What's all the fuss about brown and white fat cells?
I've been interested in the function of brown fat cells and white fat cells and took time this week to find some interesting details. The pandemic of obesity and overweight poses a serious threat to global health, obesity is characterised by the accumulation of excess dysfunctional adipose tissue. Brown fat cells are actually brown adipose tissue (BAT), white fat cells are white adipose tissue (WAT).
BAT accumulate around the neck and collar bone and their function is to heat the body by burning calories to generate heat.
WAT accumulate around the butt, thighs, abdomen, arms and breasts. Their function is to store energy and to regulate hormones. No surprise, WAT aren't as metabolically active as BAT.
Why do we store fat in some areas and not in others? Genetics, stress, environmental factors, diet, exercise, age and medication all affect fat storage as does hormonal status. For example, fat at the back of hips indicates elevated insulin, fat on thighs is usually associated with elevated oestrogen levels, fat on the back of the arms is associated with low testosterone and stomach fat is usually associated with elevated oestrogen, insulin and cortisol.
The stomach is the most common and dangerous place to store fat as it increases the risk of heart disease, elevated blood pressure and elevated glucose levels. Can belly fat be blasted? Yes it can. Eliminating processed foods from your diet and adopting a healthier eating plan such as the Mediterranean diet will see your body start to use excess fat for energy. Intermittent fasting (12-14 hours works well), HIIT workouts, stress reduction and a good night's sleep will also help move fat along as they stimulate and help balance hormone levels.
White fat can naturally switch to brown fat through exposure to cold, but as humans don't like to feel cold, we tend to keep ourselves warm and therefore reduce opportunities to switch white to brown fat. Research shows our evolution has moved our healthy body fat ratio to 14-31% and the regions of our genome that help turn white fat to brown fat have been 'packed away' and can no longer be accessed. "We've lost some of the ability to shunt fat cells towards beige or brown fat and stuck down the white fat pathway" comments Dr Swain-Lenz of Duke University, USA.
Coffee, it appears is the good news factor as it can turn WAT into the more dynamic BAT and help you burn off calories. Experiments using thermal imaging have been used to measure temperature changes in the neck-this is where the largest store of BAT is found. Scientists at the University of Nottingham discovered that drinking just one cup of coffee a day can stimulate brown fat in the neck region.
Of the two types of fat cells, BAT is known as the 'good fat' as it it full of mitochondria, the 'energy' of a cell that burns fuel and generates energy.
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