Macros; the only thing that every single person that diets the way we recommend cares about. Sure, everybody wants their food to be tasteful, but at the end of the day, I guarantee that anyone will be much more satisfied having hit their numbers rather than enjoy everything that he or she consumed. That is where the art of flexible dieting comes into play; there is no need to not enjoy something you may eat.
Now, when working with clients, I always make it a point to include the minimum numbers of the two essential macronutrients: protein and fat. A few weeks ago we covered protein, its functions and why we need it. Today, I really want to break down every aspect of dietary fat and explain what it does for the body. Further, I want to expand on the fact that it is essential; the body can simply not perform and/or function properly without it. Finally, I will go into all four types of fat and explain where to find them and their effects on the body.
Function
Dietary fat is absolutely necessary for the body to survive. One role that fat plays in the body is proper production of hormones. The structural components of hormones (including testosterone and growth hormone) contain fats and therefore, cannot be produced naturally without adequate fat intake. On top of that, studies show that well balanced diets higher in fat (but still within caloric range) resulted in increased production of growth hormone in athletes taking part in resistance training.
There are many more functions to dietary fat that consider them essential to optimal body function. Aside from providing energy (9kcal/gram), fats assist the body in absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Included in this list of vitamins are A, D, E and K. In short, dietary fat makes it so the body can properly utilize these vitamins and allow them to perform their functions that range from proper eyesight and eye function to skin health, immune health and blood coagulation.
Two more functions of dietary fat that I want to touch upon are its role in building cells and its inclusion in brain structure. Your body’s cells all contain a cell membrane that is not only vital to the structure of that cell, but it plays a huge part in deciding on what enters the cell and what does not. You see…a cell membrane is what scientists like to call selectively permeable. Some things that desire entry to the cell are allowed and some are turned away based upon the decision of the membrane. These membranes contain what is called a lipid bilayer, formed by “two layers” of lipids (fats.) Thus, without the inclusion of fat in your diet, these cells will not properly form and/or function.
Now, let’s look at the brain. Neurons, found all throughout the body, are responsible for receiving and transferring signals from the brain to the rest of the body. These neurons contain a component known as the myelin sheath. It is a protective covering of the path between the head of the neuron (dendrite) and axon terminal that transmits the signal to the next neuron. The myelin sheath is made up of fat, so without it, these signals would have much trouble traveling from the brain to the body. There would be no triggering of muscles and other components of the body to fire.
Dietary fat does much more than just assist the body in vital functions. It also helps us fitness oriented dieters stay full because it is the most satiating macronutrient. More likely than not, a meal containing fat will leave you feeling more full for a longer period of time as opposed to one not containing fat. This is because fat is the slowest digesting macronutrient and thus, provides the body with a long-lasting full feeling. This helps those dieting fight cravings, stay satiated and keep calorie intake within their personal range.
Adequacy
In this section, I want to discuss how much fat is needed. I also want to expose why there are so many people pointing the finger at dietary fat as the reason for heart disease, high cholesterol and obesity. Remember, dieting protocols are all different and one person may be better off with more/less fat than another. The recommendations that will follow are solely minimum intakes and are not exact amounts. As long as calorie intake remains within range, dietary fat can be consumed at much higher levels than the minimum requirements.
Studies have shown that minimum fat intake sits much lower than many would recommend. I don’t even want to include these amounts because in my opinion, they are absurd. I give my clients the recommendation of somewhere between .4g to .5g per lb. of lean body mass. That means that if you weigh 180 lbs. at 12% body fat, you would do the following equation to determine your lean body mass, and apply the coefficient .4-.5.
180 lbs. x 12% (.12) = 21.6 lbs. fat; 180 lbs. – 21.6 = 158.4 lbs. LBM
Application of .4: 158.4 x .4 = 63g.
You would have a minimum fat intake of 63g.
Now, as I said above, this is the absolute minimum fat intake for an individual with that body composition. Believe it or not, since fat and protein are the only essential macronutrients, one could make up their daily caloric intake of entirely those two with very minimal carbohydrate. This is a style of dieting called keto-dieting (we will cover this another time.) A lot of times, you will read recommendations of percentages of calories from fat that can make up a daily intake. Macronutrient ratios are a thing of the past and are far from optimal in terms of performance and satisfaction.
Now that you know how to determine your minimum fat intake, let’s look at why dietary fat is the scapegoat when people discuss heart disease and cholesterol. Sadly, because of its name, a lot of people attribute “fat” to, well, fat. Fact is, fat got its name because of its chemical makeup. The only reason it could possibly obtain the “fat” reputation is because it is the most energy dense macronutrient. A fat intake that is not paid attention to is very likely to go overboard and thus, cause fat gain. There is a direct correlation of excess adipose/obesity with heart disease and high cholesterol, so high dietary fat intake received the blame. In reality, a high carbohydrate and protein diet will have no less of an effect on cholesterol and cardiovascular health than a diet high in fat and protein if calorie count remains the same.
Type
Finally, I want to take the time to discuss the four types of dietary fat. Contrary to what nearly everybody in fitness believes, there is only one true type of fat that should be labeled as bad fat. The other three, although providing the body with different health benefits and even having their own weaknesses in terms of effects, are all pretty much equal. Further, all four types of fat have no different effect on body composition. Each one contains 9 calories per gram and at the end of the day, is utilized the same way in terms of energy.
Let’s begin with the two types of “healthy fats” (as fitness enthusiasts like to say.) These two types of fats include monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat. Both fats can assist the body in achieving lower levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol while raising HDL (good) cholesterol. Also, a special type of polyunsaturated fat, known as Omega-3, has been shown to directly benefit consumers’ heart health as well as decrease the risk of cardiovascular related diseases. Sources of these types of fat are nuts, nut and vegetable oils, fish and avocados.
Next, I want to discuss the type of fat that is falsely frowned upon—saturated fat. The reason that people claim saturated fat leads to higher levels of LDL cholesterol is because of the same reason discussed before while talking about adequate intake. People that do not moderate their calorie intake and thus, their fat intake, more than likely suffer from obesity. These same people probably do not pay attention to the foods they consume at all and opt for great tasting foods (rich in saturated fat.) Fact of the matter is, if one consumes high amounts of saturated fat but remains within their caloric range and consumes a primarily wholesome, nutritious diet, he or she will not have higher LDL cholesterol levels. On top of that, their levels of HDL will be no lower. Saturated fats are found in coconut and coconut oil, meats, full fat dairy products and pre-packaged goods.
The fourth and final fat I want to discuss is the only fat that should be kept at an absolute minimum if not entirely eliminated from a diet. This is what we like to call trans fat. Trans fat is synthetically created and is used as a preservative. The reason that it should be entirely eliminated from a diet is because the process of hydrogenation creates a fat that is entirely saturated with hydrogen atoms. Because of this, trans fat has a direct effect on cholesterol and can absolutely raise LDL levels.
Sources of trans fat are pre-packaged goods and fast food. When looking at labels that claim, “Zero Trans Fat” be sure to give the ingredient panel a glance. If the word “hydrogenated” is present, the food does indeed contain trans fat. The FDA allows companies to list 0g trans fat if there is less than .5g per serving. Most foods that make this claim are consumed in amounts larger than 1 serving, so the consumer is getting nearly a gram or more of trans fat. Moving onto fast food—look at a fast food order 3 years after it was placed. It still looks the same! That is because there is relatively decent amount of hydrogenated oils in their food. This minimizes cost and maximizes shelf life, which, in turn, maximizes profit and minimizes overall nutrition.
So, Frown Upon Fat?
I hope this was a good way for you to see that fat (except for trans) must not be neglected from your diet. Now that we are aware of fat’s function in the body and during the digestion process, we can realize that it is absolutely essential to our means of living. Not only do we know the functions, but also we can apply the minimum intake equation to find out if we are getting an adequate amount. Finally, we were able to uncover the four types of fat and learn a little bit of information about each plus where they can be found. Don’t exclude your fats!
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