Fat/Adipose Cell | Description, Types, & Function

Welcome to our blog post on all things fat related! You hardly notice them as what they are, fat cells, but these little globs have a big job to do in maintaining your body beyond storing some of its excess energy.

From brown fat to white and every shade in between, several types of adipose cells play different roles. In this explainer, we take a closer look at what they are, how they work and their effect on our health. So let’s get started!

What are adipose cells?

Adipose cells (also called adipocytes or fat cells) are a type of specialized cell that compose fatty tissue. They vary in size and shape depending on their site of origin, and function within the body.

White adipose tissue (WAT) is the most common type of adipocyte in adults. These large, spherical cells act as an energy reservoir: the body stocks them full of triglycerides and draws on their stored fuel when required to make our bodies work. They are found all over the body; however, they especially build up around the liver, pancreases and kidneys.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a fat cell that produces heat, as opposed to white fat cells which simply store energy and release it in the form of circulating fatty acids. This aids in controlling the body temperature via a mechanism called thermogenesis. BAT has been described to be higher in infants than in adults, although human BAT is present throughout the adult body.

In addition to storing and releasing energy, or generating heat, fat cells also secrete hormones such as leptin and adiponectin, which tell our brain whether we are hungry or not. You have another type of fat and this cushion your organs, insulates against cold.

Although too much fat can be hazardous to your health if not controlled, Fat is an essential player in the body and some of its functions within the body makes Adipose Cells crucial elements of human biology.

The function of adipose cells

Adipose Cells / Fat cells (adipocytes) play a number of critical, if mysterious, roles in the body. They are responsible primarily for storing energy as triglycerides. These molecules are produced when we consume extra calories from food that is not yet needed for energy and instead ends up stored in body fat.

In addition to serving as a reservoir of energy, Adipose cells are now also recognized to be important metabolic regulators. They spin out hormones that help control appetite and insulin sensitivity, potentially affecting overall health and risk for disease.

Adipose tissue also serves as insulation and padding for the body’s vital organs. They serve as rubber cushions during activities like walking or trauma by absorbing forces of impact that could harm bones and other tissue.

It is interesting that current research has determined that fat cells may also be involved in immune function through the release of specific proteins regulating inflammation.

Although stigmatized and generally considered to be little more than energy storage, fat cells have important roles within our bodies.

How do adipose cells affect our health?

Fat cells are key to all our health.’] They store energy that the body can use at a later time, offer cushioning and insulation to protect vital organs and produce hormones that help regulate metabolism. But having too much or too little fat tissue can trigger all sorts of health issues.

Obesity refers to the situation when there is extra fat build up in the body and such condition stresses internal organs, including heart, liver and kidneys. This can raise the risk for chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and even cancer.

On the flip side, being too adipose-deficient can be an issue as it can leach bones and muscles over time. It can also cause hormonal imbalances that in turn impact a woman’s fertility.

In addition, visceral fat – abdominal adipose tissue located in the abdominal cavity and surrounding internal organs – releases inflammatory molecules in the bloodstream which increase insulin resistance causing type 2 diabetes.

Summary The importance of an adequate amount of adipose tissue to health is paramount. A balanced diet paired with regular exercise will help you maintain a healthy weight and decrease inflammation throughout your body contributing to a sense of well-being.

How extra fat can harm the health?

Any extra fat on your body can be bad for your health. Weight gain can put us at risk of chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems.

Excess fat also adds load on the joints, raising chance of arthritis or other bone-life complications that can make moving difficult.

Moreover, the excess fat also affects mental health. Research indicates that if you’re overweight, you are also more prone to depression – this might come from social isolation, from stigmatic attitudes others have about weight so that overweight individuals feel bad about themselves.

As well as problems with physical and mental health, having excessive body fat can mess with hormone production – this can influence fertility in both men and women.

And body fat in the belly/nutrients (NF) surplus which leads to the release of substances into your blood that localize and cause inflammation throughout your entire circulatory system, which causes anything from cancer down.

In order to prevent these harmful effects, it’s crucial for people ( both men and women ) to keep healthy levels of body fat through regular exercise and balanced diet.

How to maintain the healthy level of fat in body?

An adequate body fat is necessary for health and well-being. Here are a few tricks to keep your body fat in check:

• Eat a well-balanced diet that contains whole grains, lean proteins, fruits and vegetables.
• Restrict the amount of processed foods you consume along with any sugar laden or high fat foods.
• Keep yourself hydrated by drinking water in frequent intervals.
• Get exercise every day and that doesn’t have to be rigorous either – just take a good brisk walk or work around the house.
• Make sure you get adequate time of relaxing sleep every night so that your body can recharge.
• Forget crash or fad diets that promise instant weight loss: they’re nothing but recipes for unhealthy eating patterns.
• You may want to try seeing a nutritionist if you need specific advice on what changes to make based on your lifestyle and goals.

By incorporating these suggestions as habits, in time you can have a level of body fat that’s healthy and a great sense of overall health!

Medical treatments to reduce unwanted fat

Non-Surgical medical fat reduction treatments are gaining popularity & are being more widely adopted by individuals successful in their effort to lose weight

Surgical procedure; de-fleshing unwanted fat removal surgeries are most frequently managed by lipectomy. This is where it gets dangerous, and the fat is cut out of a patient via incision. Though it may provide impressive results, it also comes with potential dangers including bleeding, infection and scarring.

SmartLipo or laser-assisted lipolysis is also another possibility. The procedure, which requires only a small incision and is described as minimally invasive, works by using lasers to melt fat cells that are then processed naturally through the body. There are fewer risks than with traditional liposuction and less recovery time.

Another non-invasive treatment is Cryolipolysis, which freezes stubborn pockets of fat until they die and are naturally eliminated by the body. The dying cells are then flushed out of the body over a few weeks. Little to no downtime is required for cryolipolysis, although the procedure can take several rounds to achieve best results.

In conclusion there are several medical treatments for those seeking to lose the battle of the bulge fast and well. “You may at the same time want to consider some of these procedures, however, you should always weigh up their risks as they do have their potential complications and side effects depending on how an individual patient does decide to undergo treatment when it comes to addressing specific needs based upon what type of health status they have at hand.