Scientists discover how to turn on calorie-burning fat and improve metabolism

[DCUK NewsBot]

A new study has identified two receptors on fat cells that are involved in the creation of metabolism-boosting brown adipose tissue (BAT), which is lacking in people who are obese or have type 2 diabetes. As opposed to the other type of fat cells, known as white adipose tissue (WAT), which store energy, BAT is specialised to burn energy, yielding heat when activated by cold. The loss of BAT in humans has been associated with higher body weight, insulin resistance and an increase in liver enzymes that are related to fatty liver disease. In addition to that, previous research has shown that mice genetically predisposed to have extra BAT are leaner and healthier. In humans, more BAT also translates into a lower body weight. In this new study, researchers at the Centre for Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering of Zurich University, Switzerland have found a way to change WAT into BAT tissue. The findings, which appeared in The FASEB Journal, describe how to increase BAT production by determining which genes control the development of WAT and BAT. Comparing the active genes in BAT and WAT tissue of bone marrow stem cells and belly fat cells from human donors, the researchers found that two receptors, called TRPM8 and TRPP3, were present in large quantities in BAT. They have also shown that when TRPP3 is lacking, the browning of fat cells decreased. Conversely, high levels of TRPM8 in WAT prompted these cells to consume more oxygen – a sign that they were producing more heat and 'browning' into BAT cells. In other words, the stimulation of TRPM8 strongly supported the browning of fat cells, whereas the silencing of TRPP3 prevented the formation of BAT. Although the team hasn't shown that TRPM8 and TRPP3 directly trigger BAT activation, these two receptors could aid research by acting as catalysts for the process. The researchers believe that certain foods may activate or deactivate these two receptors, in turn helping the body to recruit WAT tissue and transform it into BAT. The team is now gathering more details on the mechanisms by which these two receptors may affect BAT activation. If they indeed assist in activating BAT, it may offer a route toward therapies for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

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[CherryAA]

I would be happy to take a guess - based on my own experience and that of Butter Bob ! - BUTTER

 

[zand]

Butter and all saturated fats get my vote. I don't think diet is the whole answer though. I think the health of the adrenal glands need to go into the equation somewhere too.

Mmmm I can smell breakfast - butter and bacon

 

[CherryAA]

My breakfast of choice , butter fried egg and bacon, with mushrooms and tomato on a bed of spinach with olive oil and balsamic vinegar sprinkled with a a mix of chia, hemp and flax seeds with a a couple of almonds - seems to be doing the job quite nicely !

 

[douglas99]

Go for it.
Report back if you reverse obesity, and type 2 with bacon and butter.

 

[CherryAA]

Go for it.
Report back if you reverse obesity, and type 2 with bacon and butter.

well s far I'm down 30 kilos and from ha1C from 10.3% to 6% so sure !

 

[douglas99]

well s far I'm down 30 kilos and from ha1C from 10.3% to 6% so sure !

So, you up for a donut eating contest?
Because I actually reversed my obesity, and my type 2, on a low fat diet, so I'm game.
(Although I don't normally eat them, as I don't like sweet stuff any more, but I can manage them when I need to)

 

[bulkbiker]

So, you up for a donut eating contest?
Because I actually reversed my obesity, and my type 2, on a low fat diet, so I'm game.
(Although I don't normally eat them, as I don't like sweet stuff any more, but I can manage them when I need to)

I would imagine a significantly larger number of people have done that on a LCHF diet than those who follow the ND.
I think the programme run by this site has over 200,000 participants.

 

[douglas99]

I would imagine a significantly larger number of people have done that on a LCHF diet than those who follow the ND.
I think the programme run by this site has over 200,000 participants.

I'll offer you the same challenge then.
If you've reversed obesity, and reversed type 2, should be no problem?

 

[bulkbiker]

I'll offer you the same challenge then.
If you've reversed obesity, and reversed type 2, should be no problem?

Why would I want to eat that c**p ever again.. but don't let me stop you..

I'm not sure I have "reversed" my obesity.. although I do weigh significantly less than I did on diagnosis.

Have I reversed Type 2? I don't know but I have found a way of eating that doesn't do my body damage like my old way of eating did. I am quite happy with that and don't need to prove anything, especially not to you.

Edited by mod: removing potentially offensive language

 

[douglas99]

Butter and bacon for you then, and report back if you ever do reverse it then, as I said earlier.

 

[ickihun]

@douglas99 so you reversed on low fat.

I cannot prove it but I feel I've had my diabetes in reversal numerous times in the 40yrs I've suffered with its symptoms. Everytime on low fat, for me too.

I'm currently losing on low carb, low fat. No where near a reversal as too heavily overweight. After bariatric surgery we can compare notes again?

I will be low carbing after bariatric surgery. I want to get rid of my insulin injections, permanently. If I can use metformin for my hormones only I'll be very very happy.

In the past I was undiagnosed but exercising to excess and dieting by eating toddler portion size food. Although I didn't low carb as I was unaware of diabetes and carb damage. Although I favoured lemon to sugar those days too.

My lightest weight I've been is 15.5 stones for ivf which I accumplished with slimming tablets not prescribed.
At the age of 13yr old I weighed 18stone and size 18-20uk size.
My 10yr old is size adult size 8 shoe uk and weighs approx 11st. At 5ft 3inches tall.
So yes, its in the genes. Medically named obesity. Others call it big boned.
Son is still involved in leptin research headed in Cambridge. He is due to see a new dietician soon. He was breast fed and baby jar and fresh fruit and veg diet til school meals. He gets hungry all the time, no matter the diet. Once he had to sit down for a teacher he started adding weight above gov. standard for his age. He is very physical.
I was too.
I cannot walk well now so combined with insulin I'm struggling - hence bariatric surgery neccessity.

 

[douglas99]

I always said I am probably a classic diabetic.
I never dieted, I ate my way to being overweight, and type 2, and dieted my way out.
I dieted on a very low calorie diet, so yes, it had to be low fat by definition, and I still don't eat much fat, due to the fact it puts weight straight back on me.
I specifically decided I didn't just want to control my diabetes through diet, I wanted to have the best shot of actually reversing it, and eat normally again.
It appears to have worked for me.

The article actually says "The researchers believe that certain foods may activate or deactivate these two receptors,", so for me it seems to be the lack of food which worked for me.
Hopefully the surgery will have the same result for you.

 

[ickihun]

I always said I am probably a classic diabetic.
I never dieted, I ate my way to being overweight, and type 2, and dieted my way out.
I dieted on a very low calorie diet, so yes, it had to be low fat by definition, and I still don't eat much fat, due to the fact it puts weight straight back on me.
I specifically decided I didn't just want to control my diabetes through diet, I wanted to have the best shot of actually reversing it, and eat normally again.
It appears to have worked for me.

The article actually says "The researchers believe that certain foods may activate or deactivate these two receptors,", so for me it seems to be the lack of food which worked for me.
Hopefully the surgery will have the same result for you.

I'll be very interested in what my diabetes will do. If I'm careful with potato, bread, rice and cereal etc I'm hoping I may get rid of insulin or hugely decrease it. I'm still on huge units but in a more concentrated insulin.
I'm yet to ask what they predict for my diabetes. Physio said my back won't fix but be under less pressure.

 

[CherryAA]

So, you up for a donut eating contest?
Because I actually reversed my obesity, and my type 2, on a low fat diet, so I'm game.
(Although I don't normally eat them, as I don't like sweet stuff any more, but I can manage them when I need to)

I'm very glad that you managed to reverse your diabetes on a low fat diet.

As you say you " ate" your way to diabetes and never dieted . I didn't - I dieted my way to diabetes from a very different place - thirty years of low calorie dieting, with very low fat intake and very little junk food. I have not eaten a "cake" since I was a teenager. I come from a family which is very insulin resistant so we all have the same issue.

Unfortunately a low fat diet gave me my diabetes - when first diagnosed I had been eating very low fat for 6 weeks and low fat for 20 years before then - the result was sky high blood sugars and a dreadful blood profile.

Its important to realise as well that yes I eat LCHF and that is 60% fat - BUT I am also only eating around 1300 calories a day which in terms of an average diet would still be "low fat" in absolute terms.

I too have also lost weight on a 1300 a day diet of only 10-15% fat - it was enormously difficult, required massive willpower , led to huge reverses when I " fell off " the wagon and resulted in a diet which was pretty much tasteless.

So given a choice of 1300 calorie LCHF 60% fat 20% protein and 20% carbs, versus 1300 calories HCLF 20% fat , 20% protein and 60% carbs - I would choose high fat in a heartbeat.

I doubt it matters too much "how " you drain your fatty liver and pancreas - whether that be low calories, fasting, or LCHF. The issue is - which diet are you more capable of following through on, and which diet will result in an improvement in metabolic markers most quickly for you personally . No doubt for each of us this can be different.

I am fully aware that as of today I am not finished - I have a further 20 kilos to go. I know my organs have not yet lost all their excess fat - my Tanita scales give a reading of 10.5 for the visceral fat when they should be closer to 5. The 10.5 is a vast improvement on where I was 30 kilos ago.

Most days I now record blood sugars in the normal range 90+% of the time. When I am not in the range it is because I ate a rather larger vegetable portion that I should have done, or an excess of protein. Both of those also slow my weight loss.
It has not been because I ate too much butter - indeed when on a plateau, bacon and eggs is the best thing I've found to get it moving again.

I have already noticed that I do not spike as much with carbs as I used to. I fully expect that if I do get to target weight and visceral fat - that will improve more.

So sure - when I get to the right place, happy to have a "competition" on the subject - and I will be surprised if you respond particularly differently to me - though it won't be with a doughnut - I have never eaten one in my life and have no intention of starting any time soon.

A nice big portion of buttered mash potatoes maybe !

 

[douglas99]

I'm very glad that you managed to reverse your diabetes on a low fat diet.

As you say you " ate" your way to diabetes and never dieted . I didn't - I dieted my way to diabetes from a very different place - thirty years of low calorie dieting, with very low fat intake and very little junk food. I have not eaten a "cake" since I was a teenager. I come from a family which is very insulin resistant so we all have the same issue.

Unfortunately a low fat diet gave me my diabetes - when first diagnosed I had been eating very low fat for 6 weeks and low fat for 20 years before then - the result was sky high blood sugars and a dreadful blood profile.

Its important to realise as well that yes I eat LCHF and that is 60% fat - BUT I am also only eating around 1300 calories a day which in terms of an average diet would still be "low fat" in absolute terms.

I too have also lost weight on a 1300 a day diet of only 10-15% fat - it was enormously difficult, required massive willpower , led to huge reverses when I " fell off " the wagon and resulted in a diet which was pretty much tasteless.

So given a choice of 1300 calorie LCHF 60% fat 20% protein and 20% carbs, versus 1300 calories HCLF 20% fat , 20% protein and 60% carbs - I would choose high fat in a heartbeat.

I doubt it matters too much "how " you drain your fatty liver and pancreas - whether that be low calories, fasting, or LCHF. The issue is - which diet are you more capable of following through on, and which diet will result in an improvement in metabolic markers most quickly for you personally . No doubt for each of us this can be different.

I am fully aware that as of today I am not finished - I have a further 20 kilos to go. I know my organs have not yet lost all their excess fat - my Tanita scales give a reading of 10.5 for the visceral fat when they should be closer to 5. The 10.5 is a vast improvement on where I was 30 kilos ago.

Most days I now record blood sugars in the normal range 90+% of the time. When I am not in the range it is because I ate a rather larger vegetable portion that I should have done, or an excess of protein. Both of those also slow my weight loss.
It has not been because I ate too much butter - indeed when on a plateau, bacon and eggs is the best thing I've found to get it moving again.

I have already noticed that I do not spike as much with carbs as I used to. I fully expect that if I do get to target weight and visceral fat - that will improve more.

So sure - when I get to the right place, happy to have a "competition" on the subject - and I will be surprised if you respond particularly differently to me - though it won't be with a doughnut - I have never eaten one in my life and have no intention of starting any time soon.

Donuts, - I could regularly eat a tray of four as a snack.

 

[CherryAA]

and theirein lies the difference !

My worst excess of a "binge" would have been a chocolate bar of say 150 grams, or a couple of bags of crisps. or a single cornish pasty. I don't like sweet foods and never have. My body craved savoury foods and because of the high fat content I denied it for years .

I adored things like vegetable curry with beansprouts - which spiked me horribly.
I love couscous and rice - both no go'es

Today I add liberal amounts of fat to the things I cook (all weighed and counted into my allowance) . I find that because the food is fatty, a small portion size is enough . because I like the savory foods i can quite happily eat the curry and sauce and skip the accompanying carb by replacing that with fresh spinach.

I think many women have a similar problem to mine. Years of low fat dieting have wrecked their metabolism and the fear of fat prevents them embracing a dietary change that might be good for them, as it seems to have been for me. I was fortunate that on the day of diagnosis I KNEW that the low fat diet recommended by my doctor was not the answer for me personally because I knew I had already been doing it and it had got me to where I was.

 

[zand]

and theirein lies the difference !

My worst excess of a "binge" would have been a chocolate bar of say 150 grams, or a couple of bags of crisps. or a single cornish pasty. I don't like sweet foods and never have. My body craved savoury foods and because of the high fat content I denied it for years .

I adored things like vegetable curry with beansprouts - which spiked me horribly.
I love couscous and rice - both no go'es

Today I add liberal amounts of fat to the things I cook (all weighed and counted into my allowance) . I find that because the food is fatty, a small portion size is enough . because I like the savory foods i can quite happily eat the curry and sauce and skip the accompanying carb by replacing that with fresh spinach.

I think many women have a similar problem to mine. Years of low fat dieting have wrecked their metabolism and the fear of fat prevents them embracing a dietary change that might be good for them, as it seems to have been for me. I was fortunate that on the day of diagnosis I KNEW that the low fat diet recommended by my doctor was not the answer for me personally because I knew I had already been doing it and it had got me to where I was.

That's very much my experience too.

 

[ickihun]

Give me buttery mash with corned beef pie or pastry fresh from my nana's oven. Yummy. Her fruit and cream flan, not so much. I'd rather have another savoury pastry.
My 10yr old is the same. Pasta, pizza and pastry if he could.
I know now how harmful they were but not until I joined here. Pastry has always been known as a no-no for type2s thou.

 

[ickihun]

I've always believed there is a bad fat cell and a good fat cell. Both made differently. Metformin transforms my bad fat cells to good ones so I can exercise it off.
I just cannot exercise much.