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What Color Is Your Fat?
By Fiona Young-Brown
Fats. One minute we’re told they’re
all bad, and now we’re told there are
good and bad fats; we should avoid
eating the bad ones (trans-fats, margarine, etc) and eat lots of the good
ones (avocado, olive oils, and so on).
Now it turns out that our bodies have
different kinds of fat too, and not all of
it is bad.
So what color fat do
you have?
That’s right – fat comes in brown
and white. And you actually have
both types, but the amounts of each
can make a drastic difference in your
ability to gain or lose weight, and your
likelihood of developing diabetes.
Let’s start by looking at white fat.
When you’re trying to lose weight, and
find yourself looking in the mirror at
those fatty deposits on your stomach
and thighs, it’s easy to think that fat is
just horrible, period. And this white fat
is the bad stuff.
White fat is made up of single lipid
droplets. It contains fewer blood vessels than brown fat, and therefore has
a light yellow or white appearance.
White fat is the predominant fat type
in our bodies; it acts as a cushion for
our internal organs, and as a thermal
insulator, helping to regulate our body
heat. An organ in its own right, white
fat produces estrogen and leptin,
which is a hormone that helps control
our appetite and hunger. It also has
receptors for adrenaline, insulin, and
cortisol (a stress hormone). Those fat
cells are busy little bees!
An excess of white fat can lead to a
number of health problems. Too much
in the belly area is associated with
increased risk for heart disease, cancer,
and diabetes. Too much food and too
little exercise will create more white
fat, and that’s what we want to avoid.
But in that case, what about this
brown fat? Brown fat is so named
because of the color generated by
the blood vessels contained within.
Whereas white fat is found in all
the areas we don’t want it, brown
fat is commonly found in the neck
and upper back area. It comes from
muscle tissue and its primary purpose
is to burn calories. In other words,
you want as much of this as possible. Brown fat also acts as what The
Journal of Cell Biology calls a “super
vacuum”, sucking up excess glucose
in the blood, and thereby preventing
Type 2 diabetes. In fact, scientists are
currently exploring ways that these
brown fat cells might be used to one
day treat diabetes without insulin.
So how do you get more of the
wonderful brown stuff? Like it or not,
exercise is your best bet. Physical activity can convert white fat into energe ѥ