If you look at health influencers who are clicking their followers on social media these days, they tend to take cold showers, soak in special tubs where the water is ice cold, or jump into frozen bodies. start to notice. water. While these self-proclaimed health gurus tout cold baths as doing everything from reducing anxiety to improving depression, real scientists have discovered that cold baths can. It converts unhealthy white fat cells into healthy brown fat. Now researchers have found a way to chemically activate this process without having to brave the frigid water. This discovery could lead to better treatments for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Body fat gets a bad rap overall, but brown fat actually belongs to its own category. This is done by burning sugar and fat molecules in the body to produce heat, a process known as thermogenesis. We’ve long known that cold can activate brown fat, but not everyone wants a chilly bath to get the benefits.
This fact has led scientists to find another way to recruit brown fat cells. In 2020, endocrinologist Patrick Rensen and his colleagues discovered that there is a chemical target in the body called the beta-2 adrenergic receptor (b2-AR) that can activate brown fat cells. Working with researchers at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, Rensen was able to apply the lab’s findings to human volunteers.
He and his team gave 10 volunteers a drug called salbutamol, a b2-RA activator commonly used to treat asthma. They then used PET-CT scans to observe how brown fat functions in the body. The effect disappeared when the b2-AR receptor was blocked.
“With this knowledge, we can create new stimulants that activate brown fat,” Rensen said, noting that brown fat absorbs not only glucose but also cholesterol, which can lead to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. He added that it could be useful in fighting.
This finding, like a study last year that linked brown fat production with another asthma drug called zafirlukast, is promising but needs further research. Doses are toxic. This new study activated beta2 receptors throughout the body, not just in brown fat cells.
“The first step is to find a substance that turns this receptor ‘on’ only in brown fat cells,” Rensen said of future research. Because it’s also found in tissues, so first we have to find a way to target those irritants very specifically to brown fat, so that we can get these irritants elsewhere in the body. You can prevent side effects.”
Still, along with other technologies such as using hydrogels and light to convert white fat to brown fat, current research is not only helping to banish beer bellies, but also helping people suffering from serious illnesses. Add another potential tool that could also help save lives…including cancer.
A study was published in a journal Cell reporting medicine.
Source: Leiden University Medical Center
