Body Fat: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
(yes, there is ‘good fat’)
Date: April 27, 2017
We’ve talked previously about the difference between visceral fat (the fat inside our muscles located around our internal organs) and subcutaneous fat (the ‘pinchable’ fat between our muscle and skin). It’s been a while, so let’s review. Visceral fat increases our risk for dozens of diseases. Subcutaneous fat, in general & as long as we are not medically obese, has not been shown to increase our risk for health problems – but most of us don’t like having it on our bodies. Hence the phrase, ‘unwanted fat.’
Visceral Fat and Subcutaneous Fat
Researchers are continuing to uncover facts about the fat cell, called an adipocyte. We know that fat is divided into categories based upon its location in the body, subcutaneous and visceral. We previously thought it was simple – visceral meant bad and subcutaneous not so bad, but not good.
White Fat and Brown Fat
We have learned of late that not all fat is harmful and not all fat should be ‘unwanted.’ Brown fat is good. Let’s examine the differences between white fat (bad, unwanted) and brown fat (good, desirable).
White fat (white adipose tissue or WAT) is the fat you already know about. It’s the fat you think about when you are squeezing into your jeans. It’s the type we avoid accumulating. White fat cells store energy in the form of ‘fat’ or ‘oil’ and accumulates from a surplus of calories. White fat is found in both the subcutaneous areas and around our organs (visceral fat). White fat effects hormone production, hunger levels, moods, energy levels and health risk – and not in a good way.
Medical researchers have uncovered a second type of fat called ‘brown fat’ or BAT (brown adipose tissue). Experts believe that brown fat is stored around the neck, shoulder, chest and down the spine. Though we have a lot to learn about brown fat, we know that brown fat increases our metabolic rate (the rate at which we burn calories). Yes, brown fat burns calories. Experts believe the purpose of brown fat is to produce heat for our bodies. Brown fat even burns ‘white fat!’
Want to increase activation of your brown fat or to encourage your white fat to behave like brown fat? Here’s some suggestions based on clinical research.
- A recent study found that exercise alters production of a hormone called irisin, which has the ability to assist white fat to mimic brown fat’s positive effects;
- Another study revealed that higher levels of melatonin activate brown fat. Get a good night’s sleep to produce more melatonin.
- Eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re satisfied; avoid emotional overeating. When you follow these directions, signals from neurons in your brain produce hormones that encourage white fat to behave like brown fat; and
- Try to stay in an environment chilled to 63 degrees F for at least 2 hours daily. This is a hard on for those living in South Texas! Researchers found in multiple studies that people who did so burned nearly 300 calories per day due to brown fat activation.
You haven’t heard it all about fat cells yet! Read our next blog entitled, Not All Fat Cells are Created Equal, about the different types (ugh!) of the bad fat cells – the white fat cells (white adipose tissue or WAT).
If you have too much ‘white fat’ and would like to learn more about reducing it, contact the body shaping experts at Sculpt Away in San Antonio at 210-227-3051 or visit www.SculptAway.com.