Up until 10 years ago we usedto think that fat tissue was made of of fat cells which we immortal and did not do much else than store a blob of oil each, which could be released in times of energy shortabe, in case that our body was able to activate that fat cell and cause it to release the oil drop for energy production. We knew that there were different degrees of difficulty involved in getting the fat cell to do this, depending on were it was located.

In the meantime scientists have discovered that fat cells are actually highly active chemical factories that produce hormones which play key roles for the way the fat tissue interacts with the rest of the body but also for general health. So far we have discovered three hormones that they produce but they may be lots more:

• Leptin
• Adiponetcin

Current knowledge is very patchy and we do not have a big picture of what regulates what and where is the hen and the egg. Results so far are based on experiments in mice and, although interesting and explanatory, may not apply to humans in the same way.

Leptin

Leptin can effectively tell our body how much fat it has stored. Each individual seems to have a set level of body fat it wants to maintain. Once that level has been exceeded, leptin kicks in and causes weight reduction by increasing metabolic rate while decreasing appetite. One the lower end of the tolerance has been reached - like when we are trying to lose weight and just can't lose any more, leptin levels will go down, causing increase in appetite and decrease of metabolic rate.

Adiponectin

• Increases metabolic rate without suppressing appetite
• Stimulates glucose and fat metabolism
• Increases the rate of fatty acid transport, oxidation and dissipation into the muscle
• Reduces the level of circulating lipd
• Improves Insulin sensitivity thus increasing the use of glucose for energy production
• Its level is positively correlated with the degree of insulin sensitivity and reversely correlated with the degree of obesity
• Negativelyu correlated with high levels of glucose or triglyceride
• Elevated in renal failure and Anorexia Nervosa

Discoveries of the hormonal and regulatory activities of fat cells are currently in full swing with new results coming out all the time. We know that Growth Hormone plays a major role in the activity of fat cells and the fat metabolism, we also know that fat cells produce other hormones, like resistin. It has also been discovered that fat tissue is loaded with immunologically active cells called macrophages, and that Leptin has a stimulating effect on the immune system.

We will try to keep our users up to date with the latest discoveries in this area.