Type 2 diabetes develops when the body does not make enough insulin or it does not respond to it effectively. Lack of physical activity, being overweight and a poor diet increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.
In a study from Rockefeller University, scientists found that a special calorie-burning type of body fat appears to help protect against an array of chronic ailments, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
They found that adults who have active brown fat tissues in their bodies are far less likely than their peers to suffer from a range of chronic illnesses.
What’s more, this protective effect holds even if the person carries excess weight.
Brown fat is found in a layer of fat under the skin, typically in a region extending from the base of the head and along the shoulders, and then down the spine.
It generates heat by drawing glucose from the bloodstream, as opposed to energy-storing white fat.
Brown fat is thought to be an evolutionary response to cold weather, helping generate heat to maintain the body’s core temperature.
However, it has been long thought to have little impact on human health because it diminishes as people age.
In the study, the team analyzed more than 130,000 PET scans from more than 52,000 patients. They then reviewed those scans to search for brown fat deposits.
Nearly 10% of the patients carried active brown fat.
But this is likely an underestimate because patients undergoing the scans had been asked to avoid cold exposure, exercise and caffeine, all of which increase brown fat activity.
The researchers verified earlier findings of brown fat—that women are more likely to carry it than men, that the amount of brown fat decreases as you age and gain weight, and that active brown fat is more likely to be found in scans done in cold versus warm weather.
But when they compared brown fat levels to the patient’s medical histories, they found new associations between brown fat tissue and better overall health in people, regardless of weight.
For example, people with active brown fat have improved levels of cholesterol and blood sugar.
They also were less likely to have high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.
It’s not yet clear why this link might exist, but the team says healthy lifestyles may be the key.
The team says it doesn’t take extreme cold to activate brown fat, even a couple of hours in a 60-degree Fahrenheit room is sufficient.
Pharmaceutical companies also are looking into drugs that might activate brown fat and promote these benefits.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about high vitamin D levels linked to lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and brown rice and white rice affect the diabetes risk differently.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies that Keto diet could benefit overweight people with type 2 diabetes, and results showing Mediterranean diet could help reduce the diabetes risk by 30%.
The study was published in Nature Medicine and conducted by Dr. Paul Cohen et al.
Copyright © 2022 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
