Cultivating your good fat
In an effort to stay slim, burn calories and generally avoid weight gain, we’re all familiar with the basics. Eat right, exercise, sleep 7-8 hour/night, handle your stress, etc. I would like to add to this list an option that is not widely known or yet fully researched. This new method is a bio-hack (a short-cut to improve one’s biology) that can make a considerable difference for those brave enough to try it. You can consider yourself way ahead of the health and wellness curve on this one.
We all carry two types of fat, white and brown. White fat is the fat that is responsible for the obesity epidemic we currently face worldwide (beer bellies, muffin tops, bagel butts etc.). Brown fat is a metabolically active fat that basically tells our body to burn fat for energy and to generate body heat. Brown fat is found primarily in infants and hibernating animals. It is present in adults, mostly in the neck and shoulder regions, but questions of its function and activity are still under investigation. Recent research clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of optimally functioning brown fat and its role in thermogenesis and weight loss/maintenance.
You better believe the drug companies are looking into ways to take advantage of mimicking brown fat and attempting to create a drug that will provide similar effects as a magic weight loss pill. One need not wait until if and when this is discovered, there are actions you can implement now to increase the presence and function of brown fat in your body. The question is, will you want to make the effort to harness the power of brown fat?
The best way to increase and optimize the function of brown fat is COLD exposure. Cold exposure has many mechanisms by which it increases metabolism, many of which are extremely beneficial to the system (improved thyroid function, lowered cortisol levels, endorphin production and many others). Michael Phelps eats 12,000 calories/day while training. It doesn’t seem possible to eat that much and not gain weight, except when you consider the fact that he trains 3-4 hours/day in cold water that is 24X more thermally conductive than air. In other words, not only is Phelps exercising, he is optimizing his heat loss and brown fat production by exposing himself to cold temperatures in a thermally conductive medium. Another great example of this is how ripped Rocky was in Rocky IV because he did all of his training in the Siberian snow (oh wait, that was just a movie wasn’t it?).
Options to consider for cold exposure are many but the best and most effective (and most painful) seems to be bodily immersion in ice water (temperature 50-55 degrees) for a period of 20-30 minutes. Another option is cold showers, which definitely will wake one up in the morning. It has been reported the using ice packs on the back of the neck and shoulders can stimulate the formation of brown fat, though not as well as immersion therapy. As a matter of convenience, one may even purchase an ice vest and neck wrap to utilize daily to lower core body temperature and stimulate brown fat production. There are many other ways to expose oneself to the cold but due to the thermal conduction issues, immersion is the best. These modalities make the body more metabolically active in trying to warm itself, thus increasing metabolic rate and burning more calories.
The science behind the above is relatively new and more information will be available as time passes. I recommend looking over the links below for more education. I would not recommend engaging in a program such as this if you have heart disease or other medical problems. The rewards beyond weight loss can be significant, if you’re up to the challenge and cold exposure that this requires. Since 2/3 of the country is overweight, maybe if we get this message out there, it will convince everyone to turn their thermostat down to 65 degrees? Enjoy the info below and if you ever thought of joining the polar bear club, now you have a legitimate reason.
Shiveringly Yours,
Chris
Brown Fat Burns Ordinary Fat
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1890175,00.html
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/genetics/brown-fat-revelations-may-lead-to-new-weight-loss-drugs-670440?click=pm_latest
http://www.livestrong.com/article/464218-brown-fat-weight-loss/
http://gettingstronger.org/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-toolbar/toolbar.php?wptbto=http%3A%2F%2Fgettingstronger.org%2F2010%2F03%2Fcold-showers%2F%23more-20&wptbhash=aHR0cDovL2dldHRpbmdzdHJvbmdlci5vcmcvMjAxMC8wMy9jb2xkLXNob3dlcnMvPHdwdGI%2BQ29sZCBzaG93ZXJzPHdwdGI%2BaHR0cDovL2dldHRpbmdzdHJvbmdlci5vcmc8d3B0Yj5HZXR0aW5nIFN0cm9uZ2Vy
http://gettingstronger.org/2012/01/the-iceman/#more-3678
No comments:
Post a Comment