FatCells-related stories
Extra Weight - Can You Catch It Like a Cold?
How's the saying go -- starve a fever? Feed a cold? I can never remember. But here's some interesting news: A common cold bug (AD-36) not only infects your respiratory system and makes you feel like hell, it also causes your fat cells to get hungry and suck up all the fat they can find.Pretty wild, right?
Scientists found that up to 1/3 of obese people tested positive for the virus, compared to 11 percent of those who maintained a healthy weight. While these findings don't really apply to you and me -- because what can you do to avoid a common cold virus, beyond becoming Bubble Girl? -- it's one piece of the obesity puzzle for scientists.
So what should you do if you catch a cold? Take care of yourself by getting lots of rest and drinking plenty of fluids. And when you feel better, take care of yourself by eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly.
Oh, and wash your hands. It is cold and flu season, after all.
Freezing the Fat - The Non-Invasive Alternative to Lipo
How would you like to get rid of your fat cells in a matter of a few hours? Sounds perfect, right? Well, you can. It's called liposuction, but it comes with painful side effects and risks of complications. But if lipo sounds like your kind of miracle cure, there's another procedure in the works that could potentially be even more successful at helping you lose the fat. This procedure, developed by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard, is called cryolipolysis, and it works by freezing fat cells and in turn breaking them down without damaging other tissue like skin. It's currently undergoing clinical trials, but results are promising.
Still, it's not without its critics. As one leading expert warns: "These kinds of treatments are never going to be an excuse for not getting round to dieting. Nor is it going to be a treatment for obesity."
Get in on the secret life of fat
Poke that spare tire around your waist (if you have one, that is. If you don't, kudos to you!). It might not look so good, but it seems innocent enough, right? Guess what? It's not. Just ask researchers, who are learning that fat is anything but inert. It actually plays a powerful role in a body's health, they say.Everyone has fat cells; babies are born with up to 10 billion of them. As we gain weight, fat cells expand and new cells are created. An obese person may have up to 100 billion and even when weight is lost, the number of fat cells does not decrease. But beyond their sheer number, fat cells act negatively on the body. While normal-sized fat cells release hormones that help the body, over-sized fat cells have the opposite effect, releasing hormones that increase inflammation and preventing good hormones like those that reduce the body's resistance to insulin.
So while you might be motivated to lose that spare tire for that tropical vacation you have planned this winter, there's a much bigger, more important reason to lose it -- your good health.
The Daily Turn On! Cabernet, cranberries & cabbage ... oh my!
Life is too short not to be fully "turned on." The Daily Turn On! energizes all aspects of "you." Every Monday The Daily Turn On! with That's Fit Life Fit expert Laura Lewis will provide you with ideas and tips to awaken your mind, your body and your life as you journey through each day of the week! Check in each Monday to get your tip for Turning On every day of your life.Purple it up babe. Yup. Drink it up. Eat it up. And you may just be thinner, look younger, get healthier and live longer than "non-purple eaters." Is it important to ramp up these foods in your diet? You bet! Read on for some pretty cool reasons you need to include more fruits, veggies, herbs and even flowers rich in anthocyanins in your daily diet:
- Foods containing these natural red, purple, pink and blue pigments have been found to be powerful in fighting free radicals in the body. What do free radicals do? Cause disease, increase the aging process and cause a myriad of health problems. Foods with purple power are known "super foods!"
- Anthocyanins are involved in neurogenesis and have been found to enhance neuronal signaling capabilities and improve communication among neurons. Blueberries are known to enhance memory function. The blue pigments protect the brain and help neurons!
Surgery-free lipo: Lipo-dissolve
If you're considering LipoSuction but don't want to have surgery, there's a new procedure out there called Lipo-Dissolve. During the procedure, patients recieve a number of injections (60-70 per side) of a soybean derivative called phosphatidylcholine and an emulsifier called sodium deoxycholate in their fatty tissue. This compound helps break down fat and leave the body through urination. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?
Not so fast -- The FDA hasn't approved this compound, so you should think twice about putting it into your body. And while the manufacturers are trying to get away with marketing it on the basis that it's a 'natural' product, the FDA is saying that it's not--it's a drug--and it hasn't gone through any proper testing to prove that it's either safe or effective.
Losing weight without all that pesky healthy eating or exercise sounds too good to be true -- and it probably is. Sure, you can lose weight, but at what cost?
Not so fast -- The FDA hasn't approved this compound, so you should think twice about putting it into your body. And while the manufacturers are trying to get away with marketing it on the basis that it's a 'natural' product, the FDA is saying that it's not--it's a drug--and it hasn't gone through any proper testing to prove that it's either safe or effective.
Losing weight without all that pesky healthy eating or exercise sounds too good to be true -- and it probably is. Sure, you can lose weight, but at what cost?
Can a hot pepper kill fat cells?
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
Apparently it can, in a test tube anyway. Taiwanese researchers have been spending time mixing the compound Capsaicin (commonly found in hot red peppers) with baby fat cells because I guess they just became curious one day what would happen if they did.There's no information yet if this works the same in the human body, but when the scientists put the two together in a test tube the fat cells died before maturing. The article doesn't say if they know whether the effect is the same on mature cells, or how much of the compound they used -- as far as wondering just how many peppers might we have to eat?
But don't go chugging hot sauce yet -- there's no data as of now to show it will do anything other than give you watery eyes and heartburn.























