Though not commonly realized, fat is the largest endocrine gland in the body.

Though not commonly realized, fat is the largest endocrine gland in the body. Being an important part of body composition, adipose tissue (fat) accepts a lot of hormonal signals and is able, as well, to produce and secrete hormones and hormone-like substances.

Fat is potential energy because it is fuel that has not yet become energy. It is stored energy or reserve energy. Fat is similar to money in the bank. You go to work every day and produce something for your paycheck. You then pay your bills; anything extra goes into your bank account. Fat is equivalent to the body’s reserve bank account.

But how could you have all this extra potential energy and at the same time be even the slightest bit tired? You might even crave energy in the form of breads, pasta, cereals, chips or chocolate. It’s a weird situation having tons of stored potential energy, yet you can’t release it. That is because this stored energy is unavailable to you. You need a specific key to release the fat and turn it into energy. Well, guess what? You already have the keys; they are your own hormones. To do this, though, you have to understand these keys and use the right ones.

You have roughly 600 hormone keys. Of this number, six are fat burning and three are fat storing. If any of the three fat-storing hormones are active, they will nullify ALL six fat burning hormones. The secret is to activate the six and keep the three inactive.

From The 7 Principles of Fat Burning by Dr. Eric Berg, DC