How Now, Brown... Fat? by James LaValle, R.Ph, ND, CCN

There are no short cuts to weight loss. In my experience, I still find that the most effective way to help people lose weight is with the combination of a healthier diet and exercise along with addressing underlying metabolic imbalances -- such as insulin resistance, thyroid gland function and stress levels (because stress hormones impact both insulin resistance and thyroid hormones).

However, there have been recent discoveries, and much discussion1 about the role that so-called brown fat may play in weight loss. Brown adipose tissue -- brown fat -- is common to many mammals. It's different from our blobby yellow fat in that it has a very high metabolic rate and contains a protein that converts calories directly to heat. That helps it do its job, which is to keep mammals warm in cold weather. Even when brown fat isn't kicking in to raise body temperature, its high metabolic rate also helps keep those animals lean.

As humans, we are born with some brown fat, but it was thought that we lose all of it as we age. However, recent research in the New England Journal of Medicine2 has discovered that adults do retain some brown fat, and that brown fat is inversely proportional to body mass index (BMI). Researchers now think that increasing our brown fat activity may help us lose weight.

Since the primary trigger for brown fat thermogenesis (burning) is having adequate levels of T3 thyroid hormone,3 metabolic balance and optimization is the most important factor in keeping brown fat as active as it should be.

However, I did some research and there are ways to enhance brown fat activity.
One not-so practical way, the NEJM researchers found, is to keep yourself cold.2 Things like sitting in a very cool room for two hours at one sitting and dipping one's feet into cold water were found to increase brown fat activity. Sitting in a chilly room activates brown fat, but the researchers cautioned that it is not yet clear whether that would translate to weight loss.

I have certainly seen many women who have complained about the cold offices they work in, and who are still overweight. (See my comments above about low thyroid.)
Fortunately, there are other ways to up your brown fat activity. One way is to enhance the production of the fat-burning hormone, adiponectin.3 Two known ways to enhance adiponectin are:
• Eat lots of non-starchy vegetables.
• Get plenty of magnesium.

The omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA, which are found in fish oil also up-regulate brown fat activity. In mice anyway, a diet that included DHA and EPA had the most pronounced effect on the thermogenic activity of brown adipose tissue.4
The third way to increase brown fat activity is really interesting to me because it is an herb I use quite often in my practice -- bitter melon.

Bitter melon (Momordica charantia) is a bitter green vegetable from the gourd family that is grown in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the Amazon, East Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and South America. Bitter melon has been used for years in Ayurvedic medicine for its blood sugar regulating effects.

Several studies have confirmed its ability to enhance blood sugar regulating mechanisms in the body.5,6,7 As such, this herb holds promise as an anti-inflammatory and even an anti-carcinogenic substance, and so continues to be the topic of a good bit of research.

I have been using bitter melon (and most recently a proprietary extract of it called Glukokine®) for its blood sugar regulating effects in practice for quite a few years now. Since anything that improves insulin resistance will also typically enhance weight loss, I was not surprised to find that bitter melon is being studied for its potential anti-obesity effects.

But I was surprised to find that, in rats, bitter melon up-regulated the uncoupling protein that activates brown fat and therefore enhanced the oxidation of fat, which means it enhanced calorie burning via a whole different mechanism.4

Further research may indeed find that bitter melon also activates brown fat in humans. Until then, the best way to enhance brown fat would be to follow the two pointers for adiponectin up-regulation and to make sure you are getting DHA and EPA from regular intake of fish or fish oil. And if you are insulin resistant, bitter melon may help not only the insulin resistance, but also the brown fat in your body.

References
1. "Brown Fat Keeps You Thin," American College for Advancement in Medicine. Accessed May 6, 2009. http://acam.typepad.com/blog/2009/04/bat-fat-keeps-you-thin.html.
2. Cypress AM, et al. NEJM. 2009 Apr9; 360:1509-1517.
3. Cannon B. and Nedergaard J. Physiol Rev. 2004. 84:277-359.
4. Oudart H. Intl J Obes. 1997. 21(11):955-62.
5. Qi T et al. Nat Med. 2004 May;10(5):524-9.
6. Laureen LY, et al. J. Nutr. 2005 Nov;135:2517-2523.
7. Fernandes NP, et al. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2007;7:29.
8. Day C, et al. Planta Med. 1990; 56:426-429.
9. Grover JK, Yadav SP. J Ethnopharmacol. 2004 Jul;93(1):123-132.

[Ed. Note: James LaValle is the founding Director of the LaValle Metabolic Institute, one of the largest integrative medicine practices in the country. Dr. LaValle is the author of The Metabolic Code Diet: Unleashing the Power of Your Metabolism for Lasting Weight Loss and Vitality and the Executive Editor of THB's The Healing Prescription. To learn more, click here.]

"This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise's Total Health Breakthroughs, offering alternative solutions for mind, body and soul. For a complimentary subscription,
visit http://www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com”