To the general public, fats are synonymous with sickness and disease and are only slightly less evil than the “carb”. The belief is that if I eat fat then I will get fat, so fat must be minimized or eliminated. The other stigma around fat has been that fat is unhealthy for the heart and too much of it leads to heart attacks stroke, high blood pressure, etc. But are of these beliefs true?
The truth is fats are simply misunderstood and consumed improperly. They are a necessary nutrient for cell membrane structure, as signaling molecules, and as a source of concentrated energy, to name a few. To get a full understanding of fats and their impact on our health and performance you should first understand what fats are.
Chemically fats are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. There are five major kinds of fats; triglycerides, free fatty acids, sterols, phospholipids and terpenes. The most commonly spoken of ones are the triglycerides and the major sterol, cholesterol. Free fatty acids are part of the structure of the triglycerides. They are made up of a glycerol backbone with three fatty acid side chains. It is these fatty acids that are most commonly associated with “fat”. These fatty acids are made up of carbon chains. Each carbon in the chain has four potential bonds.
If the carbons have the maximum amount of hydrogen atoms possible bound to them, then they are call saturated fats, if they do not they are called unsaturated. The saturated fats can be divided into three main classes, those that are two to three carbons in length are very-short chain fatty acids, or VSCFA, those that are four to six carbons long are called short chain fatty acids, or SCFA, those that are eight to fourteen carbons long are medium chain fatty acids, or MCFA, and those that are sixteen carbons and longer are called long chain fatty acids, or LCFA. The unsaturated fats can be further divided into monounsaturated or polyunsaturated, depending upon how many double bonds are present in the fatty acid chain. The polyunsaturated fats can be subdivided another way based upon where the first double bond is in the carbon chain. If it comes on the third carbon from the methyl end it is called an omega-3 fatty acid, if it is at the sixth it is called an omega-6 fatty acid and if it is at the ninth it is an omega-9 fatty acid. Each of these fats has different characteristics and health benefits or disease risks. Most fats can be built by the body as needed from the fats that are consumed.
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There are some fats that must be consumed through the diet and these are called essential fatty acids. There are two major ones; linoleic acid, an omega-6 fat, and alpha linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid.
The sterols are another commonly known fat, in the form of cholesterol. We have been led to believe that cholesterol is a dangerous substance and that it should be avoided at all costs. We should avoid consuming it in any form and we should take medication to get it as low as possible. Cholesterol is a major contributor to cell membrane structure and as cellular signals. The most commonly known one amongst strength athletes is testosterone, a cholesterol derivative. In fact the hormones estrogen and progesterone as well as cortisol, and the hormone intermediates dehydroepiandrostendione, or DHEA, and pregnenolone are all cholesterol derivatives. It is also the structural component of Vitamin D. It is an absolutely critical substance for a strength athlete or anyone who works out in general. We are told to avoid it in our food, but seventy percent of the cholesterol in our bodies comes from our own bodies, as we manufacture it ourselves. Cholesterol is transported around the body in Lipoproteins. There are two commonly talked about lipoproteins, high-density lipoprotein and lowdensity lipoprotein, or HDL and LDL respectively. There are other ones such as intermediate density and very-low density lipoproteins that have health impacts as well. HDL is commonly termed “good” cholesterol and LDL is “bad” cholesterol, and of course we are led to believe that a lot of HDL and little to no LDL is best.
The question that now comes up is how much fat you should have in your diet to be healthy and ultimately improve performance. This is up to much debate. Studies have been done that show as little as five to ten percent of your macros benefits health and reduces some disease risks. Then there are studies that show higher levels of fat, some as high as eighty-five percent. Another aspect of fat consumption that has been shown to be important is the quality of fats. Regardless of the total amount that is consumed, it is the distribution of the kinds of fats that impact health. Roughly two-thirds of the fat consumed should be monounsaturated fats. These fats are commonly found in olive oil, avocados, and almonds.
The remaining one third should be divided again into thirds with one third being saturated fats, one third being omega-6 polyunsaturated fats, and the final one third being omega-3 polyunsaturated fats.
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Saturated fats are present in red meat, dairy, egg yolk, shellfish and coconut oil. The fats that are saturated form series two eicosanoids which are inflammatory in nature.
Saturated fats are the ones that are most typically associated with cardiovascular disease.
It is known that saturated fats raise plasma cholesterol and decrease the LDL receptor activity. It is generally recommended that saturated fat levels be 10% of daily caloric consumption. Recently coconut oil has become a popular health product with health promoting properties. Coconut oil can be up to ninety-two percent saturated fat. Coconut oil has a unique property in that it has high levels of medium chain fatty acids, or MCFA’s. These MCFA’s do not undergo degradation and re-esterfication like other saturated fats do, and actually are absorbed across the intestinal lining differently than regular fatty acids. They are absorbed and used for fuel very efficiently. Only a few studies have been published on potential health risks of these saturated fats, they appear to be less atherogenic.
Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats are found in vegetable oils such as safflower, soy, corn and sunflower oils. The fatty acids from the omega-6 fats form series 1 eicosanoids, which tend to be anti-inflammatory in nature. The omega-6 fatty acids provide the essential fatty acid linoleic acid which is converted to gammalinolenic acid and then to dihomogammalinolenic acid, or DGLA. This fatty acid metabolite can do one of two things, in the presence of a glycemic controlled diet the DGLA will tend to go towards the anti-inflammatory eicosanoids, however in an uncontrolled glycemic state the enzyme delta-5-desaturase converts this DGLA into arachidonic acid, a precursor to pro-inflamatory eicosanoids. Sesame oil can inhibit this process. Another inhibitor of the delta- 5-desaturase enzyme is trans-fatty acids. These fats are often called “fake” fats, since a majority of them in the human diet come from hydrogenated vegetable oils, primarily the omega-6’s. In reality trans fats occur naturally in meat and dairy products, although at very minimal amount, especially relative to the amount consumed by the average American in the standard highly processed diet. Trans fats have also been shown to raise LDL levels and suppress HDL levels leading to increased risk of inflammatory conditions such as cancer and heart disease.
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The Omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are found in cold water fish, flaxseed, walnuts and beans.
The fatty acids in the omega-3 fats become series 3 eicosanoids, which are anti-inflammatory.
The primary essential omega-3 fatty acid is alpha-linolenic acid, ALA. The series 3 eicosanoid precursor that has anti-inflammatory characteristics is eicosapentanoic acid, or EPA. The body does not efficiently convert ALA to EPA. The reason is this is so is because ALA inhibits an enzyme called delta-6-desaturase. This D-6-D is necessary in the conversion of ALA to docasahexanoic acid, DHA to EPA. DHA is primarily associated with brain and retinal health, whereas EPA is primarily associated with overall health, and specifically cardiovascular health.
This is why it isnecessary to consume cold water fish or supplement with fish oil. The amount of EPA/DHA that is necessary has been shown to be a minimum of 3 grams. One study on rheumatoid arthritis showed that an amount of 130 mg/kg/day was effective in reducing disease flares and discontinuation of NSAIDs. DHA is also a potent inhibitor of lipogenic enzymes, which are responsible for fatty acid formation and storage. One thing that is agreed upon by most researchers and physicians, is that the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio should be as close to 1:1 as possible to benefit health.
Do fats make you fat? The answer is, NO. In studies of isocaloric diets it has been found that diets with a higher fat percentage do not increase the chances of gaining weight. What is also interesting is that if a diet that has excess calories is consumed the diet higher in carbohydrate percentage has a tendency to increase weight gain than a diet that has a higher fat percentage.
This primarily has to do with the stimulation of insulin and subsequent anabolic
effect on converting excess blood glucose to stored triglycerides. Studies also show that omega-3’s prevent fat gain, whereas diets high in omega-6’s tend to promote fat gain. This may have more to do with the association of omega-6’s and processed foods which tend to contain more refined carbohydrates. Diets high in monounsaturated fats tend to promote fat loss as well.
When it comes to cooking with fats, the kind of fat is an important factor. Some fats become rancid, or oxidize more easily than others. This oxidization is what generates free radicals and causes health issues. Fats that can be used for high heat cooking are coconut, peanut, and high oleic safflower oils. Medium heat cooking can use olive, corn, and hazelnut. Low heat or no heat, are almond and sesame oils. Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil is one of the single best oils.
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It is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and phytonutrients such as polyphenols, and can be used to make dressings.
As you can see the stigma around fats in the diet are almost completely unwarranted and fats have been completely misunderstood by the general public. Eating a diet high in fat is to be encouraged when done properly. In fact it is even necessary for anyone serious about working out to ensure that fat makes up a large part of the diet, even if fat loss is the goal. Balancing saturated fats with omega 3’s is part of the key in the whole equation. So it’s time stop limiting yourself from eating fat, and begin to see the difference in how you feel, look and perform.
For more information from Josh Thigpen and Zach McVey check out the Performance Nutrition Encyclopedia.