FAT THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY! BY GINA K. THORNBURG Bring on the essential fats to boost your energy and your muscle-building hormones. Like many adults in the 1990s, IFBB pro Aaron Maddron took the low-fat mantra to heart. From every nutrition corner fat was trumpeted as a diet demon, to be avoided at all costs. Aaron, however, along with the nation’s top nutrition experts, finally discovered the cost was too high. The mantra needed to be changed — from low-fat to low-sat . . . low in saturated fat, that is. From the time he began bodybuilding when he was 18 until about two years ago, Aaron, 31, restricted his dietary fat to a level that he now, in retrospect, considers too low. For years, his fat intake hovered around 10% of his daily calories. “ That’s what we thought was correct,” Aaron explains. “But my skin would get dry, my energy was terrible and I’d have terrible food cravings.” The tips of his fingers, he says, developed painful cracks. Through trial and error, he learned what nutritionists are now in a hurry to tell a nation that has been obsessed with eating low-fat products for years: fat, when it’s the right kind and amount, is good for you. When Aaron added more fat to his diet, his symptoms of fat deprivation disappeared and his physique remained just as lean. CONCENTRATED ENERGY Fat packs an energetic punch. With 9 calories per gram, it provides more than twice the energy found in a gram of carbohydrate or protein. “Fat is a concentrated source of long-term energy,” says Teryl Tanaka, chief clinical dietitian at the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Centre in Southern California, USA. “It’s something you can always draw on after you’ve exercised for a long period.” For someone who works out regularly and consumes an appropriate number of calories, fat calories are used immediately to fuel exercise routines and bodily functions. “ If you’re working out five days a week, you’re going to be burning all those [fat] calories as it is,” notes Elizabeth Gilbert, nutrition communicator for Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. “You’re not going to put on weight.” In fact, singling out fat as the culprit in weight gain is misguided, according to some experts. “Blaming getting fat only on the consumption of fat is ridiculous,” states Sheldon Margen, professor emeritus of public health nutrition at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. “You have to look at the entire energy spectrum.” This is what bodybuilders have been doing for years - intentionally controlling their protein, carbohydrate and fat consumption. Problem is, many of them have gone too low when it comes to fat, believing that their lean physiques wouldn’t hold up under double-digit fat intakes. But too little dietary fat can lead to a decline in testosterone levels, according to a Penn State University study in the Journal of Applied Physiology. The study, which involved 12 men in an exercise protocol, found that a low-fat diet correlated with lower testosterone levels both before and after exercise. With basic nutrition texts telling you that you need some fat for hormone production as well as other vital body functions, and sports scientists noting the need for adequate dietary fat to maintain muscle-building testosterone levels, fat-phobic bodybuilders would do well to reconsider their ultra-low-fat regimes. But how high (or low) should you go? While the total amount of fat in a diet should stay under 30%, as recommended by most experts, most agree that dietary fat of less than 20% is usually too low for promoting good health. Since the balance of protein, carbohydrate and fat should be measured by the week, not by the meal, a health-conscious bodybuilder can have a cheat meal, as Aaron does, once a week, in which the fat content is higher than in meals eaten the rest of the week. When it comes to burning fat,bodybuilders have an advantage over sedentary individuals. “A well-trained muscle uses dietary fat more efficiently because when you have more muscle, you have more active tissue,” Tanaka points out. Since muscle burns far more calories than bodyfat, the bodybuilder can safely eat more calories, including fat, than a less-muscular person. Fat calories, however, are not created equal. The smart bodybuilder has to be discerning in choosing which fats to eat. BENEFITS OF THE RIGHT FATS Fats are made up of molecules called fatty acids and are classified as either saturated or unsaturated. Health-promoting fatty acids, which dominate in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, are called essential because the body can’t produce them on its own. The only way to get these essential fatty acids (EFAs) is from food. The drawback to restricting dietary fat indiscriminately is inadvertently cheating oneself out of these necessary fats and suffering the consequences. “Several of the fatty acids are absolutely essential for the maintenance of health,” Margen says. “When you start cutting down on fats, you might be cutting down on the wrong fats.” Aaron and his wife Brandy, who own a health club, learned this all too well. “When I first started getting ready for shows, I had a fat phobia,” confesses Brandy, 31, an IFBB pro fitness competitor. “I would try to eat no fat.” The results? Her hair and skin dried out and her nails got brittle. Like Aaron, Brandy saw her energy levels drop. She stopped menstruating, too. “I knew that wasn’t good and I had to change something,” she says. She began eating more fat, like peanut butter in low-fat biscuits and flaxseeds sprinkled on cereal, and supplemented her diet with EFAs in pill form. She wishes she had known 10 years ago what she learned the hard way. “I was doing two hours of cardio a day trying to get lean,” she remembers. “It was ridiculous. Since I’ve added in some fat and cut down on my carbs, I can get ready for a show with much less cardio. I can stay a lot leaner-looking.” The link between adding fat and cutting down on carbs is a matter of taste. “Fat makes you feel satisfied when you eat,” Tanaka explains. A diet too low in fat can leave a person feeling hungry. Aaron concurs: “We’ve found that eating more fat and also supplementing with fatty acids has really helped our cravings go away.” When he craved and ate too many carbs, his body retained water, and he didn’t like the way he looked. Aaron also promotes the benefits of fat to his joints. “Just from eating 10% more fat in my diet and supplementing with EFAs and flaxseed, my joint health has improved.” Years of weight training had taken their toll on his joints, causing repeated bouts of tendinitis in the elbows, shoulders and knees. “They would just creak and groan and I’d feel lousy the first few sets,” he recalls. More dietary fat has meant less discomfort. Joints aren’t the only bodypart whose healthy function depends on fat. “Fat is an essential component of nerve cells and hormones,” Gilbert says. Because of this nerve connection, mental health can also suffer if dietary fat plummets. A person on a low-fat diet can become depressed, and Brandy experienced this first-hand. “You can actually get depressed [on a too-low-fat diet],” she states. “For my first couple of shows, I felt like my hormones were out of whack because I’d be really emotional.” A better-balanced diet has allowed her to get leaner without getting moody. Learning to cook with health-promoting fats can boost workout performance while keeping the physique lean. “Every individual, regardless of bodytype or metabolism, and those at high-level competitions, need to eat more EFAs or good fat,” Aaron points out. “It will benefit every athlete.” You can’t start gulping down the olive and flaxseed oils, but you can enjoy some on your salad or with your pasta. You don’t have to choose the dry, fat-free proteins all the time either, but savour some salmon and nibble on some nuts during the week. Low-Sat Is Where It’s At Some fats don’t lend themselves to better health or moods. These fats, called saturated because their molecules are filled with hydrogen atoms, are solid at room temperature (think margarine). Saturated fat isn’t an essential part of the diet, because the human body produces it on its own. Its share of the dietary fat pie should be less than 10% of total calories, experts agree. “Saturated fat is known to be a health risk if you eat too much of it,” Tanaka says. “Stay away from anything that’s deep fried or has butter in it, anything that’s obviously fatty or greasy.” Hydrogenated oils, tropical oils and animal fats are typically high in saturated fat. A good guideline to follow is to choose fats that have 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving, such as liquid and tub margarines, canola oil and olive oil. When Aaron eats a low-carb diet, he gets 20% of his calories from fat, 55%–60% from lean protein and another 20%–25% from carbohydrates. He’s also choosy about which fats he eats. “You don’t feel as good when you eat bad fat,” he adds. “It’s not as digestible and it clogs you up.” Literally. High levels of saturated fat in the diet are linked to increased levels of blood cholesterol, which can lead to blockage in the arteries and heart disease, states the British Heart Foundation. Eating a variety of foods and limiting your intake of saturated fat should keep most bodybuilders on the right track. “You do still need to enjoy what you’re eating,” Tanaka says. “Your body isn’t supposed to be a chemistry experiment.” M&F Gina K. Thornburg is a freelance journalist living in Woodland Hills, California, USA . THE CHOLESTEROL CONNECTION Eating saturated fat and trans fats (mostly from hydrogenated oils) raises the levels of total blood cholesterol, numerous clinical studies have shown. High-sat animal fats, such as butter and beef fat, also contain cholesterol, so they’re doubly damaging. High blood levels of cholesterol are known to lead to heart disease, so choosing the right fats takes on more significance when you’re tailoring your nutrition plan to suit your energy needs. THE LANGUAGE OF FAT >> Essential fatty acid: Fatty acids the body needs but cannot make on its own. Two that have been identified are omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. >> Fatty acids: The building blocks of fat, composed of ‘fatty’ chains of carbon atoms attached to hydrogen atoms and an ‘acid’ group made of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. >> Monounsaturated fatty acids: When two carbon atoms on the fatty chain lack hydrogen atoms on one side, the fat is not saturated. Since these missing hydrogen atoms leave one double-bonded pair of carbon atoms, the fat is called monounsaturated. Monounsaturated oils are liquid at room temperature but start to solidify when refrigerated. >> Polyunsaturated fatty acids: These have more than one unsaturated bond between carbon atoms. Polyunsaturated oils are liquid at room temperature and in the refrigerator. >> Saturated fatty acids: Every carbon atom on the fatty chain has all the hydrogen atoms it can hold. That’s why it’s called saturated. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature. THE GOOD AND THE BAD To get the most out of the fat you eat, make sure you get it from the right sources. Aim for monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats while avoiding saturated ones. Two classes of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats have been identified as essential to human health because the body cannot make them. These fats, called omega-3 and omega-6 because of their molecular structures, have been shown to be protective of the heart. When choosing from the foods listed below, read labels when possible. It is recommended you choose fats with 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving, such as liquid and tub margarines, canola oil and olive oil. The best way to tell whether a prepared food is high in saturated fat is by its appearance: it will look greasy or oily. If you eat it, you’ll notice a difference in how you feel, typically heavy and bogged down. Examples of such foods are full-cream milk products, fatty meats, tropical oils (such as coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil), partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (found in most processed foods) and egg yolks. While the following lists aren’t comprehensive, they will provide you with a starting point to guide you when you shop. Happy eating! >> MONOUNSATURATED FAT SOURCES These are also rich in omega-6 fatty acids. Aim for a ratio of up to five times the amount of omega-6s as omega-3s: almond oil, avocados, avocado oil, corn oil, evening primrose oil, hazelnut oil, margarine (soft, tub with liquid vegetable oil as the first ingredient), mayonnaise (made with safflower or soyabean oil), nuts, olive oil, peanut butter, peanut oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, sesame seeds, soyabean oil, sunflower oil, sunflower seeds. >> POLYUNSATURATED FAT SOURCES These are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids: canola oil, cod liver oil, flaxseed oil, flaxseeds, halibut, herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines, sesame oil, sesame seeds, tuna, walnut oil. >>SATURATED FAT SOURCES Avoid or use very sparingly these foods or foods made with them. The British Heart Foundation recommends that no more than 10% of total calories come from saturated fat. You’ll recognise a high-sat suspect by its appearance: if it’s solid at room temperature, like butter or the trimmable fat on some cuts of beef, don’t go for it (avoid oily, shiny foods, too). Animal-fat shortening (lard, suet, dripping), beef fat, butter, coconut oil, cottonseed oil, egg yolks, fatty meats, full-cream milk products, palm oil, palm kernel oil, tropical oils, vegetable shortening. >> TRANS FAT SOURCES Partially hydrogenated oils, ubiquitous in processed and fast foods, have been shown to contain trans fats, which can damage arteries. Some studies have shown that trans fats lower HDL (“good”) cholesterol and raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in the blood. Because the amount of trans fats isn’t required to be listed separately on nutrition labels, it’s hard to tell how much of this fat you may be eating. One tip: chips, fried fish, fried fast foods, baked goods, doughnuts, biscuits and crackers are usually high in trans fatty acids. FAT CALCULATOR To determine how much fat you should consume, multiply your daily calorific intake by 20% and 30%, then divide those results by 9 to determine fat grams. Example: 20%–30% of a 3,000-calorie daily total is 600–900 calories from fat, or 67–100 grams. Some days can be higher, some lower, but you should average no more than 30% of calories from fat, with no more than 10% of your total calories from saturated and trans fats. The essential fatty acid linoleic acid should provide 1%–2% of your total energy; for the 3,000-calorie diet, that’s 30–60 calories, or roughly 3.5–6 grams. For your omega-3s, consume 2–3 servings of omega-3-rich foods daily, or take a supplement (alpha-linolenic acid will work, too; it’s the parent of the omega-3 family). HOW MUCH OF A GOOD THING? In addition to helping the nerves, hormones and joints function better, dietary fat is essential for absorbing the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. “They can only be absorbed into the bloodstream if you eat them with a meal containing fat,” says Elizabeth Gilbert, nutrition communicator for Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. That’s one more reason why it’s important to get 20%–30% of total calories from fat. If you don’t get enough, you’ll feel it. “You may not have as much strength if you’re not eating as much fat,” Gilbert states. As long as saturated and trans fats are kept to a minimum, or less than 10% of total calories, your fat consumption should be on target. Gilbert points out that when measuring total dietary fat, it’s best to focus on a chunk of time, like a week, not just one meal or one day. “Think about your total [eating] activity for a week,” she explains. In this way, you may eat more heavily on one day than on others, thus allowing yourself to enjoy otherwise ‘forbidden’ foods.