什么是棕色脂肪，它能幫助你減肥嗎?

什么是棕色脂肪，它能幫助你減肥嗎?

We’re used to thinking of body fat as bad. But for scientists, fat holds the key to some interesting clues about weight and body shape — specifically, brown fat.

我們習(xí)慣認(rèn)為身體脂肪是有害的。但是對(duì)于科學(xué)家來(lái)說(shuō)，脂肪是一些關(guān)于體重和體型的有趣線索的關(guān)鍵——尤其是棕色脂肪。

What we know about the white kind of fat is that it stores excess calories so the body can access it when hungry, and it releases hormones that help control metabolism.

我們對(duì)白色脂肪的了解是，它儲(chǔ)存了過(guò)多的卡路里，所以當(dāng)身體餓的時(shí)候可以攝入它，它釋放激素，幫助控制新陳代謝。

But brown fat, which was once thought to be gone from the body by the time we reached adolescence, has scientists buzzing. Not only do adults have brown fat, but lean people have more of it than overweight people. When it’s stimulated, it can burn calories.

但是曾經(jīng)被認(rèn)為在我們進(jìn)入青春期時(shí)就已經(jīng)從身體中消失的棕色脂肪卻讓科學(xué)家們議論紛紛。成年人不僅有棕色脂肪，而且瘦人比超重的人有的更多。當(dāng)它受到刺激時(shí)，它可以燃燒卡路里。

The brown fat in our bodies burns energy and glucose to generate heat. (Photo: tmcphotos/Shutterstock)

What is brown fat?

什么是棕色脂肪?

Brown fat, also known as brown adipose tissue, is a special kind of fat that burns energy and glucose to generate heat. It keeps small animals and babies warm, and animals with abundant brown fat are protected from diabetes and obesity.

棕色脂肪，又稱(chēng)棕色脂肪組織，是一種特殊的脂肪，它通過(guò)燃燒能量和葡萄糖來(lái)產(chǎn)生熱量。它能讓小動(dòng)物和嬰兒保持溫暖，而且含有豐富棕色脂肪的動(dòng)物可以預(yù)防糖尿病和肥胖癥。

But brown fat doesn't just generate heat.

但是棕色脂肪不僅僅產(chǎn)生熱量。

New research finds that brown fat may also protect against obesity and Type 2 diabetes. A new study, published in the journal Nature, suggests that brown fat can help filter excessive amino acids that can increase the risk of those health concerns. The findings may help lead to new treatments.

新的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)棕色脂肪也可以預(yù)防肥胖和2型糖尿病。發(fā)表在《自然》(Nature)雜志上的一項(xiàng)新研究表明，棕色脂肪可以幫助過(guò)濾會(huì)增加這些健康問(wèn)題風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的過(guò)量氨基酸。這些發(fā)現(xiàn)可能有助于開(kāi)發(fā)新的治療方法。

How brown fat works with metabolism

棕色脂肪如何影響新陳代謝

Research now shows that brown fat may be manipulated by ambient temperature. In one study, mild cold exposure stimulated brown fat activity while mild warm exposure suppressed it. Brown fat increase was accompanied by improvement in insulin sensitivity and energy burning rate after food, Lee explains.

現(xiàn)在的研究表明，棕色脂肪可能受到環(huán)境溫度的影響。在一項(xiàng)研究中，輕度的冷暴露刺激了棕色脂肪的活動(dòng)，而輕度的熱暴露抑制了這種活動(dòng)。Lee解釋說(shuō)，棕色脂肪的增加伴隨著胰島素敏感性的提高和食物后能量的燃燒速度的提高。

Normal healthy brown fat cells (left) and normal healthy white fat. (Photo: vetpathologist/Shutterstock)

If you can convert white fat (shown above right) to brown fat (on the left), you essentially change a storage area into a burning furnace.

如果您可以將白色脂肪(如右上方所示)轉(zhuǎn)換為棕色脂肪(如左上方所示)，那么您實(shí)際上就將一個(gè)存儲(chǔ)區(qū)域變成了一個(gè)燃燒的爐子。

The future of brown fat

棕色脂肪的未來(lái)

Scientists are shooting for a drug that could increase brown fat. But it won’t be a miracle pill. You’ll still need to combine it with a healthful diet and exercise to actually burn that fat.

科學(xué)家正在研制一種能增加棕色脂肪的藥物。但這不會(huì)是一個(gè)神奇的藥丸。你仍然需要結(jié)合健康的飲食和鍛煉來(lái)燃燒脂肪。

“A more realistic approach to losing weight is encouraging people to eat less food, drink less alcohol and exercise more,” Vash says. This is a much more effective way to lose weight — at least until a medical approach to converting white fat to brown becomes available.

瓦什說(shuō):“更現(xiàn)實(shí)的減肥方法是鼓勵(lì)人們少吃、少喝、多鍛煉。”這是一種更有效的減肥方法——至少在將白色脂肪轉(zhuǎn)化為棕色脂肪的醫(yī)學(xué)方法出現(xiàn)之前是如此。

Until a fat pill is invented, scientists speculate about ways to rev up brown fat burning such as lowering your home thermostat in cool weather and spending time outdoors in the cold. Studies show that people who work outdoors have higher brown fat activity than average, so why not take advantage and spend some time chilling? Maybe it could boost your brown fat while you wait for science to catch up.

在脂肪藥丸被發(fā)明之前，科學(xué)家們推測(cè)了加速棕色脂肪燃燒的方法，比如在涼爽的天氣降低家里的恒溫器，在寒冷的戶(hù)外呆上一段時(shí)間。研究表明，戶(hù)外工作的人比一般人有更高的棕色脂肪活動(dòng)，所以為什么不利用這一點(diǎn)，花點(diǎn)時(shí)間放松一下呢?也許在你等待科學(xué)進(jìn)步的時(shí)候，它可以增加你的棕色脂肪。