Little do many of us know that there is actually two types of fat - brown fat and white fat. Brown fat is, well, good. White fat is bad. And no, they aren't the kind of fats you eat. They are actually components of our bodies. Brown fat peaks in adolescence and it quite metabolically active - it actually uses and burns calories because of its preponderance of mitchondria - the energy factories of our cells. White fat is pretty much a storage vessel; not very metabolically active at all unless it is the nasty visceral or abdominal fat which is a little factory of hormones and chemical messengers of inflammation. Sadly, brown fat peaks in adolescence and is prevalent in only about 5% of the population.
White fat has a very bad reputation - there is a positive correlation between the amount of white fat in our bodies and the prevalence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, etc, etc. However, white fat gave our ancestors a survival advantage - those of us who had higher amounts of white fat lived longer. How is that you say (after you said white fat is the root of all evil)? Well, remember that our ancestors lived very different lives than we do know. Our ancestors did not have convenience stores and fast food restaurants on every corner. In some cases, our ancestors went without food for very long periods of time. Those who could store more energy as white fat could make it through those periods when food was not plentiful. As such, they lived and could perpetuate the species. Our ancestors with higher amounts of brown fat did not survive such conditions because they burned more calories than they stored. Ladies and gentleman, this is natural selection at its finest!
Things have changed significantly for us in modern day North America. We no longer need to store energy as fat. White fat no longer confers a survival benefit but actually greatly increases mortality and morbidity. Brown fat now confers the survival benefit but has been essentially 'bred' (for lack of a better word) out of our species over time. It has a long way to go before it catches up.
When I learned about this in my Endocrinology class this semester, I thought that it was really interesting so I thought that I would pass it along to you.
So, what's new with me? Thankfully Halloween is over and the plethora of little bars and bags of chips have gone away. I am doing well with the activity - karate, the gym, hockey - but I can't seem to get on track with my diet. A week full of activity can be nullified with a week of terrible eating habits. So, this week I have endeavoured to try to eat a little better. I have eliminated junk food this week - no bars, chips or cheesies for the next 5 - 7 days. I am two days in and I haven't even been tempted! I think that is because I have been eating a little more frequently throughout the day to avoid the inevitable 3pm drop in blood sugar which leads to snacking on anything that is close by.
I have also started drinking more water. Perhaps in the next post I'll talk a little bit about the importance of hydration. I used to drink a lot of water once but I literally got out of the habit. This week I have been toting around a 1L water bottle that I fill up in the morning. My goal is to finish it every day. I am also trying to choose water at meal times. 1L per day isn't probably enough but at least it's a start.
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