Types of Fat Cells

Not all fat cells in the human body function in the same way.  It has been found that there are actually three different types of fat cells:

• White Fat Cells:  The type of fat that most people think of, causing a person to be overweight. These cells store energy for future needs.

• Brown Fat Cells:  Used by the body to regulate body temperature, using the energy immediately.

• Beige Fat Cells:  Another type of cell that falls between the category of white and brown. This type of fat actually forms within the white cells and can convert the white cells to brown fat cells.

Babies are born with more brown cells and fewer white cells, but these ratios change as a person develops into adulthood.  The brown fat is beneficial to keep the baby warm outside the womb, although it appears that the brown fat cells begin to decrease and white fat cells increase as the child gets older.

Key to Weight Loss: Beige Fat Cells

The key to losing weight more quickly and efficiently is to understand the ways that white cells can be converted into brown cells.  Since white cells store energy and brown cells burn energy, it is possible to boost the metabolism when more brown cells are present.

A review paper published by Georgia State University suggested that there is a natural mechanism within the human body that helps with the conversion of white fat cells into beige cells.  It appears that the key factors in this conversion are created by heat production and stimulating the sympathetic nervous system to boost the supply of blood vessels to white fat tissue.  As a result, beige fat cells are created and they function in the same way as brown fat cells to burn energy.

Converting White Fat Cells for Weight Loss

White fat cells won’t automatically convert to fat-burning cells without some type of stimulation to get the process started.  Certain factors can promote these changes, such as food deprivation (fasting), cold exposure and exercise.  When these experiences happen, the body converts the fat cells to provide the energy that is needed in the moment for preservation.

As the white fats are broken down and the composition of the body changes, it is a process known as “browning.”  It has been suggested that certain activities to boost browning within the body might help to increase fat burning and stimulate weight loss at the same time.

Bottomline:

Here are a few quick tips to help you “brown” your white fat cells so you can burn even more fat

Expose yourself to cold temperatures:

• Take cold showers

• Drink ice water in the morning (around 500 ml has been suggested by some experts)

• Place ice packs on your upper chest and upper back area for 20 - 30 minutes

• Take an ice bath (immerse your body up to your waist) experts suggest 10 minutes, 3 times a week

Intermittent Fasting:

• Although IF isn’t for everyone, if you haven’t tried it, it may be something you may want to look into.  I’ve written a few articles about IF if you’re interested in learning more. Here's a good one.

Exercise:

• ... I don’t think I need to elaborate on this…