Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Fat Cells Are Sensitive to Sunlight
Sleep Review Magazine ^ | January 31, 2018

Posted on 02/01/2018 10:56:14 AM PST by nickcarraway

fatcells A study by University of Alberta researchers has shown the fat cells that lie just beneath our skin shrink when exposed to the blue light emitted by the sun.

“When the sun’s blue light wavelengths—the light we can see with our eye—penetrate our skin and reach the fat cells just beneath, lipid droplets reduce in size and are released out of the cell. In other words, our cells don’t store as much fat,” says Peter Light, PhD, senior author of the study, who is a professor of pharmacology and the director of UAlberta’s Alberta Diabetes Institute, in a release. “If you flip our findings around, the insufficient sunlight exposure we get 8 months of the year living in a northern climate may be promoting fat storage and contribute to the typical weight gain some of us have over winter.”

Light cautions the finding is only an initial observation and that pursuing exposure to sunlight is not a safe or recommended way to lose weight.

“For example, we don’t yet know the intensity and duration of light necessary for this pathway to be activated,” he says.

However, he added the novel discovery opens up new avenues of future scientific exploration which could some day lead to pharmacological or light-based treatments for obesity and other related health issues such as diabetes.

“Maybe this mechanism contributes to setting the number of fat cells we produce in childhood—thought to stay with us into adulthood,” he says.

“Obviously, there is a lot of literature out there suggesting our current generation will be more overweight than their parents and maybe this feeds into the debate about what is healthy sunshine exposure.”

The researchers made the discovery while investigating how to bioengineer fat cells to produce insulin in response to light to help Type 1 diabetes patients.

“It was serendipitous,” says Light, adding that his name is an ironic coincidence since light was not his primary field of research. “We noticed the reaction in human tissue cells in our negative control experiments, and since there was nothing in the literature, we knew it was important to investigate further.”

Based on the finding, the fat cells we store near our skin may be a peripheral biological clock, says Light.

“It’s early days, but it’s not a giant leap to suppose that the light that regulates our circadian rhythm, received through our eyes, may also have the same impact through the fat cells near our skin.”

He explains that the molecular pathway they discovered was first identified as being activated by the eye when exposed to the blue wavelengths in sunlight.

“That’s why you are not supposed to look at digital devices before bed because they emit the same blue light the sun does, that signals us to wake up,” he says. “Well, perhaps that pathway—exposure to sunlight that directs our sleep-wake patterns—may also act in a sensory manner, setting the amount of fat humans burn depending on the season. You gain weight in the winter, and then burn it off in the summer.”

This could be evolutionary process, supported by the fact that unlike many other mammals, our fat is spread out all over our bodies just underneath our skin, he says.

“Our initial first observation certainly holds many fascinating clues for our team and others around the world to explore,” he says.

The principal author of the Scientific Reports (by Nature) paper is Light’s student Katarina Ondrusova and the second author is Light’s research associate Mohammad Fatehi.


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Science
KEYWORDS: brownfat; canada; diabetes; dietandcuisine; katarinaondrusova; mohammadfatehi; peterlight; uofalberta; vitamind; whitefat
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-26 last
To: nickcarraway

Is that why the beaches look like The Blob That Ate San Francisco?


21 posted on 02/01/2018 12:14:56 PM PST by I want the USA back (Lying Media: completely irresponsible. Complicit in the destruction of this country.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!


22 posted on 02/01/2018 12:19:51 PM PST by b4its2late (A Liberal is a person who will give away everything he doesn't own.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

That’s why so many people have fat rear ends - that’s where the sun don’t shine....


23 posted on 02/01/2018 12:48:01 PM PST by mikrofon (Thoughtful Thursday BUMP)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

I knew that a suntan made me a bit thinner when I was 13.

Science is finally catching up.


24 posted on 02/01/2018 3:32:39 PM PST by Auntie Mame (Fear not tomorrow. God is already there.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: I want the USA back
LOL!!!!

ff

25 posted on 02/01/2018 4:01:13 PM PST by foreverfree
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway; SunkenCiv; nuconvert

We need energy etc when we are awake and active. This is a way to store some fat and release it when it is needed, i.e. during the day.

It is easy to do an experiment:
A) Eat late dinner and food in the evening.
B) Do not eat anything after say 5 pm.

Two weeks of B followed by two weeks of A and another two weeks of B. Make sure that you eat the exact type and amount of food during A and B.

Measure your weight.

Result: What is your guess?

Simplified explanation: Fats are secreted a few hours after the meal, and if we have a late meal the fats are secreted when we are sleeping i.e. when we do not need the extra energy => increase in body weight.


26 posted on 02/02/2018 1:41:11 AM PST by AdmSmith (GCTGATATGTCTATGATTACTCAT)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-26 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson