Why Fear Fat?
It seems that some of us may still be under the impression that fat is in fact the devil. Not necessarily the case. Even the American Heart Association recommends that 25-35% of the calories in the diet come from “healthy fats”. This is by the way what they define as a “low fat diet”. How individuals take that “low fat” recommendation and interpret it to mean that a breakfast of cornflakes and skim milk with a banana, toast, and glass of orange juice or that choosing a bunch of fat-free products which replace the fat with chemicals and added sugar is “healthy” is beyond me. The history behind the mass populations’ fear of fat is long and convoluted—often leading back to a few poorly designed studies which were misinterpreted, exaggerated, and then “run with” for a few decades. We have to remember, things are not always so simple and that all fats are not created equal. I intend to write a detailed analysis eventually… Indeed, some day I probably will.
Until then, please check out this article: The Skinny on Fats by Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon of the Weston A. Price Institute. The Skinny on Fats is a great review of MUCH of the relevant research, mis-research, and history behind the Lipid Hypothesis and provides a great discussion of the types and amounts of fats we need in our diet. If you find it at all dry, just keep skimming. You’ll eventually learn how to avoid “nutritional castration”.
I’d also like to add a few points for you to consider:
First, fat is the body’s preferred fuel source under most circumstances. It’s efficient. It’s high octane. At rest, approximately 85% of the energy we burn is from fat. During low intensity exercise, fat represents about 50% of our fuel (hence the historical “fat burning zone, ya!” – very overrated). Unfortunately, fat is a little slower in providing us with energy and requires more oxygen. When we start getting to moderately-high, or vigorous levels of activity (think sprints and our favorite activity that begins with a “cr” and ends fit an “ossfit”), then we begin using more carbohydrate for energy because we can convert it quicker and under anaerobic (no air) conditions (anaerobic glycolysis is very inefficient by the way and yields less ATP (energy) per unit of substrate (carbohydrate in this case) than does the oxygen system. While on this subject, it’s also important to note that the body can adapt to dietary changes as well as exercise stimulus. Given proper time to adjust, the body may be able to use more or less fat at given levels of intensity.
Now, let’s put things in perspective. How long are we actually sprinting per day, or how long are we sustaining high intensity? 5-15 minutes, an hour at very most? That means that what you do the other 23 hours of the day is fueled primarily by what? Fat. And if we don’t get it from our diet, we’re just going to convert the other nutrients in our diet to fat, store them (with the help of insulin), and then burn them as fat.
Conversely, fat in the diet elicits no insulin response; and a meal with moderate amounts of fat, moderate protein, and moderate carbohydrate will have a much lower insulin response than a high carbohydrate meal with less fat and less protein. Please make sure and review my article on insulin which is now cleaned up with high-horsepower nutritional guidance technology. Remember, less insulin, means less disease risk and better access to the body’s energy stores, with less hunger for more. The carbohydrates that WE DO NEED, in order to fuel moderate levels of high intensity exercise, can be met sufficiently through extra helping of veggies and fruits. Endurance and high volume athletes may need and tolerate more. Sweet potatoes anyone?
Remember, there’s a big discrepancy between types of fats. Mono-Unsaturated Fats, such as those highly concentrated in avocados and olive oil, tend to increase HDL “good” Cholesterol, and decrease LDL “bad” Cholesterol. A two-point swing in the “heart-healthy”, favorable direction. In contrast, Trans Fats tend to lower the good stuff and raise the bad stuff, and do a handful of other sinister things to our cells. The ratios of the types of fat we choose will most definitely impact our overall wellbeing. The Skinny on Fats discusses each in detail.
So balance your plate! And make sure that fat’s in your diet. 25-35% of your daily calories is a good starting point and fits well within the recommendations of both the American Heart Association AND the Zone Diet. Eating fats as high as 40-50% of total calories from healthy sources is well tolerated by many and is the premise behind the Athletes Zone, Paleo, and Dr. Gerald Reaven’s Syndrome X lifestyle plan which is specifically designed to prevent heart disease and insulin resistance. Add a variety of veggies and fruits and adequate lean meats and you’re well on your way to better wellbeing AND performance. And no, you won’t get fat by adding fat to your diet as long as your total calorie intake isn’t grossly larger than your energy expenditure. Which means that: since we’re adding in some good fats, we might want to reduce …
Posted 9 September 2009
