Fat Burning Q&A
by Tanya Zilberter, PhD
"What can increase heat production to burn
more fat?" 
Q: What is the Fat Burning Index?
A: This can get rather technical. To make it short, I adjusted the formula that's been in use for decades among (surprise!) neurogists as well as in hard-core bodybuilding subculture. I tried to make it usable for calculation of the fat burning potential of foods and their combinations and develop lists of "free" (I mean, having high Fat Burning Index �) foods and menus.You can read my article on the topic here.
Q: OK. Then forgive me my "silly" question: What does it mean to "burn" fat to start with?
A: You literally burn fat by increasing your body's heat production through a process called thermogenesis. Your brain sends signals to the fat pads to start the process. In experiments, if the nerve connected to a certain fat pad was cut, this fat deposit wouldn't burn fat at all.
Q: What can increase heat production to burn more fat?
A: Caffeine and yohimbine are good thermogetics. Actually, all foods can elevate your body temperature after a meal, but some do it better than others. For example, refined carbohydrates produce more after-meal heat than complex starches, high fat foods elevate body temperature more than high fiber foods. However, refined carbs and the like will create more energy that you can expect to burn through the enhanced thermogenesis.
Q: Is fat burning the ultimate means to loose weight?
A: Not at all! After losing some fat, your body weight "set point" will try to force you intake and attempt to save more energy by making you sedentary. Surveys show that successful weight losers walked for an average of 80 minutes a day, 6 days a week - just to keep the weight off.
Q: Why do they often include stress management in weight loss programs?
A: It might seem odd because it
is true that mental or physical stress does increase lipolysis.
However, there is something involved in stressful situations that
overcomes the fat burning activity of stress, for example, the well
known overeating reaction associated with stress.
Q: Do sugar substitutes help in losing weight?
A: The answer is a firm no. The reason is your blood sugar level rises as soon as you feel a sweet taste in your mouth, be it sugar or saccharin, or any artificial sweetener for that matter. To provide this rising, your body borrows some glucose from glucose depots - the liver and muscles, then it strives to replenish the borrowed glucose, guess how? Right! By encouraging you to eat more.
Q: Is there a Leptin drug for the treatment of obesity?
A: Leptin, from the Greek word leptos=thin, is a compound that signals the brain to change our long-term eating behavior. The more Leptin in the blood, the less we theoretically should eat. Leptin abnormality can cause certain kinds of obesity. Leptin injections can reverse the abnormalities.
However, there's no Leptin pill on the market and they can hardly be expected soon because it is most effective when injected directly into the spinal cord or brain. The next best method is a permanent infusion of Leptin under the skin. Simple shots require rather high doses of Leptin, and taken orally it is not active at all.To start receiving Diet and Body's f'ree newsletters please fill out this form
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