Science & Health News

[gotmilk]

Does your fat lead a secret life as an organ?

... new idea that fat is an "organ" that produces substances
such as Leptin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptin
and Cytokine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokines
that can affect your health.

... relationship between abdominal fat, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

... [that] adipocytes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipocytes or fat cells
don't just store fat inactively, but are actually metabolically active tissues
and produce a number of hormones and other compounds [to] affect metabolism.

... insulin resistance [is] linked to abdominal fat distribution.
... insulin resistance makes people more vulnerable to developing diseases
[as] diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, breast cancer, and stroke.

... [with] insulin resistance, the insulin produced is unable to control glucose
production in the liver and to remove glucose from target tissues.

Body cells in an insulin-resistant person require more and more insulin as
these cells become more resistant. The pancreas reacts to this increased
demands by producing more and more insulin until it literally 'burns out'.

When a person is no longer able to produce sufficient insulin because the
beta-cells of the pancreas have been exhausted due to the demands of
insulin resistant cells, type 2 diabetes develops.

... excess fat is unhealthy, but the key is where the fat is distributed.
People with apple-shaped bodies (fattest in the abdomen) have a greater risk
of heart disease and diabetes than those with pear shapes (fattest in the hips,
buttocks, and thighs).

Fat in the midsection is stored deeper inside your body, in and around the liver
and other organs. It's called visceral fat. Fat in the hip and thigh region
is mainly stored just under the skin. This is called subcutaneous fat.

... [one] way to avoid a heart attack is to lower your cholesterol.
[but] routine cholesterol tests identify less than half of all patients
who are at risk for heart disease.

[scientists] see links to [the] defense mechanism called inflammation...
Inflammation is a vital process in the first line of defense against disease.
But problems begin when the inflammatory process persists.

... cases [where] inflammation is at the root cause of triggering blood clots
that cut off the coronary blood supply.

... [to] learn more, BBC Radio 4 program Frontiers [on] topic of inflammation.
... listen to it http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/frontiers_20041020.shtml

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