Fearful of Fats

We should all just avoid fats because eating fat will make us fat... right?  Well, not necessarily.  As we've discussed before, making sure we don't eat too many calories (and also burning excess calories through physical activity) is going to be key in not gaining fat... and for the record - eating too many carbohydrates or protein can also lead to fat gain.  So let's be a little more gentle with our fear and hatred of fats (of course we all love the taste!) and obtain a better understanding of why they NEED to be part of our diet, and which types are beneficial and which to avoid.

I didn't mention this last week when we discussed carbs, but fat and carbohydrate are actually the two types of fuel your body uses during exercise.  When you perform more sustained, endurance-type exercise, you will utilize more fat as your fuel source.  And believe it or not, fat is our primary source of fuel at rest as well (no need to feel guilty sitting around reading my blog... you are burning fat right now!  ).  There are also certain nutrients that we obtain from the fats in our diet: Vitamins A, D, E and K, as well as the essential fatty acids linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid (Omega-6 and -3 respectively).  These nutrients are needed for many metabolic processes and also to make various compounds within the body.  They make up the cell membranes, parts of the brain and spinal cord, keep skin and tissues pliable, protect the organs, and store energy.  All sorts of good and necessary things!

How much should I eat?
The major concern with fats is that they are more calorie dense than protein and carbs.  Both carbs and protein contain approximately 4 calories per gram.  Fat, on the other hand, packs 9 calories per gram!!  That means if you ate the same size morsel of fat as carbohydrate, the fat morsel would contain more than twice as many calories!
The general recommendation is for 20-35% of your caloric consumption to come from fat.  It is rare to come across a suggestion based on your body weight like we discuss for both carbohydrates and protein.  I would advise calculating your carbohydrate (see last week) and protein (see next week) based on your body weight and activity level, then divide that number by 0.75 to get an idea of your total caloric intake.  The 0.75 is accounting for 25% of your diet coming from fats.  Here is an example:
- If I calculated my carbohydrate and protein intake to be 1,500 calories a day,
- I would then calculate 1,500 / 0.75 = 2,000
- This means that I should start out by eating 2,000 calories a day, with 500 calories/day as my fat allotment.
- Notice I said "start out by eating..." unless you get your metabolism tested, this will be a bit of a guessing game getting you to the appropriate caloric intake.

What kind should I eat?
Once you have figured out your fat caloric allotment, I'm sorry to tell you, it is not a free for all.  Now we need to focus on the specific types of fat you should consume in your diet.  Words to look for on a food label:
GOOD FATS - Pick these!!  
- monounsaturated 
- polyunsaturated
Both of these can actually improve your cholesterol levels, potentially assist in regulating insulin levels, and decrease your risk of heart disease.  They are heart healthy!
BAD FATS - Try to avoid these!!
- saturated: comes primarily from animal products.  This should be less than 1/3 of your fat calories for the day... meaning if you are allotted 500 fat calories, less than 165 calories should be saturated fat (that's only 18.5 grams of fat!)
- trans: these fats have been processed to increase the shelf life.  They typically have negative effects on blood cholesterol levels.  Avoid these as much as possible.
- hydrogenated: Foods may say "trans-fat-free," but if you look at the list of ingredients and either "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" is listed, then there is some level of trans fat in that food.  Most likely < 0.5g per serving... but if you indulge in more than one serving, that number adds up!

What are good sources?
As I just learned in my textbook*; animal fats provide ~40-60% of their energy as saturated fats and 30-50% as unsaturated, whereas plants provide only 10-20% of their energy from saturated and the rest from unsaturated.  I am not saying that you should not eat meat - but certainly aim for leaner cuts of meat and discard all visible fat.  Additionally, try too cook it in a way that the fat will drip off (grilling) as opposed to  continue marinating around the meat (pan frying or baking).

Another good rule of thumb in selecting your fats: unsaturated fats are typically more liquid at room temperature (oils = unsaturated, butter and Crisco = saturated).  And since we are always hearing about getting in our Omega's, here is where you can get them:
Omega 6: vegetable oils (sunflower, safflower, corn, soy, peanut)
Omega 3: leafy green vegetables, soy products (including oil), seafood, canola oil

Finally, I will leave you with a list of good sources of healthy, obtained from another great resource**.  Try to obtain your "fat fuel" from these:
Foods low in saturated fat: popcorn, nonfat yogurt, skim milk, fig bars, graham crackers, roasted chicken breast, pancakes, 1% cottage cheese, 1% chocolate milk, dried beef
Foods high in monounsaturated fat: black olives, olive oil, almond oil, canola oil, dry almonds, avocados, peanut oil, dry roasted cashes, peanut butter, cooked beef, roasted lamb, roasted veal
Foods high in polyunsaturated fat: safflower oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, dry walnuts, sunflower seeds, margarine, corn oil, canola oil, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, tofu

Textbook resources:
*Sport Nutrition for Health and Performance; 2nd Edition.  Manore, Meyer, & Thompson.
**Sports and Exercise Nutrition; 3rd Edition.  McArdle, Katch, & Katch