Dietary Fat Intake and Active Individuals Part 1

One of the three primary Macro Nutrients is Lipids, AKA fat. With all the hype going around about Keto, Low carb, High-fat diets, and Low-fat foods flooding the shelves, it's really easy to be confused about what is healthy for us, what is not, and why?

To really make educated decisions, we must first understand what fats are, how the body uses them, and what a person’s goals are before we are able to make a real educated decision as to what might or might not be good for us.

In this short series of articles, we will examine what fats are, how they are metabolized, and what types of fats we might and might not want to be included in our daily intake.

Fats are necessary for our diets for many reasons. They are involved with the storage of fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, K. They are a source of essential fatty acids that assist in keeping cell membranes strong, they are a source of energy, and play a vital role in steroid hormone synthesis.

The prevalent type of fats used for energy production are triglycerides, also referred to as triacylglycerol, and the 3 fatty acids. Fat as an energy source and the importance of fat will greatly depend on how active an individual is as well as the type of activity they are participating in.

During endurance events, more triglycerides will be used. For high-intensity sports, like sprinting, glycogen would be one primary fuel source and fats to a lesser degree. The most important thing to know is that fats are always being metabolized and used for energy, it's just a matter of to what degree. Research shows individuals who work out are better at metabolizing fats than those who do not work out.

Strength athletes are more likely to gain excess body weight due to their primary energy system being glycolytic with minor use of fat stores. This type of athlete would be better suited to looking at a diet lower in fat and higher in fat metabolizing nutrients, whereas the marathon runner could get away with a diet higher in fat. On the other side of that though, the marathon runner still needs to be mindful of fat intake as a diet too high in fat can impede performance and be unhealthy especially when higher fat diets lack ample amounts of carbohydrates and protein.

Significance of fat intake for the athletic and active person

• Essential fat is required for growth, recovery, and overall health
• Fat is part of each cell (including muscle cells)
• Fat is an essential source of energy, especially for endurance athletes
• Intake of saturated fats should be kept to healthy levels to avoid heart disease
• Daily intake of fat metabolizing vitamins is important for efficient fat metabolism (vegetables!)
• Omega 3 plays a vital role in overall health and athletic performance (see the article on EPA/DHA)

In our next article, we will talk about how much and what kinds of fat we should include in our diets.

Thomas Sampson CFL-3, USAW-2, Sports Nutritionist

International sports science association. Sports nutrition. 5^th edition. 2018 carpinteria CA

Nancy Clarks Sports Nutrition Guidebook. 4^th edition. 2008 champaign IL