whit fat brown fat
© Gregory Nemec
They're the hot ticket in warding off weight gain, but is there a formula for making brown fat cells? Yes, according to recent research.

1. Exposure to cold could cause adults to generate new brown fat cells, according to research reported in journal Nature Medicine. Unlike ubiquitous white fat cells, which lounge around storing fat, rarer brown ones burn fat at a higher rate as part of a duty to keep us warm.

2. Consuming sleep hormone melatonin may control weight gain by stimulating 'beige fat', suggests a study published in the Journal of Pineal Research. In a study of rats, long-term melatonin consumption appeared to alter the white-to-brown fat ratio in thin subjects. It also synced with production of beige fat in obese diabetic subjects.

That doesn't mean eating foods containing melatonin will turn you into Miranda Kerr, but hey, can't hurt. (How's a sandwich with mustard, goji berry, almonds, sunflower seeds, cardamom, fennel, coriander and cherries sound?).