The western diet consists of too much of the wrong kinds of fat. There are some fats, however, that are health promoting. Two essential fatty acids, the omega-3's and omega-6's need to be consumed in the right proportions. Many of us eat an undesirable n-6 to n-3 ratio of 25:1, instead of the optimal ratio of 2:1. This can lead to poor immunolological responses during exercise and other significant health problems.
Omega-3's and omega-6's are essential so must you get them from your diet. A good source of omega-3's is fish and certain plant oils. Omega-6 fatty acids come from eggs, poultry, most vegetable oils, whole grain breads and margerine. Most athlete's need to lower their consumption of omega-6's and increase their omega-3's.
These fatty acids are stored in all cell membranes until needed, then broken down into good and bad eicosanoids. Eicosanoids dervied from omega-3 fatty acids are especially healthy. They are involved in thousands of bodily processes to include improved immunity, anti-inflammatory responses, hormone regulation, aging, fat loss, anticatabolic actions and protection against heart disease, cancer and high cholesterol.
Diets rich in omega-6 fatty acids can be harmful to athletic performance. These fatty acids act in an opposite fashion to the omega-3's. They have pro-inflammatory effects and cause decreases in immune function while exercising, high blood pressure, calcium ion mobililization, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, and inflammatory actions of the gut and airways.
Research on athletes has suggested that many eat a diet too low in overall fat to gain any positive benefits from the omega-3's ability to enhance the immune system. Eating too little fat can result in antioxident depression, pro-inflammatory reponse, damage to immune factors and negative affects on lipoprotein ratios.
Further, different types of exercise elicit a different immune responses. Endurance exercise shows a large immune response, but the reason is not clear. Some scientists assert there may be a dietary effect such as increasing omega-3's, while others feel that moving the circulating immune cells may simply be the bodies way of flushing them out of their pools.
Strength training evokes an entirely different immune response. Eccentric exercise causes the release of immune cells to repair damage and build up the muscle. The relationship of immune cells and regenerating muscle is well known. Like endurance training, researchers are also unclear about the mechanism. Some theorize that adding omega-3's to your diet can increase the bodies immune system during strength training while others are still skeptical.
Given the scientific data and the known health benefits of omega-3's every athlete should take a good fish oil supplement. It's unlikely you are getting adequate amounts from your diet. The requirements for omega-3's are 3-6% of daily calories and 0.5-1% of daily calories for omega-6's. The proper ratio is what counts.
In summary, these simple fats are involved in literally thousands of functions in the human body. Many of these functions mimic and effect the physiological and immunological responses to exercise. Understanding of how to use these essential fatty acids to maximize your immunologicial and anabolic environment will keep you healthy, allow you grow in size and keep body fat to a minimum.
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