By far the largest human study of its kind confirms and expands the health benefits that brown fat brings. Unlike white adipose tissue, which stores calories, brown adipose tissue burns energy. So scientists hope that it holds the key to new onesObesity treatmentsrepresents.
Can brown fat prevent disease?
However, it has long been unclear whether people with plenty of brown fat actually enjoy better health. For one thing, it was difficult to even identify such people because brown fat is hidden deep in the body. Now this new research in natural medicine offers strong evidence. Among more than 52,000 participants, those who had detectable brown fat were less likely than their peers to suffer from heart and metabolic diseases ranging from type 2 diabetes to coronary artery disease. Some common and chronic diseases were less common among study participants with detectable brown fat. For example, only 4.6 percent had type 2 diabetes, compared to 9.5 percent of people who had no such detectable fatty tissue. Similarly, 18.9 percent had abnormal cholesterol, compared to 22.2 percent among those without brown fat. In addition, the study found that in people with brown andbeige fatty tissue has a lower riskfor high blood pressure, heart failure and coronary artery disease.
Another surprising finding was that such a layer of fat can mitigate the negative health effects of obesity. Obese people generally have an increased risk of heart and metabolic diseases. However, the researchers found that among those with brown adipose tissue, the prevalence of these conditions was similar to that of non-obese people. It almost seems as if they are protected from the harmful effects of white fat, according to the study authors. However, the actual mechanisms by which brown fat may contribute to better health are still unclear. But there are some clues. For example, brown fat cells use glucose to burn calories. So it's possible that this lowers blood sugar levels, which can be a major risk factor for developing diabetes. The authorsof the studyplan to further investigate the biology of brown fat cells. This enables pharmacological methods to stimulate brown fat activity to treat obesity and related diseases.
