so you can use them when food isn't giving you enough energy. Most fat in your body is white fat. Most of the time, you keep it in your thighs, hips, and stomach. If you have too much white fat in your belly, you could get heart disease or type 2 diabetes.


There is a difference between brown fat and white fat in their composition. White fat comprises big droplets of lipids, also called fatty acids. Brown fat is full of cells with lots of mitochondria. The colour of brown fat comes from the iron in the mitochondria. They are the most important part of your cells. They use sugar and white fat, for example, as energy sources. Brown fat stores more energy per unit area than white fat.


How to increase brown fat?

Some drugs help the normal fat cells turn brown. Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are one of these kinds of drugs. It controls brown fat deposits by regulating insulin resistance.

But the drug is for people who have diabetes. Doctors don't give the drug to people who don't have diabetes. Also, TZD can cause weight gain, fluid retention, and other side effects.

Furthermore, another study suggests that exposure to cool temperatures can help people gain more brown fat cells. They provide some important tips. Spending 2 hours in cold temperatures every day, around 66°F (19°C), can increase the amount of brown fat that can be recruited.

Also, taking a cold bath or an ice bath may help. In addition, lowering your thermostat a few degrees can help.

Some experiments on animals show that a protein called irisin can help. It helps your body turn white fat into brown fat. This protein is made by the body, which is a good thing.

In 2016, another study found that active people make more irisin. People who don't move much, on the other hand, make less protein. Surprisingly, people who do intense aerobic workouts make more protein than those who don't.


What foods increase brown fat?

Given the benefits of brown fat, what foods increase brown fat? If you eat an apple daily, you will not have to go to the doctor as often. A study says that the old saying "it keeps the fat away" is true.


The University of Iowa researchers have found some interesting things. A substance called ursolic acid gives apple peels a glossy appearance. According to a study, it was effective in facilitating mice to produce brown fat. Even though they ate a lot of fat, the result was amazing. The brown fats foods list includes those foods that increase or activate brown fat. These food include green tea, curcumin, capsaicin, and resveratrol.


Does brown fat help in reducing the risk of disease?

A study of the NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences helped pay for part of the study (NCATS). Results were published in Nature Medicine on January 4, 2021.

The researchers found that people with brown fat were less likely to have type 2 diabetes, heart failure, high blood pressure, or dangerous cholesterol levels and fats in their blood.

Even in people who were overweight or obese, this lower risk was seen.


Conclusion

Some questions related to brown fat are how to increase brown fat or is brown fat really a fat. It is too soon to know if brown fat's ability to burn calories can be used to help people lose weight. In the meantime, make sure to include exercise in your plans to lose weight.

Author:

Rohit Jain

Rohit Jain is an IPR Specialist and Medical Content Writing Expert. For over a decade, he has written several articles in the areas of female infertility, Erectile dysfunction, hemangioma, cervical cancer, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, mononucleosis, mitral valve disorder, nerve sheath tumor, shin splints, mild cognitive impairment, cellulitis, brain metastases, atelectasis, MCAD deficiency, lymphoma, sepsis, cardiac rehabilitation and metabolic disorder among others.