What is brown adipose tissue?

Brown adipose tissue is a special type of body fat.

Its main job is very different from normal white body fat.

White fat is mainly used to store energy. Brown fat can use energy to produce heat.

Brown fat is especially important for babies because they cannot shiver as well as adults.

Scientists used to think adults had very little useful brown fat. That changed when better body scanning showed that adults can have active BAT too.

How do we know adults have brown fat?

One of the most important studies was published in 2009.

Researchers looked at PET/CT scans from 1,972 adults.

Active brown adipose tissue was detected in:

• 76 of 1,013 women
• 30 of 959 men
• 7.5% of women
• 3.1% of men

Why is brown fat brown?

Brown fat contains lots of tiny structures called mitochondria.

Mitochondria help cells deal with energy.

Brown fat has many more mitochondria than normal white fat.

It also has a rich blood supply.

Together, these things help give the tissue its darker brown colour.

What is thermogenesis?

Thermogenesis sounds technical, but the meaning is simple.

Thermogenesis means making heat.

Your body needs to keep its internal temperature within a safe range.

When you get cold, your body has several ways to help keep you warm.

One is shivering.

Another is called non-shivering thermogenesis.

Brown adipose tissue can help with this second process.

What is UCP1?

UCP1 stands for uncoupling protein 1.

You do not need to remember the full name.

What matters is that UCP1 is found in the mitochondria of brown fat cells and plays a major role in heat production.

When this system is activated, energy that could have been used in other cell processes can instead be released as heat.

Does brown fat burn calories?

Brown fat uses energy when it is active.

So it can add to your body's total energy expenditure.

Energy expenditure is simply the amount of energy your body uses.

But this is where we need to be careful.

Brown fat is not a magic switch that suddenly causes large amounts of weight loss.

The effect in humans appears to vary a lot between people, and BAT is only one part of total daily energy expenditure.

Brown fat vs white fat: what's the difference?

White fat is not useless or automatically bad.

Your body needs it to store energy, cushion organs and perform other normal functions.

Where is brown fat found in adults?

Adult brown adipose tissue is often detected around the upper body.

Common areas include:

• around the neck
• above the collarbone
• around the upper chest
• along parts of the spine

In the 19-man Grains of Paradise study, researchers detected BAT activity mainly in the supraclavicular and paraspinal areas.

In plain English, that means around the collarbone and alongside the spine. (research)

Does everyone have the same amount of active brown fat?

No.

Brown fat activity can be very different from one person to another.

A useful example comes from a study of 19 healthy men aged 20 to 32.

The men spent 2 hours at 19°C wearing light clothing before BAT activity was measured using PET imaging.

Researchers found:

• 12 men were BAT-positive
• 7 men were BAT-negative
• around 63% of the group showed detectable BAT activity

Does cold activate brown fat?

Cold is one of the best-known natural triggers for brown fat.

When your body starts getting cold, it needs to make more heat.

Your nervous system can signal brown adipose tissue to become more active.

This is one reason researchers often expose participants to mild cold when measuring BAT.

For example, in the Grains of Paradise study above, participants were exposed to 19°C for two hours before BAT was measured. (research)

This does not mean you need to jump into an ice bath to lose body fat. Cold exposure research is useful for helping scientists understand how brown fat behaves.

What is beige fat?

You may also see scientists talk about beige fat.

Beige fat cells can appear within areas normally classed as white fat.

Under certain conditions, these cells can start acting more like brown fat.

They can develop more mitochondria and express UCP1.

Scientists often call this process browning.

What does Grains of Paradise have to do with brown fat?

This is where BAT becomes interesting from a sports nutrition point of view.

Grains of Paradise is the common name for Aframomum melegueta, a plant from the ginger family.

Its seeds contain compounds including:

• 6-paradol
• 6-gingerol
• 6-shogaol

Researchers have looked at whether Grains of Paradise extract can affect brown adipose tissue, thermogenesis and energy expenditure.

If you want to understand the ingredient itself, read our complete Grains of Paradise buying guide .

What does the human research on Grains of Paradise and BAT show?

There are several human studies worth looking at.

They are still fairly small studies, so the results need to be kept in perspective.

The 19-man BAT study

One study involved 19 healthy men aged 20 to 32.

Researchers found that:

• 12 were BAT-positive
• 7 were BAT-negative
• participants received 40mg of Grains of Paradise extract
• energy expenditure was measured for 2 hours

After Grains of Paradise was taken, energy expenditure in the BAT-positive group increased to a significantly greater level than in the BAT-negative group.

The study reported a statistical difference of P<0.01. (research)

The 4-week study in women

Another study involved 19 healthy, non-obese women aged 20 to 22.

They took:

• 30mg per day
• for 4 weeks

Researchers found that whole-body energy expenditure increased after daily Grains of Paradise use.

They also found the change in visceral fat area was significantly different from placebo.

The relationship between starting visceral fat and the change seen after Grains of Paradise was r = -0.64, P<0.01. (research)

The 5-week BAT study

Researchers later studied 9 healthy young men who had low brown-fat activity.

Participants were given 40mg of Grains of Paradise extract each day for five weeks.

After the treatment period, brown-fat-dependent cold-induced thermogenesis was significantly higher after Grains of Paradise compared with placebo. (research)

What do patents tell us about brown fat?

Patents are useful because they show how researchers and companies are trying to use scientific ideas in real products and methods.

They are not the same thing as clinical proof.

One brown-fat patent describes BAT as a highly metabolic form of fat found naturally in humans.

It explains that BAT produces heat through non-shivering thermogenesis, with UCP1 playing a key role.

The patent also describes methods designed to encourage the "browning" of white adipose tissue. (US12121475B2)

Separate patent literature has also explored compositions involving Aframomum melegueta and its compounds. (US20220395475A1)

Does increasing thermogenesis automatically mean fat loss?

No.

This is an important difference.

Thermogenesis means your body is producing heat and using energy.

Fat loss is a much bigger process that depends on your total energy intake and energy expenditure over time.

A small rise in energy expenditure does not cancel out consistently eating more energy than your body uses.

Where does Paradoxine® fit in?

Paradoxine® is a standardised extract made from Grains of Paradise.

EFECTIV Paradoxine® provides 50mg of Paradoxine per capsule.

If you want to learn more about the ingredient first, read our Grains of Paradise buying guide .

Or you can view EFECTIV Paradoxine® 90 Capsules .

Brown Adipose Tissue FAQs

Is brown adipose tissue the same as body fat?

It is a type of body fat, but it works differently from the white fat most people think about. Brown fat's main role is helping produce heat.

Does brown fat exist in adults?

Yes. Large human imaging studies have confirmed metabolically active brown adipose tissue in adults. (research)

What does BAT stand for?

BAT stands for brown adipose tissue.

What is the main job of brown fat?

Its best-known job is helping the body produce heat through thermogenesis.

Does brown fat use calories?

Active brown fat uses energy to help create heat, so it can contribute to total energy expenditure.

What activates brown adipose tissue?

Cold exposure is one of the best-studied natural triggers. Researchers are also studying foods and compounds that may influence BAT activity.

What is non-shivering thermogenesis?

It means your body making heat without needing to shiver.

What is UCP1?

UCP1 is a protein found in brown-fat mitochondria that helps turn stored chemical energy into heat.

Does Grains of Paradise affect brown fat?

Small human studies suggest Grains of Paradise extract may influence brown-fat-related thermogenesis and energy expenditure, but more research is still needed.