Essentials of Nutrition for Sports

Product

Serving

Total Fat, g

Sat. Fat, g

Trans Fat, g

Combined Sat. & Trans Fat g

Butter

1 tbsp

11

7

0

7

Cake, pound

80 g

16

3.5

4.5

8

Candy Bar

1, 40 g

10

4

3

7

Doughnut

1

18

4.5

5

9.5

French Fries

Med, 150 g

27

7

8

15

Margarine, stick

1 tbsp

11

2

3

5

Margarine, tub

1 tbsp

7

1

0.5

1.5

Mayonnaise, soy

1 tbsp

11

1.5

0

1.5

Milk, fat-free

8 ounces

0

0

0

0

Milk, whole

8 ounces

7

4.5

0

4.5

Potato Chips

42 g

11

2

3

5

Shortening

1 tbsp

13

3.5

4

7.5

Table 17. Total fat, saturated fat, and

trans

fat of selected foods.

Mono- and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

Given the recommendation to minimize intakes of saturated and

trans

fatty acids, the majority of fat intake should consist of

monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats do not raise LDL

cholesterol.

Up to 15 percent of your caloric intake should come from

monounsaturated fats.

Up to 10 percent of your caloric intake can come from

polyunsaturated fats.

Omega-6 to Omega-3 Fatty Acids Ratio

The omega-3 fatty acids seem to act as blood thinners, decreasing

the risk of lethal blood clots and possibly staving off hardening of the arteries.

Omega-3 fatty acids are found in tuna, salmon, mackerel, and

other fatty fish.

The omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are

metabolized using the same series of enzymes. The balance of linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids

may be important in determining

the amounts of elongated fatty acids in tissue lipids.

The best way to get omega-3 oils is to eat two to three servings of

fish per week.

The FNB has not established a recommendation about the omega-

6: omega-3 ratio except for pregnant and lactating women (a ratio below 5:1 may be associated with impaired growth in infants).

For more information, see

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

on page

81

.

Read the Food Label

Just because a food sounds healthy, it is not necessarily so.

Granola, for example, is usually high in fat. Muffins are popular—they taste great. Let us face it—fat tastes good—but so can bagels, which have hardly any calories from fat at all.

The Nutrition Facts panel can help you choose foods lower in

saturated fat,

trans

fat, and cholesterol.

To lower your intake of saturated fat,

trans

fat, and cholesterol,

compare similar foods and choose the food with the lower combined saturated and

trans

fats and the lower amount of cholesterol.

Table 18

outlines a quiz from the FDA:

If you were going to use one tablespoon of butter or margarine,

which of the products in the table would you choose?

Nutrition for Sports, Essentials of 89