Today, I am blessed to have here with me Dr. Sylvia Tara. She holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from The University of California, San Diego, and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She was a healthcare management consultant with McKinsey & Company and has worked for the world's largest biotechnology companies. After an extended battle with fat, Dr. Tara became fascinated with its resiliency and embarked on a mission to better understand it. This book culminated in years of research and interviews with physicians, patients, and leading scientists. The Secret Life of Fat will forever change how you think about this misunderstood organ. Dr. Sylvia Tara is the author of the book, The Secret Life of Fat. This new book brings together historical perspective and cutting-edge research to reveal fat's true identity: an organ critical to our health. In this episode, Dr. Sylvia Tara reveals the inspiration behind her fat research. We usually think fat is simply storing calories. What most people don't know is that fat serves many purposes. Also, there are different types of fats. We dive into everything you need to know about fat, including what's vital about leptin and adiponectin. Later, we discuss the difference between men and women when it comes to fat loss. Plus, we talk about which types of exercises will be critical on your health journey.  / E P I S O D E   S P ON S O R S  PureForm Omega Plant Based Oils (Best Alternative to Fish Oil): http://www.purelifescience.com Use ben4 for $4.00 off. [00:30] About Dr. Sylvia Tara Sylvia gains weight really easily. Her whole life, she watches people eat whatever they feel like, drink whatever they want, and not gain any weight. So, Dr. Sylvia decided to understand fat once and for all. She went on a big expedition to really understand fat. She wanted to know why she would gain fat easier than other people. The Secret Life of Fat is based on all this research! We think of fat as storage for calories; however, it’s so much more than that. [02:25] What Is Fat? Fat is a complex endocrine organ that has multiple functions: Storing calories. Producing leptin – which has a great effect on our brains, our bones, and multiple organs. Creating adiponectin – which has a lot of impact on where our fat is stored. [03:25] What You Need to Know About Leptin Our fat produces this hormone called leptin. It's the biggest producer of leptin in the body, and fat releases it into the bloodstream. Once leptin goes to the bloodstream, it goes to your brain; it'll tell your brain that you’re overall satisfied. Basically, the brain will know that you are good, there's enough nutrition in the world, and you are okay. Leptin will also communicate with your muscles. It tells your muscles that it's okay to expend energy because you have enough nutrition. When we start to lose fat and begin to lose weight, say 10% or more, we reduce the amount of leptin we have. So, people who've lost 10% or more of their body weight respond enormously to food. Overall, once you've lost weight, you have to eat less than someone who's at that weight normally. It is why diets don’t work! [07:15] The Role of Adiponectin Adiponectin is more or less telling fat where to go. When we have dietary fat, adiponectin will guide the fat in our bloodstream to the right parts of our body. So there's different kinds of fat, there's white fat. It's right under the skin, it's in your thighs, buttocks, arms, and it's actually the safest places to deposit fat. If you're going to have some fat, those are the places to put it. There's also visceral fat; it sits underneath the stomach wall. It is the more dangerous fat that's nestled against the internal pancreas organ. There's brown fat – it burns calories instead of storing calories. Plus, there is beige fat – it that can turn brown when we exercise. Overall, adiponectin will help guide the fat you eat and put it into the right place.  [09:20] How Exercise Can Help Adi