“The Secret to Avoid Age-Related Weight Gain: Stimulating Beige Fat Through Cold Exposure”

Who said that in order not to gain weight you have to sweat hard in the gym or go hungry? Here is an original and effective trick.

A person’s energy expenditure at rest gradually decreases with age and is already 10% lower by age 50. Here you are because as we get older we usually get fat even if we eat the same things. The underlying causes are hormonal changes, which cause a slowdown in metabolism and loss of muscle mass (muscle is the most energy consuming tissue and as it is lost the body burns fewer calories).

The solution to this change that the body undergoes towards middle age, especially in women due to menopause but also in men, has always been diet and exercise. Eat less and move more. And while these two pillars usually work, there is a strategy that could be effective, or at least complementary, for avoiding age-related weight gain: stimulate the production of the so-called beige fat. As? Moderate exposure to the cold, both with cold showers in summer, turning down the heating in winter, not covering up too much…

Cold helps you, find out how: the super effective and long-lasting remedy

Exposure to cold turns white fat beige and increases calorie burn. White fat has the ability to store energy from excessive calorie consumption. It is a reserve of the body and represents 20-25% of body fat. In men it accumulates mainly in the abdominal area and in women in the hips and buttocks.

It has a bad reputation because in excess causes obesitybut it is necessary. “Without white fat, for example, women’s reproductive function would be seriously impaired”explains Jonatan Ruiz, professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sport at the Faculty of Sport Sciences of the University of Granada.

Brown fat has the ability to oxidize glucose and lipids to convert them into heat. Its goal is to burn calories to maintain body temperature and protect us from the cold. It is mainly found in the area of ​​the neck, upper back and renal arteries. The consumption of glucose and lipids could be a good ally to fight obesitydiabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The incredible discovery that revolutionizes everything: no more strict diets

Well, researchers at Cornell University have found out One way to prevent too much white fat from building up: Turn it into beige fat. The results of the study were published in Nature Communications. It’s a subtype of fat that has the same cellular precursors as white fat and the same thermogenic properties as brown fat, meaning it helps lower blood sugar and fatty acids that cause hardening of the arteries, heart disease or diabetes.

When a person experiences prolonged exposure in cold temperatures, stem cells known as fat progenitor cells form thermogenic beige fat cells within white fat. However, with advancing age, the response to this stimulus weakens, shifting the balance towards the production of white fat.

That’s why young people burn calories more easily. Over the years, the ability to create beige fat is lost, which speeds up the metabolism and consumes more energy. One way to increase the production of this type of fat is to expose yourself to cold in a habitual but moderate way. Cold showers are an option, if you don’t support them all over your body you can take them from the waist down. Exercise is another way to stimulate the creation of beige fat. But that’s another story!