Not all fat is created the same, according to several new studies. We all know there's good cholesterol* and bad cholesterol. It turms out there's good and bad fat, too. Good fat is medically known as"brown fat".
Brown fat, mainly found in the neck and shoulders of newborns, has the ability to burn lots of calories*, which can keep them warm. It makes up about 5 percent of an baby's total weight. We lose most of our brown fat as we grow up. By the age of six, we have less than 5 percent of the brown fat we were born with; the fat we get over time is almost all white fat.
Researchers now believe that some people keep brown fat until adulthood. Brown fat - the"good" kind can burm excess* energy better to make heat. But white fat - considered the"bad" kind- is a way for your body to keep excess energy and take more calories than you use. It is bad for the body. And it doesn't use much energy, is hard to burn off, and causes other health problems.
Some studies suggest that taking a cold shower or an ice bath could let brown fat help your body burn more calories. Researchers have also found ways that may help people get brown fat without the need for cold. You build fat from the foods you eat. As brown fat is rich in iron, choosing food rich in iron can keep you healthy. Nutrition* is very important for your health, especially if you want to increase brown fat.
One main reason of the growth in ilnesses is the increasing level of white fat. Though changing white fat into brown fat is helpful to increase brown fat, some scientists think they will learn how to keep brown fat as large and active throughout adulthood as they are like babies. We should try our best to keep brown fat forever instead of having to recreate it.
