Good fats provide a wide variety of health benefits.
JUST LIKE CARBOHYDRATES AND proteins, fats are one of the three macronutrients that can be utilized by our bodies as a fuel source. Fats contain nine calories per gram, more than double that of protein and carbohydrates, both of which contain four grams each. It seems as triathletes that we should load up our bodies with this highly concentrated source of energy, right?
Not so fast. While the human body can only store a few thousand calories worth of carbohydrates, it does in fact store tens of thousands of calories of fat. This is a confusing concept to many; if we have such great energy reserves within our bodies, how can we possibly run out during a long triathlon? Why is it necessary to take in things such as gels during the race when we have so much fat available as a fuel source?
It’s a great question. The answer is that fat is simply not as efficient a fuel source as carbohydrates, especially at higher exercise intensities. We simply cannot convert fat to usable energy as quickly for our working muscles, no matter how much we have on reserve. We use different percentages of carbohydrates and fats during different phases of exercise, and one is never the sole source of energy. We utilize more fat as a fuel source at lower exercise intensities, with the shift to the relative contribution by carbohydrates increasing as the intensity level increases.
All fats are made up of fatty acids. They are usually linked in three-unit molecules known as triglycerides and are differentiated by their number of hydrogen atoms and their molecular bonds. Lipolysis is the process by which the body breaks down fats into glycerol and fatty acids. The fatty acids can either be broken down directly to be utilized as a fuel source, or they can be used to make glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis.
Realize that fat is not just a source of energy for the human body. It also serves a variety of other functions, including transporting vitamins A, D, E, and K, producing hormones, maintaining healthy skin, and protecting our internal organs. We need a little bit of fat in our daily diets, just not too much. Fat is a good thing for the body if you choose the right kinds of fat. Just like there are good carbs and bad carbs, fats fall into distinct categories as well.
One confusing concept for many is the fat storage process. The human body does not only store excess calories from fat as fat, it also stores excesses of any macronutrient as fat. Excesses are excesses, regardless of where they come from. So if you take in too many calories from carbohydrates, or even protein for that matter, the body will store the excess calories as fat. It all comes down to energy balance: positive and negative. Positive energy balance means you take in more calories than you expend and those calories are converted to fat, regardless of whether they are fat, carbohydrates, or protein. Negative energy balance means you burn more calories than you are taking in and thus will lose fat over time if the deficit of calories is maintained.
There are three basic types of fats found in the foods we eat:
• Trans fat
• Saturated fat
• Unsaturated fat (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated)
The previous list is ordered from the least healthy to the healthiest types of fats. Trans fats, manmade through a process called hydrogenation, are the unhealthiest of the bunch. The chemical process involved adds hydrogen to vegetable oils to make them liquid at room temperature. Foods with trans fats last longer, are cheaper to produce, and are horrible for our health.
The myriad negative effects of trans fats include increasing our LDL (or bad) cholesterol, decreasing our HDL (or good) cholesterol, and increasing our triglyceride levels, another bad fat. Basically doing everything possible to harm our arteries and our hearts.
It is a good idea therefore to avoid eating foods containing trans fats whenever possible. There are no benefits from their consumption, and the laundry list of possible negative side effects is long and troubling. Because trans fats are found in processed foods, one of the simplest ways to avoid them is to eat whole, natural foods. Fast foods are loaded with trans fats, so, along with their relative high calorie count, which leads to weight gain, now you have two great reasons to stay away from them.
If you are reading a food label and trying to avoid this unhealthy fat, look for two things, “trans fats” and “partially hydrogenated oils.” These two are both to be avoided. If you stick with foods that don’t have labels such as fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, and lean cuts of meat, trans fats won’t be an issue.
TRANS FAT BAN?
THREE FOOD CATEGORIES CONTAINING TRANS FAT
The second type of fat to keep the consumption of to a minimum is saturated fat. Largely found in animal products including meats, whole milk, full-fat cheeses, and vegetable oils such as palm, palm kernel, and coconut. Saturated fats are also responsible for numerous negative health effects including increasing levels of (bad) LDL cholesterol and increasing the chances of contracting certain cancers, heart disease, type-2 diabetes, and even Alzheimer’s disease.
Saturated fat also seems to wreak havoc on our appetite, affecting the hormones that regulate our feeling of fullness and satiety, possibly causing overeating as a result. So eating some saturated fat often leads to less healthy food choices. Think of it as a saturated fat snowball effect.
As with trans fats, there are not many good things to say about saturated fats other than they taste good. While you should try to avoid trans fats whenever possible, you can keep your consumption of saturated fats to the occasional indulgence without the same health consequences. As with most things, when it comes to eating foods containing saturated fats, moderation is key. Ideally, consume 10 percent or less of total calories from saturated fat.
Here are three easy ways to keep your consumption of foods containing saturated fats in the acceptable range:
Don’t overdo the butter: Use it in moderation and/or choose butter substitutes.
Choose low-fat dairy: My wife has to have whole milk with her morning tea; that’s nonnegotiable for her. If and when you do include dairy in your daily diet, try to choose nonfat milk and low-, reduced-, and nonfat versions whenever possible.
Eat red meat sparingly: Red meat is a great source of protein and other vitamins including iron, zinc, and B12, but if you are a red meat lover, try to limit eating it to just once or twice a week. Or at least choose a lean cut of red meat such as tenderloin, sirloin, top round, or lean ground beef such as 90/10, 96/4, and 97/3 lean meat.
SOME SPECIFIC FOODS CONTAINING TRANS FAT
The one good fat, of which there are two varieties, is the unsaturated kind. It includes monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, both of which have a whole host of positive health benefits. You should thus strive to consume foods containing these fats as part of your overall healthy eating plan.
Monounsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. They are plant-based fats and can be found in olive, peanut, and canola oils as well as avocados, nuts, and seeds. While the aforementioned bad fats impair the normal function of our arteries and our metabolisms, monounsaturated fats have the opposite effect. They can lower our levels of (bad) LDL cholesterol levels, lower our bad triglyceride levels, and possibly even raise our (good) HDL cholesterol levels. So while trans fats and saturated fats can severely harm our hearts and cardiovascular systems, monounsaturated fats can help protect and improve their function. Here are some good sources of monounsaturated fats:
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Canola oil
• Avocados
• Olives
• Hazelnuts
• Macadamia nuts
• Almonds
• Pistachios
• Cashews
• Halibut
• Mackerel
• Almond butter
• Sesame seeds
• Peanut butter
• Ready-to-eat granola
Polyunsaturated fats are also known as essential fatty acids because, just like the essential amino acids found in certain proteins, our bodies cannot manufacture them on their own. We must therefore obtain these fats though our diet.
Two of these essential polyunsaturated fatty acids are omega-3 and omega-6, also known as linolenic and linoleic acids. While omega-6 fats are common in the modern American diet, omega-3s are not. We therefore need to balance our consumption of the two, striving to consume more foods containing the all-important omega-3s.
When it comes to omega-3s, you most likely have heard at least something about this powerful fat. Even though it seems the research on its benefits have been piling up for decades, most people have not seemed to get this message. It is still underconsumed in the typical American diet, and we therefore need to make a concerted effort to select foods containing it. These foods are good sources of omega-3s:
• Egg yolks
• Tuna
• Salmon
• Mackerel
• Cod
• Crab
• Shrimp
• Oysters
• Sardines
• Walnuts
• Wheat germ
• Flaxseeds
• Soybeans and soybean oil
You can see that omega-3s are generally found in cold-water fish, nuts, and a few plants.
Because it can be difficult to eat enough of the foods rich in omega-3s, many people, myself included, opt to take supplements containing this “super fat.” Omega-3 supplements are generally taken in either liquid, capsule, or seed form. Liquid form includes products such as fish oil, which can be mixed into protein shakes for a painless way to ensure you take in this powerful macronutrient. If that doesn’t work for you, swallowing a few capsules containing omega-3s can be an easy alternative. If you are purchasing a supplement, choose omega-3 supplements only because we get enough omega-6s and -9s in the diet. There is no need to supplement with the latter.
You can also get in your omega-3s by taking certain “seed supplements.” As a child, my mom used to put wheat germ on our plain Cheerios, much to my dismay every morning. She was way ahead of her time nutritionally because wheat germ is known to be a good source of omega-3 fats. As I will discuss in the chapter on supplements, I continue this tradition started by my mother many decades ago, now substituting chia seeds for wheat germ on my oatmeal.
As always, I prefer to try to get as many of my nutrients from real food whenever possible. I eat large amounts of fish for this very reason, alternating between such foods as salmon, tuna, and sardines, nature’s neatly packaged sources of omega-3s. Salmon is such a healthy “superfood” that I consume it at least several times per week.
The scientific studies of omega-3s are numerous, as are their reported health benefits. Hundreds of studies have been done on omega-3 consumption, and the research is promising as to the myriad of positive effects they provide. Due to this strong scientific evidence, omega-3 is one of the few supplements I personally take on a regular basis.
Here are a few of the reported positive benefits of omega-3s, a list I will reiterate in chapter 6 on supplements:
• Reduces post-workout muscle inflammation
• Lowers blood pressure
• Lowers (bad) triglyceride levels
• Improves artery health
• Reduces risk of sudden death
• Provides relief from joint pain
I cannot in good faith discuss fats without talking about the cardiovascular concept known as the Fat-Burning Zone. It is yet another extremely confusing concept in fitness for many to grasp, especially those who are trying to lose weight, including triathletes. I cannot count how many times I have written about this flawed topic in exercise, one that stipulates that there is greater benefit in exercising at lower rather than higher intensities because by doing so you will focus on burning fat. It’s really bad exercise science and really fuzzy math.
Yes, you do in fact utilize more calories from fat as fuel at lower intensities. In fact, as you are sitting and reading this book, you are burning primarily fat calories. Big deal.
The truth is that you do not get more by doing less. The Fat-Burning Zone is flawed exercise science preached by either people who truly don’t understand exercise science and the way in which the body utilizes food as fuel, and/or by people who want to lead people to believe that they can in fact avoid pushing themselves during exercise, yet reap even bigger rewards.
The truth is that while you do in fact burn a higher percentage of fat as fuel at lower intensities, you burn more total fat calories and more total calories overall at higher workloads. That’s what matters when it comes to weight loss, the goal of those focused on the Fat-Burning Zone, not the relative percentage of calories burned from fat.
Put it this way: Would you rather burn 150 calories exercising at a lower intensity with 50 percent coming from fat and 75 total fat calories, or burn 200 calories while exercising for the same amount of time but at a higher intensity, with 40 percent or 80 calories coming from fat?
You burn more fat calories and more total calories by working at higher intensities. You don’t get more from doing less. The people at the front of a marathon are skinnier than the ones at the back.
We as triathletes need to consume healthy fats in our diets to keep us as healthy as possible, somewhere in the ballpark of 30 percent or so of our total daily caloric intake. This is especially true for those triathletes who train frequently and eat particularly “cleanly,” rarely consuming processed foods. These people can actually have a difficult time maintaining a healthy weight, and by eating the calorically dense healthy fats, they can ensure their bodies are functioning as optimally as possible.
So, to recap: Trans fats are bad, period. Saturated fats are okay in moderation. Unsaturated fats have numerous positive health benefits and are an important part of our healthy diet.
As triathletes, we want to fuel our races and our lives as optimally as possible. To do this, we need to eat a balanced diet consisting of healthy carbohydrates, healthy fats, and lean sources of proteins. There are in fact good and bad versions of all three, and we cannot consume any of them in excess. We need to choose the best versions of all three macronutrients as often as possible, consuming them in the proper percentages and in the optimal quantities.
