Fatty tissue is one of the most difficult things to get rid of on your body and most people spend years fighting against it, never to get the desired results. Apart from making your thighs look slack and your clothes too tight, it also puts you at a higher risk of certain diseases including heart disease and type 3 diabetes.
When starting a treatment against fat deposits, it’s important to distinguish between two types of fat –white and brown; knowing the difference between the two can help you eliminate them easier. White adipose tissue is in fact a thermal insulator which keeps body temperature in check. It’s a thin layer visible on your abdomen, on the back of your arms and on your thighs.
STUDIES SHOW THAT EXPOSURE TO COLD TEMPERATURES ELIMINATES FAT CELLS
According to research, prolonged exposure to cold triggers the transformation of white adipose tissue into brown thus stimulating weight loss. That’s why, researchers advise spending a couple of hours a day, during the winter months at lower room temperatures.
Furthermore, an adipose tissue biopsy, revealed that the abdominal and thigh fat turns brown in winter, which also confirms that the cold stimulates the transformation of white fat in brown.
Normally, most homes are heated up to 21 °C (69.8 °F) during the winter months. But, according to research conducted by Maastricht University Medical Centre, temperatures should be lowered at 17 – 15 °C (62.6 – 59 °F) for a few hours because we spend most of our time in buildings that are too warm in the winter and this prevents our bodies from burning calories in order to maintain body heat.
A different study examined a group of men who were asked to sleep in a metabolic chamber at a temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) for 4 weeks. The results showed a rise in the amount of brown adipose tissue almost by double in the subjects, along with increased insulin sensitivity, and more burnt calories.
This method is known as cold thermogenesis. There are two types of cold thermogenesis:
– moderate cold thermogenesis or sitting in a room at a temperature of 10 – 15 °C (50 – 59 °F), wearing only a pair of shorts, which is crucial for the formation of brown fat tissue, and
– intense cold thermogenesis or wearing ice vests and trousers filled with ice packs; along with burning calories, this will also cause tremors.
ICE THERAPY FOR BETTER FAT-BURNING
In the book The Four-Hour Body, the author Tim Ferriss, explains, among other things, the idea of burning brown fat tissue by being exposed to low temperatures. According to him, adding ice therapy to a healthy diet and exercise can increase the potential of fat burning can be increased by 300%. This has also been previously confirmed by a NASA astronaut for ABC: “In studying the effects of temperature on astronauts, he saw people’s metabolism boost by 20% in environments as mild as 15 °C (60 °F).”
Evidence suggests that 90g brown fat tissue can release 400 – 500 calories a day, which equals an intensive workout session of one hour.
FREEZING THE FAT TISSUE IN TARGETED AREAS
According to the study authors, applying ice compresses for 30 – 60 minutes on areas of the body which have fatty tissues can significantly stimulate fat burning. This in fact promotes the process of transformation of white to brown tissue and increases weight loss. Even better results are achieved when this method is combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise. What happens during the application of ice compresses is that the skin is cooled and fat cell are released, which are then metabolized in the body.
HOW TO APPLY ICE PACKS?
- After wrapping the ice in a thin cloth, place it on the area with fat deposits you want to burn.
- Hold it for 30 – 60 minutes.
- Do the treatment once a day for 12 days.
However, there’s one disadvantage to this therapy, and that is frostbite. In order to avoid this, it’s recommended to lift the compresses up every now and then.
Frostbite is often characterized by these symptoms:
– tingling and numbness of the skin,
– redness and pain,
– strong and taut skin insensitive to touch,
– blisters.
In case any of these symptoms appear, DON’T immediately warm this area of your body or massage it, but simply warm it up a little with a blanket or with warm compresses.
NOTE: This treatment is not recommended for people using beta-blockers, who suffer from peripheral vascular disease with a lower blood flow, peripheral neuropathy, or who are smokers or diabetics.
Source: LifeHealthandBeauty
