Can a high-fat diet also be a high-performance diet?
Most people who exercise or compete in endurance sports would probably answer no. For decades, recreational and competitive athletes have stoutly believed that we should — even must — consume a diet rich in carbohydrates to fuel exertion. The conventional wisdom has been to avoid fatty foods because they are an inefficient fuel source and could lead to weight gain.
But in recent years, some scientists and quite a few athletes have begun to question those beliefs. Athletes devoted to ultra-endurance sports, in particularly, tout high-fat diets as a means to improve performance.
This debate is likely to intensify with the announcement last week of new advice from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee that suggests cutting back on the starchy carbohydrates that are staples in many athletes’ high-carb diets, and instead consume more nuts and other fat-rich foods, in order to improve metabolic health.
Of course, improving metabolic health is not the primary focus of serious athletes. They are concerned with training and racing harder, faster and more frequently. They want their diets to make them better athletes.
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