The Secrets of Body Fat
Being overweight is not good for your overall health, but body fat is not always harmful. Here's how to tell the difference.
Body fat: white or brown?
There are two main categories of body fat. The white, the most abundant, is the one you hold between your fingers when you pinch your abdomen. The brunette, which mostly lodges in the neck, burns energy instead of storing it like the other does, says Dr. Scott Kahan, director of the National Weight and Wellness Center in Washington, DC. could protect us from diabetes: According to an article in the journal Cell Metabolism , people who have more have more stable blood glucose levels. You may not know it, but you may already be at a healthy weight.
Exposing yourself to the cold
Toddlers have a lot of brown fat, which helps them regulate their body temperature. Alas, it gradually disappears, and adults only have traces of it. However, you can gain some by exposing yourself to the cold. In an experiment, subjects who slept in a cool room (around 18 ° C) sometimes increased the reserve and activity of their brown fat by 40%. Sleeping warm (27 ° C) does the opposite. Cold showers have no effect.
Foods to Promote Brown Fat
Ursolic acid promotes brown fat. There is a lot of it in the peel of apples, but also in cranberries, blueberries, plums and prunes. All of these foods will help you burn fat.
Before an exam
Brown fat has a downside. The heat it gives off makes it difficult to detect tumor activity in cancer patients. It therefore interferes with the work of radiologists. There is currently no evidence that consuming certain foods or nutrients activates brown fat, but radiologists recommend that their patients follow a diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates to avoid it before a test. Some even overheat their waiting room for this sole purpose
Protective cushion
There is good even in white fat. It cushions and protects vital organs, keeps us warm, and stores calories that we would need if food were to run out. It is also important to be able to accept your weight and your body by doing body positivity.
Convert from one to another
White fat can turn brown - or rather beige. She then burns calories like the brunette, which helps fight obesity. Science tries to understand how this conversion takes place; a study suspects a hormone secreted by muscles during exercise.
Cryolipolyse
Fat cells respond to changes in temperature. Cryolipolysis freezes them to death, says Dr. Anne Chapas, professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai Clinic in New York City. The body sheds destroyed cells within a few months. Prevention is better than cure: here are the bad habits to avoid to avoid having abdominal fat.
Weight loss treatments
You can also use heat to remove fat cells, says Dr. Chapas. Several studies have shown that they die when heated above 40 ° C for a fairly long time. This is how weight-loss treatments by laser or radiofrequency work. But these hot or cold cures do not exempt from eating healthy and exercising, because the remaining fat cells can swell and reappear.
Dangerousness
The color of grease is not the only telltale sign of its dangerousness. The excess fat stored in the abdomen and around internal organs "secretes inflammatory molecules and other substances that worsen the risk of heart or liver disease and diabetes, among others," notes Dr. Kahan. The fat accumulated in the arms, legs and hips is usually not harmful. Know that it is possible to lose weight while resting by speeding up your metabolism.
Brain health
Fat tissue has been linked to brain health. According to a study published in Neurology , subjects with a high body mass index (BMI) and a high waist-to-hip ratio have less gray matter - the brain tissue that processes new information - than thinner subjects. However, the authors of the article still do not know if fatty tissue is the cause or the consequence of this difference.
