Essential Fatty Acids
Some Fats Help Build Muscle. Some Don't: How to Tell the "Good" from the "Bad"
by TC Luoma
From MuscleMedia, December, 1997

Let's pretend you went away five years ago. Maybe you were launched into space and had to be put into a deep sleep, or better yet, you went to live with the Pygmies in Africa. Better still, maybe you were hit in the head with a coconut and slipped into a coma for five years. In any case, you were incommunicado — you didn't hear any news or weren't aware of any advances in nutrition or bodybuilding or anything else for that matter.

And then, suddenly, you were either brought back, or you came out of your coma. You want to resume your bodybuilding, and you're anxious to start eating right. Suddenly you're hit smack dab in the face with a bewildering assortment of powders, pills, and capsules — things that didn't exist five years before. But perhaps the most amazing thing is that people are eating...well, they're eating fat. Five years ago, you or any other sane bodybuilder wouldn't have touched it with a ten-foot barbecue skewer. Now, however, people are actually getting 20% or even 30% of their calories from the gooey stuff — even putting it in their protein drinks!

Welcome to the future. Sure, we used to assume all fats were bad, and we'd lump them together into one big, greasy ball. However, as our knowledge of nutrition has advanced exponentially, we've become more fat savvy, and we now know some fats are downright magical. Trouble is, these special fats are all too rare because of modern processing. Food manufacturing technologies generally destroy these special fats, and as a result, we don't usually get to benefit from their many almost drug-like effects.

Still, figuring out which fats are beneficial and which fats aren't and trying to get the right ratio of this fat and the right ratio of that fat practically takes a Ph.D. in biochemistry. However, there are some people out there who have mastered this complicated science, and some of them are taking their physiques to unprecedented heights—losing fat, gaining muscle, and even recovering from injuries faster!

Fat Science 101

I'm not going to go into too much "fat chemistry" here. If you're really interested in knowing about how many carbons are in each type of fat molecule or how many double bonds each has, you can refer to any good nutritional biochemistry textbook. However, I think it's important to go over a few fairly simple points, so you can better understand why some fats are I good and why some fats are bad.

First of all, at the most basic level, I there are two different groups of fats: saturated and unsaturated. (There are several variations of each, like polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated, medium-chain, shortchain, etc., but we don't need to go into all of them in this article.)

Saturated fats are the kind usually found in meat and dairy products. Your body can use them for energy, but not much else. If you eat too many of them, day in and day out, chances are you'll gum up your arteries and suffer from a host of physical problems. Unsaturated fats generally come from plant products, and your body uses them to construct cell membranes, support nerve function, and produce hormones, among other things we'll get to later. Your body can also use them for energy if the more vital roles of these fatty acids have been fulfilled.

For instance, certain unsaturated fats are needed by humans in order to just plain old survive. In biochemical terms, your body needs two particular types of fats—one type where a "double bond" is exactly six carbons from the "methyl" end and one where a double bond is exactly three carbons from the methyl end. These fats are known, respectively, as omega-6 fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids. They are also known as essential fatty acids (EFA's). Although your body can make lots of different kinds of fats, it can't make omega-6 or omega-3. They have to be supplied through the diet. Hence the term "essential."

Regardless of the type of fat, each produces nine calories of energy per gram, but your body prefers to save these essential fatty acids for important hormone-like functions. That means the body burns them only when an excess of them is present. Otherwise, they're busy stimulating metabolism and speeding up the rate at which the body burns fat and glucose by increasing the metabolic rate and oxidation rate. They may help a person lose fat and build muscle because they're intimately involved in the production of various anabolic and growth hormones. Unfortunately, many people in modern society don't get nearly enough of these fatty acids to benefit from them.

Linoleic and Linolenic Acids

The terms omega-6 and omega-3 are generally used only by biochemists with thick glasses and pasty skin. The more common names for these fats are "linoleic" and "linolenic," respectively. Linoleic is a fairly common essential fatty acid, and it's found in most of the vegetable oils commonly found in any mom-and-pop grocery store. Unfortunately, these oils are generally highly processed and are often filled with free radicals and a "bad fat" called "trans-fatty acids." According to "fat guru" Udo Erasmus, trans-fatty acids can contribute to heart disease, lower immune responsiveness, decrease testosterone, damage insulin responsiveness, alter membrane transport and fluidity, and alter the size and number of fat cells.

Furthermore, the typical North American gets so much of these damaged and altered linoleic acids, and so few linolenic acids, that this skewed ratio can lead to a depletion of linolenic acids in vital organs. This would end up making the above symptoms even worse.

While linoleic acid is common in North America (albeit altered or damaged), linolenic is fairly rare. A lot of people don't get enough, and that's because the best sources for this particular essential fatty acid aren't commonly used as food. Linolenic is commonly found in canola, soy, walnut, or hemp oils, and in dark green vegetable leaves, but you'd have to eat "a ton" of leaves to get enough. However, flax oil is the richest source of linolenic acid, and that's why many bodybuilders mix it in their protein drinks.

Supplementing with these EFA's may even decrease the catabolism sometimes associated with overtraining or poor diet. They may even increase growth hormone secretion, improve the action of insulin, and enhance oxygen use and energy transformation required for optimal performance.

Still, many bodybuilders aren't taking in enough linolenic acid, are consuming the wrong ratio, or are missing other components of the picture to enjoy all its benefits.

The Next Step in the Biochemical Chain

Let's assume you're getting the proper amounts and types of both linoleic and linolenic acids. What happens then? Well, in an ideal biochemical state, these oils are used to make other fatty acids, which in turn have profound effects on something called "prostaglandins," the keys to controlling your body's metabolism. We'll discuss prostaglandins a little later, but let's first take a look at some of the other fatty acids the body needs.

You're familiar with fish oils, right? Health-food stores have sold them for years, and you can find them in the medicine cabinet of practically every person over the age of 60. Trouble is, most people don't know why they take them, and they often stop after a few weeks.

Fish oils are considered valuable by those "in the know" because they contain a couple of fatty acids with the ungainly names of "docosahexaenoic acid" and "eicosapentaenoic acid. Let's just call them DHA and EPA for short. These oils have been implicated in lowering blood pressure, improving cholesterol, preventing cancer, improving blood profiles in general, and even having profound hormonal effects.

Under normal circumstances, your body can manufacture DHA and EPA from linolenic acid. Trouble is, as mentioned, most people don't get enough linolenic acid. There's also another problem. Various byproducts of modern living can prevent this conversion from occurring. Excess cholesterol, too high an intake of saturated fats, too many processed vegetable oils, eating too many trans-fatty acids, too much alcohol, zinc deficiencies, and high sugar consumption are things that can interfere with linolenic acid's conversion into DHA and EPA.

In other words, many people in North America are doing something to muck up this conversion. And that's why many people would benefit from either eating additional linolenic acid and cleaning up their lifestyles or, at the very least, taking supplemental DHA and EPA through a good source like fish oil.

There's also another oil out there that's in short supply in our modern, industrialized bodies, and that's something called "gamma-linoleic acid" or GLA. Your body is designed to transform the main essential fatty acid, linoleic acid, into GLA. Trouble is, this conversion is also blocked by many of the same dietary/environmental factors that tend to block the linolenic acid-EPA/DHA conversion.

Fortunately, nature has provided a good source of GLA, and it's called "evening primrose oil" or EPO. EPO is so promising that various studies have been done to test its effect on lowering blood pressure, normalizing fat metabolism in diabetics, preventing liver damage associated with alcoholism, facilitating fat loss, and even improving the condition of hair and nails.

How Do EFA's Do What They Do?

Prostaglandins are very short-lived, hormone-like chemicals that pretty much regulate all cellular activities. Sound powerful? They are. Prostaglandins, or PG's for short, are produced from the enzyme-controlled oxidation of fatty acids. There are approximately 30 PG's, and each seems to have very different and very specific functions.

To simplify things, scientists have pretty much grouped these PG's into three categories, depending on which fatty acid they were made from. Series 1 PG's use linoleic acid as the starting point, while Series 3 PG's use linolenic acid as the parent fatty acid. Series 1 and 3 prostaglandins are considered the "good" prostaglandins, while Series 2 are considered the "bad" prostaglandins.

Series 1 prostaglandins are made from gamma linoleic acid (whose parent fatty acid is linoleic acid). This series of prostaglandins have a host of beneficial effects: they relax blood vessels, improve circulation, lower blood pressure, decrease inflammation, improve nerve function, regulate calcium metabolism, improve T-cell function, and lastly, prevent the release of something called "arachidonic acid" from cells. Why is that important? Well, arachidonic acid, or AA, is what Series 2 prostaglandins, or the "bad" prostaglandins, are made from.

Series 2 PG's promote platelet aggregation (clot formation); inflammation; sodium retention; and the "evils" that can be caused by those factors (heart disease, blood clots, increased cortisol production, etc.). You don't want a lot of Series 2 PG's being formed. They have their time and place, but you don't want chronic production of these prostaglandins if you want your body to be healthy.

Series 3 prostaglandins are formed from the fatty acid found in fish oil that we talked about earlier: EPA (whose parent essential fatty acid is linolenic acid). The most important job of Series 3 PG's is to prevent AA from being released by cells, thus preventing the production of bad Series 2 PG's.

Unfortunately, I have to make this just a little more confusing. Remember how I talked about GLA being converted into Series 1 prostaglandins? Well, GLA is also converted into arachidonic acid, the fatty acid the bad prostaglandins are made from. You might be puzzled as to how the byproduct of one of the "good" fatty acids is a "bad" product. Good question. Aside from being a precursor for "bad" prostaglandins, AA is also needed to ensure a high testosterone level. This is one of the problems of calling something "good" or "bad." The truth is, as far as the body is concerned, having a proper balance of good and bad is the most important thing.

The following table synopsizes the effects of Series 1, 2, and 3 prostaglandins:

The Functions of Prostaglandins

Series 1 or "good" prostaglandins formed from linoleic acid have the following functions:
• keep blood platelets from sticking together, which may help prevent heart attacks and strokes
• help remove excess sodium and excess fluid from the body
• relax the blood vessels, improve circulation, and lower blood pressure
• decrease inflammation
• improve nerve function
• prevent release of arachidonic acid from cells

Series 2 or "bad" prostaglandins formed from arachidonic acid have the following functions:
• promote platelet aggregation, which may lead to blood clots
• cause the kidneys to retain sodium
• cause inflammation

Series 3, also "good" prostaglandins formed from linolenic acid, have the following functions:
• prevent release of arachidonic acid from cells
• prevent degenerative cardiovascular changes

Essential Fatty Acids end Performance

We already talked about some of the beneficial effects of taking in optimal amounts of the right fatty acids — how they may increase growth-hormone secretion, improve insulin action, and decrease catabolism. Those are things that eating the right amount of fat can do. What about not eating enough fat? Aside from missing out on the previously mentioned benefits, you could very well cause a decrease in testosterone levels. Several studies have been done to study the effects of a low-fat diet. One such study compared a group of men whose daily dietary intake of fat was 18.8% of total calories with a group whose daily fat intake constituted 41% of total calories. The sex-hormone-binding-globulin-bound testosterone was 13-15% higher in the higher fat group. Another study found a 15% decrease in free testosterone when test subjects' diets were reduced from a 40% fat intake to a 25% fat intake.

Obviously, eating the right amount of fat can be critical to a bodybuilder, but what about the performance athlete? Athletes who want to increase their energy output should make sure they get adequate amounts of linolenic acid (preferably from flax oil). Some athletes who use this oil report additional stamina, higher performance levels, and apparently recover from fatigue more quickly than athletes who don't use essential fatty acids. Furthermore, these athletes have increased oxidation rates and seem to lose excess bodyfat and excess water in tissues.

CLA: The New Kid on the Block

Most of you have heard of CLA or "conjugated linoleic acid" by now. Trouble is, many people are confused by it. They're not sure if it's an essential fatty acid or what. The truth is, CLA is closely related to linoleic acid, but it differs in the position and configuration of its double bonds. It's not considered an essential fatty acid because you can probably live without it. However, CLA appears to have some sort of very compelling effects on cell metabolism.

CLA has been found to increase lean body mass and decrease fat mass in various animal species. It's been shown that it may also inhibit tumor growth, increase T-cell count, and enhance immune function in general.

Because of these very exciting studies, scientists from all over the world are currently studying CLA's effects, and some of the results have already started to trickle in. Dr. Pariza of the University of Wisconsin and associates found that pigs fed a diet in which only .5% of total calories were provided by CLA had 27% less carcass fat and 5% greater lean mass weight. Similar results have been obtained with other animals.

Another compelling CLA study was done in the Netherlands. Twenty human subjects were given either 1.6 grams or 3.6 grams of CLA for 3 months. Although there was no exercise control, subjects taking the greater amount of CLA decreased total bodyweight an average of 1.6 lbs and had a 4.3% reduction in fat. Apparently, the subjects gained lean mass but lost fat mass.

Additionally, Dr. Richard Kreider of the University of Memphis conducted a study involving 24 experienced resistance-trained males, and his research team's preliminary findings offer evidence that CLA improves nitrogen balance (which is crucial to building bigger muscles and anabolism in general). Kreider also found indications of increases in strength among the CLA group. Kreider recently presented these exciting findings to the 1997 National Strength and Conditioning Association Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Numerous other studies involving this apparent "wonder oil" have been conducted or are being conducted, and not all of them concern CLA's apparent effects on gaining lean body mass and burning fat. Others have found compelling evidence that CLA may increase bone mass, lessen the incidence of breast cancer, and have overall beneficial effects on the immune system.

Although scientists still aren't sure how CLA works, there are several theories. Its fat-burning effect may have something to do with a direct effect on fat metabolism, preferentially burning fat and sparing muscle glycogen. It may also somehow negate or counteract the effects of some of the catabolic hormones involved in disease or overtraining. Lastly, it could have something to do with affecting the reactivity of certain cells to the beneficial prostaglandins mentioned above. However it works, CLA appears to be a very exciting new kid on the fat block.

I've Got All the Information; How Do I Use It?

There are numerous ways to increase the amount of essential fatty acids in your diet just by making a few minor adjustments in how you prepare your food. Say you're whipping up a quick salad: instead of using regular salad dressing, take a tablespoon of flax oil or mix half a tablespoon of flex oil with a half tablespoon of sunflower oil, mix it with a little vinegar, and pour it over the leaves. At a restaurant that doesn't have flaxseed oil? Try using extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, or sunflower oil.

Although it's not usually good to cook with these oils (because most EFA's are extremely heat, oxygen, and light sensitive), you can put the oils on your meats after they're already cooked. Instead of choking down another dry chicken breast, try basting the meat in a bit of walnut oil or flax oil.

You can also change the way you snack. Try consuming a handful of walnuts, almonds, or sunflower seeds now and then. Or add some natural peanut butter to your whole-wheat bread.

Cold-water fish such as salmon, trout, and mackerel are great sources of the essential fatty acid metabolites DHA and EPA. And CLA can be found in turkey, beef, and milk.

You can also find many of the oils mentioned in this article on the shelves of health-food stores. You can buy yourself some high-grade linoleic acid and linolenic acid, some fish oil made from cold-water fishes, some evening primrose oil, and some CLA and add them to your meal-replacement or protein drinks.

If you incorporate any or all of these ideas into the way you eat, you'll have taken enormous steps towards improving your bodybuilding progress and overall health.

But, on the other hand, you aren't really keeping track of how much of what essential fatty acids you're getting. So although it's a great start, it can be a bit confusing and sometimes impractical trying to get the precise combination of essential fatty acids and CLA you need from whole-food sources alone. Plus, mixing all the oils can get pretty messy, and some of the oils don't taste all that good.

Recognizing the importance of EFA's in maximizing the positive effects of exercise, the research scientists at Experimental and Applied Sciences have engineered a very unique new fatty acid supplement designed for athletes called "Structured EFA." This new, scientifically designed supplement contains a precise mixture of essential fatty acids, CLA, and cofactors which scientific studies show may support intense training athletes' efforts to build muscle, burn fat, and maintain optimal health. Structured EFA is available in capsules, so there's no need to taste all those oils or get them all over your hands and countertops.

Consuming the recommended daily dose of Structured EFA provides a rich array of fatty acids, including: 1,200 mg of flaxseed oil as a rich source of linolenic acid. It also contains 1,200 mg of fish oil, so you're assured of getting your EPA and DHA. And, since GLA is so important too, the research scientists who designed this supplement included 600 mg of GLA-rich evening primrose oil. As mentioned, CLA isn't an essential fatty acid, but it may be "conditionally essential"; thus, 1,800 mg of it are in each daily dose of Structured EFA. And last but not least, carefully determined amounts of Vitamins E and A are included to protect the oils, both in the bottle and in your body (not to mention their roles in converting the fatty acids to beneficial prostaglandins). All you need to do is take two capsules three times a day. For most people, that amount should provide you with a number of the essential fatty acids and CLA to boost what Udo Erasmus calls "the hormone-like effects" of these fats. Basically, Structured EFA is an "all-in-one" fatty acid supplement that helps take the guesswork out of this somewhat complicated area of optimal nutrition.

Conclusion

Plenty of people are hopping on the fat "bandwagon" and for good reason. It's really pretty amazing that eating something we used to think was bad is actually so good for us.

I tell you, if I knew the next five years would bring about another change in diet that was just as compelling as our new knowledge about fatty acids, I'd think about conking myself on the head right now, so I could sleep away the time. Otherwise, I don't think I could stand the wait.