One of the stranger stories of 2008 comes from California, where a doctor used fat from liposuction to power an SUV. While we suggest a diet and meal plan like Medifast for healthy weight loss, apparently those who get liposuction can contribute to the energy solution (although it's illegal, at least in California!). This may get more people thinking about the energy stores available in their fat cells if this is true. The doctor performing the liposuction was using the fat to power his girlfriend's SUV. Wow! All this time we've been walking around with the solution attached to us! Here's the story from The Washington Post --
L.A. Liposuction Doc Investigated for Alleged Use of Patients' Fat to Fuel SUV
A Beverly Hills doctor specializing in liposuction is under investigation by California officials who say he converted his patients' unwanted body fat into biodiesel to power his and his girlfriend's SUVs.
Dr. Alan Bittner, who had advertised nationally for patients to travel to Beverly Hills for liposuction, faces an investigation by the state's public health department because of several lawsuits that allege he allowed his assistant and his girlfriend to perform liposuction without a medical license, removing too much fat and leaving patients disfigured, Forbes reported Wednesday.
It's unclear when Bittner started and stopped making fat fuel or how he made it, but Forbes reported that the science was valid. Animal or vegetable fat contains triglycerides that can be extracted and turned into diesel. Some poultry companies are looking into powering their trucks on chicken schmaltz, and biofuel start-ups are mixing beef tallow and pig lard with other sources like soybean oil to brew biodiesel, Forbes reported. (Reference...)
Comments: First, I'd like to know who came up with the idea, because it couldn't possibly be something not considered, talked about, or even experimented with before. Secondly, who wrote a law in California that human medical waste is not to be used to power vehicles. If there's a law, chances are it originated in CA no matter how bizarre it may be. This technology sure could motivate a lot of people to go under the knife if they were going to get compensation for their fat. Not that we condone lipo for fat loss (unless it's just a reshaping procedure done for those last 1 or 2 pounds!), but how could a doctor who has access to so much of it resist? All kidding aside, this may be one of the stranger stories of 2008.
The Health & Wellness Institute
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