All of us are aware that we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic. Losing weight and maintaining weight has become a never ending struggle for most of us. The truth about fat loss is that, it is possible to reduce the size of the fat cells, but not the number. This is one good reason why the results of quick fix weight loss solutions don’t last longer. A couple of cheat meals and the fat is back in place. Generally white colored foods are villanized in every possible way and the associated weight gain is like a ticking bomb. We try to eat healthy by choosing the brown foods; brown rice, brown bread, brown pasta, brown sugar ….how about brown fat? The human body has two kinds of fat tissue, the white fat and the brown fat. So how is this brown fat better than white fat in fighting obesity?
The white fat, stores excess calories mostly around waistline causing weight gain. On the other hand, brown fat helps burn calories from white fat. The color brown is due to its rich supply of blood capillaries and mitochondria (the cell’s organelle that burns calories). Adults retain from infancy a small amount of brown fat in the neck, underarms, around shoulders and between ribs. Recently, scientists have identified the anti-obesity gene to use brown fat as a therapeutic agent against obesity.
Well, here are simple dos and don’ts to gain brown fat.
1. High-calorie diets, over-exercising and very low-calorie diets (<1,000 calories) can make white fat more stubborn and turn down the activity of brown fat. As little as 50 grams of activated brown fat can easily burn 20 per cent (200 kcals) of our daily calorie intake. Lean people have shown to have more brown fat and no wonder why they maintain body weight effortlessly not much affected by food intake. So every time you crash diet, you’re making your white fat stronger and stubborn.
2. Aerobic exercises increase skeletal muscle mass which releases irisin, the hormone that aids the conversion of white fat to brown fat. An increase in skeletal muscle mass can be an effective indicator that brown fat is activated. This can be measured using a body composition analyser and explained to you by a dietitian or fitness instructor.
3. Don’t cut out the fat entirely
Excluding all forms of fat in the diet can slow the breakdown of white fat. According to the American Heart Association, a 1,200 calorie healthy diet plan would contain 25-35 per cent of daily calories from dietary fat. The weight-loss trick is to take a minimum of 300 calories per day from those fats which nourish the brown fat.
Safe limits for Daily Intake Amount Energy (Kcal) Fat (gms)
Cooking oil or Sunflower oil 10 gms (2 tsp ) 90 10
Olive oil 10 gms (2 tsp) 90 10
Raw Almonds/dark chocolate 8 pieces/ 2 kisses 56 4
Raw Walnut halves/ dark chocolate 6 halves/ 1 square 75 7
4. Brown fat can be a boon to diabetics.
Excess blood glucose is easily taken into the brown fat as triglycerides with less influence of insulin and burnt later. It is shown that people with more brown fat tend to have a better control over blood glucose levels. Whereas white fat makes insulin resistant leading to diabetes.
5. Brown fat continues to burn calories even after physical activity.
A cold shower post exercise stimulates brown fat to burn calories to produce heat and maintain body temperature. Swimming twice a week can help. Another simple way is to end your shower in cold water for a minute twice to thrice a day.
Fighting obesity should be an important concern for reach of us. An adequately healthy diet and exercise regimen can miraculously change the quality and consistency of our body fat. Healthy weight loss is not only sustainable but also turns down the killer obesity gene.
(Juliot Vinolia is Clinical Dietitian, iCare Clinics, Dubai.)
