Activate brown fat for faster weight loss...

The human body contains small amounts of a calorie-burning tissue called brown adipose tissue, which converts food energy into heat. White fat does the opposite - it stores energy. Brown adipose tissue is an important heat-generating tissue in hibernating animals. It promotes non-shivering thermogenesis, which generates heat and helps animals and humans adapt to the cold. Brown adipose tissue accounts for up to 10 percent of total fat mass in people living in countries with a cold climate, such as northern Finland. Individual differences in the amount of brown fat and activity play an important role in human obesity.

Brown adipose tissue is activated by the sympathetic nervous system, which is the body's "fight or flight" system responsible for dealing with stress and emergencies. Increased activation of brown adipose tissue helps people consume more calories and burn more fat. Key nutrients such as L-arginine, L-citrulline and L-glutamine can increase brown adipose tissue activity, which increases calorie consumption and promotes fat burning. Classes of drugs believed to alter brown adipose tissue metabolism include the thiazolidinedione (TZD) class of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonists, and fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) analogs. However, these drugs are still under investigation.

(Frontiers in Endocrinology, 6: Article 174, 2015)