The fat that may be good for you

Cooler temperatures

Nobody likes to be very cold, but research suggests exposing yourself to cooler temperatures helps increase brown body fat. Due to the frequent use of air conditioners and heating systems indoors, plus the double whammy of less time spent outside in nature, a general lack of exposure to temperature variation could be a contributing factor to low brown fat concentration.

A simple way to expose yourself to cooler temperatures is to blast yourself with cold water at the end of your shower – it will also go a long way towards waking you up!

Movement

We know regular movement has been shown to increase activity of brown fat – not to mention the benefits that regular movement has for your metabolism and body composition in general. Evidence suggests that moving frequently can have a positive effect of the release of hormones, which control body fat and lean muscle mass development.

Eating to satiety

Work on getting to know your internal hunger signals and on addressing emotional or stress eating. Over-eating confuses the processes that control hunger hormones, which can lead to extra white fat storage and can raise the risk for many other health problems.

At the same time, you don’t want to under-eat either. When you aren’t consuming enough energy, brown fat activation might be slowed down, this can have other negative effects on your metabolic rate, too. Try eating until you are just full, this generally requires us to slow down.

Dr Libby is a nutritional biochemist, best-selling author and speaker. The advice contained in this column is not intended to be a substitute for direct, personalised advice from a health professional. Join Dr Libby for her upcoming ‘Sort Your Sleep’ New Zealand tour, for more information or to buy tickets visit drlibby.com