In my early years as a sports nutritionist, fat was a four-letter word. The mantra Eat fat, get fat scared athletes away from consuming any kind of dietary fat. I had to practically beg athletes to include some fat in each meal. After all, fat is an essential nutrient needed to absorb certain vitamins (A, D, E, K) and for normal brain functioning. Fat adds flavor (hence enjoyment) to food. Fat lingers in the stomach, helping you feel fed for longer than a fat-free meal.
Times have changed. We now know that fat-free foods that come with added sugar to improve flavor and acceptability—such as SnackWell cookies and fat-free frozen yogurt—can be detrimental to our health. Today we encourage healthy fats, including olive oil, walnuts, almond flour, ground flax seed, peanut butter, pumpkin seeds, avocado oil, salmon, and sardines. These unsaturated fats are soft at room temperature, in contrast to saturated fats (beef fat, butter, stick margarine) that are solid at room temperature. Saturated fat is associated with an increased risk for heart disease.
How much fat is okay to eat?
While there is no limit on total fat intake (aside from calories), the American Heart Association recommends consuming less than 6% of total calories from saturated fats to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke. That’s about 15 to 20 grams of saturated fat, the amount in 2 tablespoons of butter. By choosing more beans, nuts, and fish (instead of fatty meats) and more olive oil (instead of butter), you can achieve that target.
What are the worst fatty foods to eat?
While there’s not a worst fatty food, I’d bet against a steady intake of greasy burgers, pepperoni, prime rib, French fries, chips, and fried foods. There’s no need to demonize fat. Rather, you want to look at the whole day’s intake and balance a McDonald’s Sausage Egg & Cheese Biscuit (17 g sat fat) with a low-fat turkey sandwich for lunch and fish for dinner.
Decades of science have shown that saturated fats raise your bad LDL cholesterol and put you at higher risk for heart disease. That said, more recently, the harm of saturated fat has become a topic of debate because saturated fats are not all the same. Some saturated fats (such as beef tallow) have long chains with 13 or more carbon atoms, others (coconut oil) have medium-length chains with 7 to 12 carbon atoms, and some (dairy) have short chains with 6 or less carbon atoms. Different lengths of carbon chains impact health differently. For example, recent evidence suggests the short carbon chains in dairy fat are not linked with heart disease.
What are the best fatty foods to eat?
Foods high in unsaturated fats such as olive oil, salmon, and nuts, are at the top of the Good Fats List; they are known to fight inflammation that comes with heart disease and diabetes. Research suggests people who eat anti-inflammatory peanut butter and nuts 5 or more times a week can reduce their risk of diabetes by 25% and heart disease by 50%. When you cook at home, you want to use olive oil (instead of butter) when sautéing and canola oil with frying and high heat cooking.
Isn’t canola oil bad for you?
Canola oil, made from rapeseed plants, and other seed oils (like corn, cotton, safflower, soy, and sunflower) are highly refined (i.e., lacking in vitamins and minerals) but rich in unsaturated fat. Seed oils are commonly used in packaged /processed foods. Health concerns about seed oils stem from eating too much (ultra) processed foods. Home cooking with canola is fine!
What about “trans fat” listed on food labels?
Trans fats have been largely removed from foods in North America and Europe because they are strongly linked to heart disease. They elevate bad (LDL) cholesterol and reduce good (HDL) cholesterol. Some meats and dairy have small amounts of naturally occurring trans fats, and some commercially fried foods and packaged snacks may still have small amounts of trans fat. Nutrition Facts on a label can (legally) list 0 grams trans fat when a product has less than 0.5 grams of naturally occurring trans fat per serving—but it still may have small amounts of trans fats.
The main culprit related to trans fat used to be partially hydrogenated oils that are now banned. Adding hydrogen to vegetable oils makes the fat more solid. This gives the food a desirable texture, taste, and extended shelf-life. Hence, trans fats were popular with commercial food producers.
What about taking fish oil supplements instead of eating salmon and other fatty fish?
While it is true that people who regularly eat fish are less likely to die from heart disease, researchers have been unsuccessful in proving Omega-3 fish oil supplements have the same benefit as eating fatty fish. A whole-foods approach is always preferable to the pop-a-pill approach. That’s because natural foods have a matrix of biological compounds that combine to offer health benefits.
Note: A small-for-a-hungry-athlete 3.5-ounce serving of salmon offers about 2.3 grams Omega-3 fats. A fish oil pill might have only 1.2 grams. Spend your money on fish, not pills?
Given fats digest slower than carbs, should I avoid peanut butter before I exercise? Anecdotally, many marathoners enjoy peanut butter on a bagel before a long run, and cyclists devour PB&J sandwiches during extended bike rides. Given ~75% of calories in peanut butter come from fat, seems like it could hinder performance? Maybe not. Research with athletes who repeatedly consumed equal calories of a high-fat chocolate flavored nut butter (Roam Energy Nut Butter) or a fat-free high-carb chocolate flavored gel showed they performed similarly in exercise tests and reported no differences in gastrointestinal symptoms. These results support what athletes have done for years—reached for peanut butter as a favorite staple in their sports diet! If a pre-exercise snack with PB works well for your body, enjoy it—along with its anti-inflammatory benefits and yummy taste!
Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD counsels both fitness exercisers and competitive athletes in the Boston-area (617-795-1875). Her best-selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook is a popular resource. Visit NancyClarkRD.com for more information.