Scientists discover why brown fat is good for your health

Rutgers and other scientists have discovered how brown fat, also called brown fat, can help protect against obesity and diabetes. Their study in the newspaper Nature adds to our knowledge of the role of brown fat in human health and could lead to new drugs to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Brown fat is considered a thermal organ. People have a few grams in areas such as the neck, clavicle, kidneys and spinal cord. When it is activated by cool temperatures, brown fat uses sugar and fat from the blood to generate heat in the body.

The study found that brown fat could also help the body filter and eliminate branched chain amino acids (BCAA) from the blood. BCAAs (leucine, isoleucine and valine) are present in foods such as eggs, meat, fish, chicken and milk, but also in supplements used by some athletes and by people wishing to develop their muscle mass.

At normal blood levels, these amino acids are essential for health. In excessive amounts, they are linked to diabetes and obesity. The researchers found that people with little or no brown fat had a reduced ability to remove BCAA from their blood, which could lead to the development of obesity and diabetes.

The study also solved a mystery of more than 20 years on brown fat: how do BCAA get into the mitochondria that generate energy and heat in the cells. Scientists have discovered that a new protein (called SLC25A44) controls the rate at which brown fat removes amino acids from the blood and uses them to produce energy and heat.

"Our study explains the paradox that BCAA supplements can potentially benefit people with active brown fat, such as healthy people, but can be detrimental to others, including the elderly, obese people and people with diabetes, "said co-author Labros S. Sidossis, a distinguished professor who chairs the Department of Kinesiology and Health of the Faculty of Arts and Science at Rutgers University (New Brunswick ). He is also a professor in the Department of Medicine at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine in Rutgers' biomedical and health sciences.

The researchers must then determine whether the absorption of BCAAs by brown fat can be controlled by environmental factors, such as exposure to very cold temperatures (65 degrees Fahrenheit) or food consumption spicy, or by medications. This could improve blood sugar levels related to diabetes and obesity, Sidossis said.