Why (NOT) Brown Fat?
“Why Brown Fat?” I get this question all the time from doctors. The answer is really very simple once you understand why Brown Fat is significant in the body. Brown fat is most often associated with thermoregulation (heat produced by shivering.) It is also associated with thermogenesis, (non- shivering heat production). Brown fat also contains a much higher number of mitochondria containing iron which account for the “brown color.”
Mitochondria produce energy (ATP ) which is used by the cells to carry out needed functions. Abundant in capillaries, which supply oxygen and nutrients to the body it also serves as a heat distribution center. Brown fat also contains numerous small lipid droplets whose functions include storing energy and acting as structural components of cell membranes, and perhaps the most significant for our discussion; cellular communication.
Think about Brown Fat as the “town crier” whose job it is to pass on information quickly and efficiently to a large target audience. In order to be effective, he needs good communication skills, abundant energy and the
means to travel quickly (capillaries) to many distant locations, a ready supply of nutrients and oxygen to keep producing the energy (ATP) needed to complete the task. I realize this is a highly simplified way of looking at a
complex process, but would you choose someone lethargic, with no means of transportation, and no communication skills to deliver vital information to a large audience for you? The answer is no.
In retrospect a better question might be Why Not Brown Fat? If you want the Biologic Allograft, rich in signals vital in directing our own Stem Cells to have the best chance of reaching the largest number of cells and getting to their destination in the fastest, most efficient way possible, then Why NOT?
Dennis Harper, DC, & & Shirley Harper: Owners of Harper Restoration System & the LIVE TO BE 139! Program
