Thermogenesis and Visceral Fat Loss by Dr. Michael Colgan

Dr Michael Colgan
22 March 2013

Thermogenesis is the creation of heat in the body. It occurs mainly through an extraordinary mechanism called brown adipose tissue (BAT), which permits the production of heat directly from bodyfat without going through the energy cycle.(1) 

A hibernating bear for example, can lose 300 lbs of fat while it sleeps, as its body converts bodyfat to BAT, then creates the heat required to prevent it freezing over the winter. The bear does not have to move a muscle.

We are not as efficient as bears at burning fat with BAT. Nevertheless, the amount of BAT in the body of a 40-year-old man or woman is still sufficient to use 10% -15% of their total energy, and get all of it from bodyfat.

But you have to get your BAT moving. Turn up the inner heat. Exposure to cold is very effective. Bit extreme but it works. I am busy at my annual task convincing clients to sit and meditate under a freezing waterfall, or lie in the snow in swimmers by the pool (frozen). These are popular methods for fat loss right now, every Canadian springtime. I wear a 30-below suit with hood and balaclava so they don’t notice my hysterics.

Usual weight loss programs don’t activate BAT at all. Quite the opposite. If you go on a sudden food restriction diet, the body automatically turns down its heat production and its energy production as a defence mechanism to conserve its fat. That’s why dieters generally feel cold and tired.

You Can Increase BAT Activity

If you can’t face the freeze, there are several things in natural foods raise BAT activity nicely. Best known is caffeine from coffee. Controlled studies show that a cup of ground arabica coffee on an empty stomach in the morning increases thermogenesis and burns bodyfat for up to four hours afterwards.(2,3)

Green tea also has a separate thermogenic effect, originally thought to be because of its caffeine content. Recent studies, however, show that a group of chemicals called catechins in green tea are mostly responsible. The main catechin in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) induces thermogenesis by itself.(2-3)

In a placebo-controlled study, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, two groups of 19, healthy, middle-aged men used a moderately reduced calorie diet, plus tea for 12 weeks. Green tea extract was added to the tea of 19 subjects to yield high levels of catechins. Tea without the extract, containing only low levels of catechins, was used by the 19 controls. The group consuming tea with high catechins lost an average of 5.4 lbs of bodyfat, approximately TWICE the bodyfat loss of the control group. Much of the loss was visceral fat from belly and thighs. The researchers concluded:

“Body weight, BMI, waist circumference, body fat mass, and subcutaneous fat area were significantly lower in the green tea extract group than in the control group.”(4)

You don’t have to freeze off the flab. Lose that belly fat nice and easy. Brain Boost contains high levels of EGCG from green tea, and the e+ shot contains both green tea caffeine and catechins. Take both before your workout and green tea with every meal. It’s a great way to fine-tune abs and buns for the summer, with the bonus of a better brain and more giddy-up to boot.

For more information go to http://www.thehealthyhelms.com/

1. Stock MJ. Thermogenesis and brown fat: relevance to human obesity. Infusionstherapie, 1989;16(6):282-284.
2. Wolfram S, Wang Y, Thielecke F. Anti-obesity effects of green tea: from bedside to bench. Mol Nutr Food Res, 2006;50(2):176-187.
3. Nagao T, Komine Y, Soga S, Meguro S, Hase T, Tanaka Y, Tokimitsu I. Ingestion of a tea rich in catechins leads to a reduction in body fat and malondialdehyde-modified LDL in men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005;81(1):122-129.
4. Nagao T, Hase T, Tokimitsu I. A green tea extract high in catechins reduces body fat and cardiovascular risks in humans. Obesity, 2007;15(6):1473-1483.