Certain foods can stimulate brown fat and increase overall fat-
burning. Eating several times a day, five to six smaller healthy meals
instead of one, two or three larger ones, for example, can trigger a
process called thermogenesis — an important post-meal metabolic
stimulation for fat-burning. However, if caloric intake is too low,
brown fat can slow the burning of white fat. This can happen on a
low-calorie diet and when we skip meals.
Brown fat is also stimulated by certain dietary fats. The best ones
are omega-3 fats, especially from fish oil, and olive oil (use olive to
replace all vegetable oils in the diet).
This works in part because a moderately high healthy-fat diet can
stimulate brown fat.
Other foods that increase brown fat activity include caffeine. Tea,
coffee and chocolate contain small to high amounts of caffeine.
However, if under stress, the adrenal glands become overworked,
which can promote fat storage and reduce fat-burning; caffeine may
worsen adrenal stress in many individuals. Also, avoid coffee, tea and
chocolate products if they contain sugar, which can reduce fat-burning.
While supplements of fish oil may be the only way to obtain ade-
quate amounts of EPA, some supplements can be harmful. Apopular
supplement, CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), can actually reduce
brown fat activity.
Brown fat is greatly controlled by skin temperature. If you get too
hot during the day, or overdress during exercise, brown-fat activity can
lead to less burning of white fat. This is why exercising in extra clothes
or “sweatsuits,” a common but unhealthy weight-loss routine, can be
dangerous.
Even sitting in a hot tub, sauna or steam room regularly after
exercise may offset some of the fat-burning benefits of physical activ-
ity. These activities can increase sweating, resulting in some water-
weight loss, but the sacrifice is actually less fat-burning. Hot tubs and
saunas do come with health benefits, but to avoid the reductions in
fat-burning take a minute or two to cool the body in a cold shower or
tub afterwards.
In contrast, brown fat is stimulated by cold. Cooling the body’s
brown-fat areas can help stimulate more fat-burning. Brown fat is
found around the shoulders and underarms, between the ribs and at
66 • IN FITNESS AND IN HEALTH