什么是棕色脂肪，它能帮助你减肥吗?

什么是棕色脂肪，它能帮助你减肥吗?

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.

我们习惯认为身体脂肪是有害的。但是对于科学家来说，脂肪是一些关于体重和体型的有趣线索的关键——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.

我们对白色脂肪的了解是，它储存了过多的卡路里，所以当身体饿的时候可以摄入它，它释放激素，帮助控制新陈代谢。

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.

但是曾经被认为在我们进入青春期时就已经从身体中消失的棕色脂肪却让科学家们议论纷纷。成年人不仅有棕色脂肪，而且瘦人比超重的人有的更多。当它受到刺激时，它可以燃烧卡路里。

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，又称棕色脂肪组织，是一种特殊的脂肪，它通过燃烧能量和葡萄糖来产生热量。它能让小动物和婴儿保持温暖，而且含有丰富棕色脂肪的动物可以预防糖尿病和肥胖症。

But brown fat doesn't just generate heat.

但是棕色脂肪不仅仅产生热量。

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.

新的研究发现棕色脂肪也可以预防肥胖和2型糖尿病。发表在《自然》(Nature)杂志上的一项新研究表明，棕色脂肪可以帮助过滤会增加这些健康问题风险的过量氨基酸。这些发现可能有助于开发新的治疗方法。

How brown fat works with metabolism

棕色脂肪如何影响新陈代谢

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.

现在的研究表明，棕色脂肪可能受到环境温度的影响。在一项研究中，轻度的冷暴露刺激了棕色脂肪的活动，而轻度的热暴露抑制了这种活动。Lee解释说，棕色脂肪的增加伴随着胰岛素敏感性的提高和食物后能量的燃烧速度的提高。

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.

如果您可以将白色脂肪(如右上方所示)转换为棕色脂肪(如左上方所示)，那么您实际上就将一个存储区域变成了一个燃烧的炉子。

The future of brown fat

棕色脂肪的未来

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.

科学家正在研制一种能增加棕色脂肪的药物。但这不会是一个神奇的药丸。你仍然需要结合健康的饮食和锻炼来燃烧脂肪。

“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.

瓦什说:“更现实的减肥方法是鼓励人们少吃、少喝、多锻炼。”这是一种更有效的减肥方法——至少在将白色脂肪转化为棕色脂肪的医学方法出现之前是如此。

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.

在脂肪药丸被发明之前，科学家们推测了加速棕色脂肪燃烧的方法，比如在凉爽的天气降低家里的恒温器，在寒冷的户外呆上一段时间。研究表明，户外工作的人比一般人有更高的棕色脂肪活动，所以为什么不利用这一点，花点时间放松一下呢?也许在你等待科学进步的时候，它可以增加你的棕色脂肪。