Research

Hormonal

Environmental cold exposure and specific bioactive compounds (e.g., resveratrol, menthol) induce the browning of white adipose tissue (WAT) and activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT), thereby increasing energy expenditure and improving metabolic health.

You can potentially boost your metabolism by exposing yourself to cold or consuming specific compounds like resveratrol or menthol. These actions encourage your body to convert energy-storing white fat into energy-burning brown or beige fat. While cold exposure is effective, it may be uncomfortable, so exploring dietary sources of these compounds or exercise-induced browning might be more sustainable alternatives for long-term metabolic health.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Cold exposure is the most well-known stimulus for thermogenesis... adenosine... can also promote browning of subcutaneous white adipose tissue... Many natural chemicals, such as resveratrol, menthol, curcumin, and theobromine, can promote the conversion of WAT into BAT.
Yanqiu Peng et al. · Biomolecules · 2024

Why this rating

The paper is a review summarizing multiple animal studies and some human data; it lacks a single large-scale human clinical trial.

Source

Plasticity of Adipose Tissues: Interconversion among White, Brown, and Beige Fat and Its Role in Energy Homeostasis

Yanqiu Peng et al. · Biomolecules · 2024

DOI 10.3390/biom14040483

narrative_reviewCited 24×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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