Very long-chain ceramides are produced in the liver and act as a remote control to force your body to burn fat for heat.
Ceramides have been demonized for years as a primary cause of insulin resistance and metabolic disease. A specific long-chain version of this molecule actually travels on HDL particles to activate brown fat cells. Once the signal arrives, the brown fat starts burning energy at a high rate to generate body heat. This flips the script on how we view these fats in our blood. It opens up a new way to treat obesity by mimicking this specific chemical signal to trigger weight loss.
Very long-chain ceramides promote energy expenditure in brown adipose tissue
research_square · rs-8670360
Abstract Ceramides are increased in the blood in metabolic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. While their cellular roles in insulin resistance and energy metabolism are well established, the functional significance of ceramides in blood plasma remains poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we used the selective pressure of acute cold exposure in mice, which rapidly increases very long-chain (VLC) ceramides localized to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) partic