Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Learn How To Melt Stubborn 'Love Handles'

Darpan News Desk Darpan, 17 Oct, 2014 02:26 PM
    Call it love handles, the spare tyre or the middle age spread - a lot of people struggle to do away with their extra fat around waistline. Thanks to a new way to burn energy from food, you could soon be able to do so with some “stress”.
     
    The scientists have discovered a new signalling molecule capable of activating brown fat cells called adenosine and burn energy from food.
     
    The body's own adenosine which is typically released during stress activates brown fat and “browns” white fat, the findings showed.
     
    "Not all fat is equal. Humans have two different types of fat: undesirable white fat cells which form bothersome 'love handles' as well as brown fat cells which act like a desirable heater to convert excess energy into heat,” explained professor Alexander Pfeifer from University of Bonn in Germany.
     
    “If we are able to activate brown fat cells or to convert white fat cells into brown ones, it might be possible to simply melt excess fat away,” he noted.
     
    Crucial for transmitting the adenosine signal is the adenosine receptor A2A.
     
    "If adenosine binds to this receptor in brown fat cells, fat burning is significantly stimulated," Thorsten Gnad from Pfeifer's team explained.
     
    It was previously thought not possible for adenosine to activate brown fat.
    However, the researchers were not mislead by these previous findings.
     
    In contrast, using brown fat cells removed from humans during surgery, the scientists investigated the signaling pathway for fat activation using adenosine.
     
    The results showed that rats and hamsters react differently than humans in this regard.
     
    "On the other hand, brown fat in mice behaves just as in humans," Pfeifer commented.
     
    The findings appeared in the journal Nature.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Brains of depressed young adults 'hyper-connected'

    Brains of depressed young adults 'hyper-connected'
    Several regions of the brain in young adults who have a history of depression are "hyper-connected" -- or are talking to each other a little too much, new research finds....

    Brains of depressed young adults 'hyper-connected'

    Canada pulling 3 member lab team back from Sierra Leone over Ebola fears

    Canada pulling 3 member lab team back from Sierra Leone over Ebola fears
    Canada is bringing three scientists home from Kailahun, Sierra Leone, a post which the World Health Organization has temporarily closed to investigate the infection of an international medical responder working there.

    Canada pulling 3 member lab team back from Sierra Leone over Ebola fears

    More kids at risk of developing diabetes from womb, says study

    More kids at risk of developing diabetes from womb, says study
    New research shows that children exposed to gestational diabetes in the wombs are nearly six times more likely to develop diabetes or prediabetes than children...

    More kids at risk of developing diabetes from womb, says study

    Low-dose aspirin reduces blood clot risk

    Low-dose aspirin reduces blood clot risk
    Low-dose aspirin can help prevent new blood clots among people who are at risk and have already suffered a blood clot, says a promising study....

    Low-dose aspirin reduces blood clot risk

    Knee surgery not needed for mild osteoarthritis

    Knee surgery not needed for mild osteoarthritis
    Middle-aged and older patients with mild osteoarthritis of the knee may not benefit from the procedure of arthroscopic knee surgery, says new research....

    Knee surgery not needed for mild osteoarthritis

    Eye changes can predict dementia

    Eye changes can predict dementia
    A loss of cells in the retina is one of the earliest signs of a form of dementia in people with a genetic risk for the brain disorder - even before any changes appear....

    Eye changes can predict dementia