Scratchings-and-Sniffings

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Good Fat, Bad Fat Posted: 08 Sep 2009 06:47 AM PDT By now most of us realize that we have good cholesterol and bad cholesterol, but did you know that the same concept seems to apply to fat? Mammals have both brown fat and white fat and recent research has revealed new and important information on the role each plays in long term health. First, let me clarify one thing. Fat, either brown or white, is not inherently good or bad. Both types serve important functions, but just like the cholesterol analogy, too much of one kind and too little of another can have a significant impact on health.   Today let's talk about the new information on brown fat (good) and tomorrow we'll cover white fat; the not so good kind. And since we are all mammals, this discussion applies to cats, dogs and their people.   Brown fat has several unique characteristics. Brown fat, as the name implies, is much darker in color than white fat. Brown fat cells have more blood and nerve supply than white fat cells and brown fat is deposited in only certain areas of the body.    Until recently we thought that brown fat was only important in hibernating animals, like bears, and in new born animals. Brown fat represents about 5% of total body weight in human infants and it diminishes with age. An adult human may only have a few ounces of brown fat, but those few ounces are important.   The reason brown fat is so important to neonates and hibernating animals is due to its ability to generate heat. Brown fat helps keep babies, small mammals in cold environments, and hibernating animals warm. Researchers have concluded that brown fat is stimulated by cold and this is where things get interesting from a health perspective.   Brown fat burns white fat to produce heat and it can burn up a lot of white fat when activated. Recent research demonstrates that 50% of adults have meaningful levels of brown fat. When brown fat is activated it has the potential to burn up to 9 pounds of white fat over the course of a year. That's without dieting and exercise, by the way.   Even more interesting is the fact that obese animals and animals with high levels of blood sugar appear to have low levels of brown fat. If there was a way to stimulate the development of brown fat and activate it in these individuals we would have a new weapon to control obesity and the related development of type two diabetes.   The latest research is encouraging. Scientists have discovered that a common protein messenger molecule called BMP7 stimulates the production of brown fat. If we can figure out the chemical pathway by which cold activates brown fat we may be able to trigger that reaction with new drugs.    Let's face it. It's hard to lose weight with the conventional methods of exercise and diet. That's why these new findings on brown fat are so important. More brown fat can mean less white fat and tomorrow we'll discuss why that is so important.

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