Chris Shugart
Reprogram Your Fat Cells
Does shrunken fat tissue remember being fat? Does it try to make you fat again after you've lost weight? Yes, science says. Here's why and how to fight back.
Over 80% of people who lose fat eventually gain it back. Experts blame several things, like unsustainable fad diets, a return to unhealthy eating habits, and loss of metabolism-boosting muscle. Those are all valid reasons, but what if something else is happening, too?
I have a unique perspective on this. I was borderline obese in my early 20s. I lost over 60 pounds and have spent the rest of my life trying to keep the fat off. I gained around 30 pounds of muscle over the years and never returned to my bad eating habits. I'm part of the 20% of people who never regained their fat.
Has it been easy? Heck no, not until fairly recently at least.
Not long ago, I'd say, "It's like my body WANTS to be fat!" I also hated hearing never-been-fat trainers telling their followers to eat cheat meals. And their advice on "bulking" diets? No way. If I listened to them, I'd be fat again. I had to keep my diet and training strict, or the fat would come right back.
But a few years ago, all that changed. Biotest founder Tim Patterson walked into my office and tossed me a bottle of inky capsules, a new supplement he was working on. "This fixes sick and broken fat cells!" he said. I started taking it and, within weeks, I noticed it was easier to stay lean. I could eat carbs again, too, which helped me gain some extra muscle.
The capsules contained cyanidin 3-glucoside (Buy at Amazon) (C3G). Tim later named it Indigo-3G and marketed it as a nutrient partitioning agent. To simplify how it worked, we often said, "It causes muscle to use calories instead of storing them as fat." That's an oversimplification, but not inaccurate.
Now, recent research has shed some new light on the "broken fat cells" idea and may further explain how C3G works.
Fat Tissue Has Memories
Swiss researchers conducted several human and animal studies and concluded that adipose tissue retains an epigenetic memory of obesity even after a person loses fat. The cells "remember" their former condition, predisposing formerly chubby people to regain weight. (As a reminder, when you lose fat, the fat cells are still there; they just shrink.)
They found that obesity induces epigenetic modifications – changes in DNA methylation and histone acetylation – in adipocytes (fat cells). These alterations persist even after fat loss, leading to lasting changes in gene expression that favor fat storage and inflammation.
As part of their research, they took fat cells from previously obese folks and from people who'd never been obese. The science gets mind-numbingly complex, but they concluded that obesity induces cellular and transcriptional (obesogenic) changes in the adipose tissue, which aren't resolved after fat loss. In short, yes, fat cells remain "sick" even after weight loss.
Then the researchers took some mice, got them fat, leaned them back up, and extracted fat cells. Those fat cells absorbed more sugar and fat than cells from other mice that were never fattened up. And when the previously obese mice and the never-been-fat mice were fed a high-calorie diet, the formerly fat rodents gained 14 grams while the lean mice only gained 5 grams. The scientists called this "accelerated weight regain."
The researchers attribute all this to epigenetic obesogenic memory.
How Could C3G Help?
The scientists in the above studies weren't looking at C3G, but after pouring over their research, I was reminded of what Tim said: "C3G fixes sick and broken fat cells." Could the substance help with epigenetic obesogenic memory? Here's what I found:
- Modulation of Gene Expression: C3G influences enzymes that regulate epigenetic modifications, such as histone acetyltransferases (HATs), histone deacetylases (HDACs), and DNA methyltransferases. These enzymes modify DNA and histones, potentially reversing obesogenic gene expression patterns. Also, by activating AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), C3G helps normalize gene expression related to energy metabolism, reducing the impact of epigenetic changes that promote fat storage.
- Anti-Inflammatory Effects: Chronic low-grade inflammation associated with obesity reinforces epigenetic changes that promote fat storage and insulin resistance. C3G's anti-inflammatory properties help mitigate this, creating a healthier metabolic environment less prone to obesogenic programming.
- Improved Insulin Sensitivity: C3G enhances insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake in fat cells by promoting the translocation of GLUT4 to the cell membrane. Improved insulin signaling counteracts epigenetic changes that impair glucose metabolism, helping to reduce fat accumulation.
- Promotion of Fat Oxidation: C3G boosts fat oxidation and reduces fat storage, partly by activating pathways like AMPK. This counteracts epigenetic memory that favors energy storage over expenditure. C3G also induces the browning of white fat, increasing mitochondrial activity and thermogenesis, which are impaired by epigenetic obesogenic programming.
- Reduction of Oxidative Stress: Obesogenic memory is reinforced by oxidative stress, which can lead to DNA and histone modifications. C3G's antioxidant properties reduce oxidative damage, potentially preventing further reinforcement of these epigenetic changes.
- Potential to Influence Microbiota: The gut microbiota interacts with the host epigenome and influences metabolism. C3G positively modulates gut microbiota composition, disrupting obesogenic programming reinforced by a dysbiotic (unbalanced) microbiome.
- Long-Term Metabolic Reprogramming: By improving metabolic flexibility and reducing inflammation, C3G helps sustain fat loss and prevent weight regain, even in individuals predisposed to obesity due to epigenetic memory.
Does C3G "Erase" the Memories of Fat Cells?
We can't say that yet, but it certainly helps anyone who's been fat in the past have an easier time staying lean. For whatever reason, it worked for me, and the adjacent science is supportive. If you want to give it a shot, take 300 mg of C3G daily. That's four capsules of Indigo-3G (Buy at Amazon).
Reference
- Hinte. "Adipose tissue retains an epigenetic memory of obesity after weight loss." Nature, 18 November 2024.
