Is all fat bad and unhelpful for your body?  If your answer is ‘yes,’ you don’t have enough knowledge about fat.  Fat operates as ‘stored fuel’ in your body.  There are two kinds of fat: white adipose tissue and brown adipose tissue.  Just as their colors are so different, their functions are considerably different too.  The Sookmyung Times will now inform you about ‘Fat.’

White Adipose Tissue
Usually, fat, a word used everyday by people, refers to ‘white adipose tissue.’  White adipose tissue plays a role as a storage house for fuel and lipolysis, and synthesis of fat occurs in these cells.  They exist evenly under the skin and internal organs.

Brown Adipose Tissue

Babies have more brown adipose tissue than white adipose tissue.  You can also see more of it in hibernating animals.   These cells exist between the neck and shoulder, in the kidneys and abdominal regions and generate heat by oxidizing fat.  As people get older, these cells are reduced but do not disappear.  

Then why is the color of this fat brown?  Brown adipose tissue has many mitochondria as well as a lot of cytochrome which contains iron.  In addition, the supply of blood is abundant.  For all these reasons, this cell is brown.  The biggest difference to white adipose tissue is that brown adipose tissue is used for making heat instead of energy.

The amount of brown adipose tissue is less than one percent of body weight.  Still, there are opinions that it is hard to find its relevance for obesity.  However, many researches are continuing to search for an effective way to lose weight by activating brown adipose tissue. 

Hibernation and Brown Adipose Tissue

The secret of hibernation is brown adipose tissue, because hibernating animals have ‘UCP’ (Uncoupling protein), a protein which makes heat by burning fat, in their fat cells.  After the cold winter is gone and spring comes back, brown adipose tissue is activated first.  UCP in fat cells works at the same time and makes heat by breaking down fat.  Heat which is made by this process spreads out through all the corners of our body through blood vessels.    Warm blood which heats up in brown adipose tissue circulates throughout the body so that animals can get warm.  Then they come out from their caves with slim bodies because they have burned their fat.  The reason why humans cannot sleep deeply like bears is that humans have too little brown adipose tissue. 

To Activate Your Brown Adipose Tissue

If you want to lose weight, read this information carefully.  According to recent research, people with physical constitutions which are ideal for losing weight have brown adipose tissue which operates well.

By developing the function of mitochondria , which is generating heat, you can prevent weight gain through increasing heat consumption.  Therefore, activating brown adipose tissue is one way to make your body slim. 

1. Stimulation by Temperature

To stimulate brown adipose tissue, make your neck, waist and knees warm or cold.

Taking a bath in warm water is effective, too.

2. Deep breathing
To burn brown adipose tissue, you need enough oxygen.  If you breathe deeply, brown adipose tissue burns nearly useless fat.  Without excessive exercise, you can make a sound body by breathing regularly.

3. Exercise
Most people use only their arm and leg muscles.  There is no stimulation because people seldom move their backs which contain brown adipose tissue.  Therefore, twisting or turning your back and shaking your head are helpful.

Shin wom Sora