What is thermogenesis and what is its importance for the body?

What is thermogenesis?

The term thermogenesis refers to the process of heat production by the body, which is linked to the maintenance of optimal body temperature. This action is intrinsically linked to the consumption of energy, which is necessary to maintain a constant temperature. In practice, there are three main types of thermogenesis:

• shivering
• non-shivering
• diet-induced

What is shivering thermogenesis?

It is the body's reaction to convert chemical energy (adenosine triphosphate - ATP) into kinetic energy. As a result, virtually all of the accumulated energy is converted into heat. Mechanical work induced by small but rapid and uncoordinated muscle contractions results in an increase in body temperature achieving the desired optimum. Shivering thermogenesis is nothing more than the chills that can be observed and felt, for example, during exposure to cold or during an infection with an accompanying fever.

What is non-shivering thermogenesis?

This model of thermogenesis refers to the heat generation reaction by brown adipose tissue. The body's processes of cellular respiration and oxidative phosphorylation result in the energy originally intended for ATP synthesis being used to produce heat. Non-shivering thermogenesis occurs when the body is exposed to cool air at a temperature of approx. 15°C.

What is diet-induced thermogenesis?

In a nutshell, it refers to the increased production of heat due to the consumption of a meal. The organism must use the appropriate amount of energy to efficiently digest the provided macronutrients, but not only that. Energy is also used for a number of other functions related to nutrition, such as absorption and assimilation of active ingredients and their appropriate storage. At this point it is worth mentioning that nutrients have a TEF (thermic effect of food) coefficient, which influences the occurrence of postprandial thermogenesis. Proteins have the highest coefficient among the macronutrients - from 20 to 30%.

The consumption of certain foods and the active substances they contain has a valuable effect on increasing thermogenesis. These include products with a spicy aftertaste:

• coffee - caffeine
• ginger - gingerols
• guarana - guaranine
• black pepper - piperine 
• bitter orange - synephrine
• cayenne pepper and hot pepper - capsaicin

These substances are included in fat tissue burners produced by Olimp Sport Nutrition. The products contain highly standardised extracts and optimally selected proportions of individual ingredients, which ensure optimal and effective action to increase thermogenesis. The products have been produced in the form of handy capsules and tablets, and all ingredients have been obtained from high class raw materials which have been subjected to microbiological purity analysis.