Can we talk about fat?

Fat is a nutrient and a fuel source.

We need some fat, but we tend to eat a lot of it—a lot more than we used to. In fact, we eat about 23% more calories than in the 1970s. Eat too much, and those calories are stored as fat.

Currently, popular diets, like the ketogenic diet, or high protein diet are by default a high-fat diet. These are promoted as a way to lose weight and trick your body into burning more fat. 

How much fat do we need?

Not as much as we eat. It would be best to eliminate trans fats and saturated fats. If we only ate unprocessed plant-based sources of fat, like avocados, nuts, seeds and olives, we could survive if only 10% of our diet was from these unrefined sources. We would be healthier and leaner, but this is exceptionally difficult.

Even limiting your intake to 25% fat, which is the recommendation for athletes takes planning and vigilance.

Fat insulates our organs, regulates our core temperature, helps in the absorption of certain nutrients. However, if you have heart disease, diabetes, fatty liver disease, dementia eliminating any extra fat in your diet could be the most important dietary change you could make. It could save your life.

Fat as a fuel source.

When we eat too much the extra calories are stored as fat to be used in times of famine. Without going into the complex and fascinating process of our bodies energy systems, we prefer to store fat and burn carbohydrates. Some wellness-promoting gurus believe that we can trick our bodies into using fat as a fuel source.

Regardless of our attempts to burn more fat, eating more fat is not helpful, nor is it particularly effective. Here are a few reasons why limiting the consumption of carbohydrates to burn more fat is not effective.

1. Your brain runs on carbohydrates. Limit your brain’s preferred fuel and pay the price in fuzzy thinking.
2. To burn fat we need carbohydrates in our bloodstream. Run out of carbohydrates and you run out of gas.
3. Sprinting is limited on a ketogenic diet.

You might think that the first two are more important than sprinting. You aren’t racing Usain Bolt any time soon, so what difference does it make?

Ask yourself?

Currently, do I consider myself fit or unfit?

If you are fit, then limiting your anaerobic energy system, the ones that provide fuel for short bursts of activity, will limit your speed and power.

If you are currently unfit then climbing a flight of stairs is a sprint.

Every day, whether you are fit or not you use your anaerobic energy systems.

Researcher Edward Weiss, Ph.D., associate professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University says,

“The objective of a ketogenic diet is to starve the body of carbohydrate. If there is too much protein in the diet, the body will use the protein to make carbohydrates, which defeats the purpose. The findings have clear performance implications for athletes, especially for high-intensity, short duration activities and sports.”

He also says,

“Athletes be advised to avoid these diets.”

I would recommend that anyone who wants to be healthy, active and stay fit avoid this diet. 

A high-protein diet is a high-fat diet.

If you eat a diet high in animal protein by default it is a high-fat diet. Animal protein contains no fibre but is high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Fat is calorie-dense and nutritionally empty. Every gram of fat has 9 calories, compared to a gram of carbohydrate which has 4 calories. 

Some fat in your diet is necessary, but not much and it is easier to eat too much than too little. Whole unprocessed foods are the best sources of fat. Nuts, seeds, avocados and olives instead of processed and refined oils. Animal protein is high in fat. We easily store dietary fat as body fat. Too much fat has long-term health consequences. If you are an athlete or not, eating a high-fat diet will hurt your physical performance.

Eating a high-fat diet does not increase your ability to burn fat, only exercise can do that effectively.

Change your mind, change your health,

Shayla