Research
Energy balance
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) functions as an energy buffer by dissipating excess caloric intake as heat through thermogenesis, thereby protecting against obesity and metabolic disorders.
Your body has a natural 'energy buffer' called brown fat that burns calories as heat. While you can't buy it, you can potentially activate it through mild cold exposure (like cooler showers or lower room temperatures), which may help offset excess calorie intake and support metabolic health.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) functions as an energy buffer by dissipating excess caloric intake as heat through thermogenesis, thereby protecting against obesity and metabolic disorders.
Why this rating
Published in NEJM, this is a high-quality review of established physiological mechanisms and clinical observations.
Source
Thermogenesis in Brown Adipose Tissue as an Energy Buffer
Jeffrey S. Flier et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 1984
DOI 10.1056/nejm198412133112407
narrative_reviewCited 234×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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