Hey there freezers, Trace here, and I
have been thinking about crazy too good to be true
health claims.
Like, that you can freeze your fat cells
and they'll just disappear like that.
I'm on that wedding diet, so you know.
Maybe you've seen this around, it's
being marketed as CoolSculpting, but the technical term
is cryolipolysis.
It's just one of a few non-invasive ways
to remove fat cells or adipose tissue from human bodies.
And though it is FDA approved, the Food and Drug
Administration doesn't check for effectiveness, just safety.
So let's dig into this fat and see if it's just a "cool party"
or if the heat is on.
Yes, I'm going to work as many Mr. Freeze lines
into this video as I can.
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Thank you.
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for myself and I could not have done it without you.
So thanks for that, it really means a lot, really, really.
So let's kick some ice.
Cryolipolysis literally means freezing fat cells.
And surprisingly, like, really surprisingly,
it seems to actually work.
Like, seems though.
Like, strong seems, real strong.
Let me 'splain.
Fat cells are normal human cells.
Fat, as we think of it, is an adiposite,
or a specialized energy storage cell
that evolved to store a droplet of triglyceride, essentially.
The droplet fills the cell, pushing the contents
to the edges of the cell membrane, which
is why they look like this.
In the US and elsewhere we've been
trained to think fat equal bad, but triglycerides are actually
very common in the human body.
You need fat to live.
For example, cholesterols are used
to make hormones of vitamin D, the liver actually produces it,
but like anything, it's all about moderation.
Too much fat in the body can be a bad thing causing
all sorts of health problems, which
I don't think we have to get into because you know,
you've heard it all before.
Fascinatingly, we don't 100% know
why fat cells form the way they do,
we just know that they form.
We also know that once they do they
don't tend to go, away especially in people
who are already overweight.
Instead, excess fat in the diet can cause those droplets
inside the cell to grow, swell, and when weight loss occurs,
the droplets just shrink.
But the cell is still there, it just stays.
And the body is actually loathe to create new fat cells.
Instead, allowing those gluttonous,
older, unhealthy fat cells to keep sticking around.
Just grows and grows and never really disappears,
which is bad.
Fascinating sidebar, a 2018 study in ETH Zurich
supported this and they found an AREG, an Adipose Regulatory
Cell, which might help us grow new fat cells, which
you wouldn't think you'd want to do
but you actually do because it can
help you carry your fat better and make you healthier somehow.
Cool.
I don't know, it's awesome, and love handles sidebar.
So back to our little fat cell problem.
If we can get that cell out of there, like kill it,
then we can get rid of the triglyceride inside
and reduce our bodies fat content.
Or that's the hypothesis.
One way to do this is by freezing them.
Fat cells, for some reason, are susceptible to cold.
We've actually known about this since the turn
of the last century, even earlier if you
count knowing hypothermia, can cause fat cells to die.
But now, cryolipolysis has a fancy new name
and is marketed as a way to reduce your waistline.
The thing is, the big 2009 paper supporting cryo, that I almost
cited in this video, was funded by the company who markets it
as a way to reduce your waistline.
I couldn't find a cleared video to show you the process,
but I can explain why it works.
More or less, the adipose cells near the skin
are cooled to freezing or below, like negative 5 or 10 Celsius.
This cooling allegedly causes the cells
to commit suicide, called cellular apoptosis.
Then, the macrophages, a type of white blood cell, comes in,
eats the dead cells, and everything is chill.
But to be honest, this shouldn't be that shocking.
You know, my love handles do tend to get cold easily,
but I never connected that to cell death.
Tonight's forecast, a freeze is coming.
Cells are frozen all the time for science.
The ones you're most likely familiar with
are the zygotes, the sperm and egg cells.
But you can freeze many different samples
for later study.
And if you do it right, they can last at negative 200 Celsius
for centuries.
But that's if you want to have them stop in their tracks
without killing them.
If you want to actually kill them,
you can just freeze them a little bit.
There is a couple of catches to this
though, it's only FDA approved for love handles,
back fat, and tummy fat.
Sometimes the procedure can cause bruising or pain,
loss of sensation in the area.
It also can take weeks or months for the fat cells
to be cleaned up and reduced.
There's also localized inflammation,
but essentially, that's it.
This isn't the only method of removing excess fat.
You can also use ultrasound to disrupt the cell membranes
and heat them, killing the cells.
The problem is, you can affect surrounding tissues that way.
Specialists also can use high frequency radio waves
to generate heat in cells.
They can even use lasers because, of course you can.
What can't lasers do?
I mean, everything freezes, but also everything burns and pops,
so I guess, sure, why not?
I thought this was nuts, but the research
says the lasers can create "transient pores," which
cause the lipids to leak out of the cell,
according to one paper.
It all seems so unbelievable, more research is definitely
needed, but everyone thinks that this is pretty promising.
According to the website of the American
Society for Dermatological Surgery,
cryolipolysis has no recovery time, which is also crazy,
but there are side effects, if rare.
A study in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal
looked at almost 1,500 people and found
12 people, not 12%, 12 people had complications.
But 12 people out of 1,500?
The main question that I have is how does this cooling thing
work?
And that is the kicker because scientists are all like--
even though a 2015 lit review published in the journal
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of 19 other studies
found 28% fat reduction and another
in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal of 16
studies and a 20% reduction.
They don't know what exactly is happening.
They don't know the mechanism of action.
They don't seem to know why the fat cells hate to freeze,
but there are studies looking into it.
One titled literally "Mechanisms Underlying Tissue Cryotherapy
to Combat Obesity," determined the cells
didn't seem to die at all, but instead,
because of the cold, expended energy
causing them to shrink like they had to work out to stay warm,
but on the cellular level.
Something called cold-induced thermogenesis,
which is a wicked name, but, again, more research is needed.
But in all of my research, the worst thing
was this one 2014 study.
It was a case study that seemed to indicate paradoxical adipose
hyperplasia as a possibility.
But only 1.005% of people could have this happen.
It was just one guy.
I was ready to debunk this thing,
but I guess I was just assuming things.
Remember, kids, be skeptical but accept the evidence
when presented.
You're not sending me to the cooler.
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What did you think of this?
Have you tried this stuff?
Do you think it's real?
I'm still really skeptical, but dang,
tell me your thoughts in the comments
and thank you so much for watching Uno Dos of Trace.
You are phat.
p-h-a-t, phat.
You know, it's like, cool for older millennials.
Doesn't matter, thanks for watching.
I am Trace, I hope you learned something.
Please subscribe.
Come back soon and I'll see you in the future.