Best coconut oil for fat adapting
Hello, this is the owner of Fusubon. Today I would like to introduce you to the Fat Adapt diet.
What is Fat Adapt?
Japan national soccer team player, Nagatomo, recently published a book in collaboration with Professor Satoru Yamada.
Where does Nagatomo's energy come from, as he has had a long career as a full-back overseas?
Fat adaption is the basis of carbohydrate restriction, and it means creating a body that can easily use fat as energy .
The human body normally breaks down glucose to use as an energy source. However, when there is a lack of glucose in the blood, such as when you are fasting or exercising, the body produces sugar from proteins and glycerol (a process called gluconeogenesis) and uses fatty acids (derived from the breakdown of neutral fats) as energy.
The key to fat adaptation is the presence of ketone bodies
At this time, ketone bodies are produced mainly in the liver and serve as an energy source outside the liver and red blood cells.
There are two main reasons why Nagatomo is so obsessed with becoming ketogenic. The first is to build up the stamina to be able to play at full strength for the entire 90 minutes of a soccer game. The second is to build a body with less visceral fat and more muscle.
To build stamina, carbohydrates and sugar (glucose) are necessary, but conversely, if glucose runs out, there will be no energy source and stamina will run out. Nagatomo plays in a position where he has to run a lot, especially as a fullback, and he moves around 12 kilometers per game. So building stamina was a big challenge for Nagatomo.
Even if glucose runs out, if there is fat in the body, the fat can be broken down and converted into energy. However, for athletes, having fat can slow down muscle response, increase body weight, and cause joint pain, making it a major hindrance to performance.
Utilizing MCT oil (medium chain fatty acids) for fat adaption
So, a method that has attracted attention is to take in medium-chain fatty acids (coconut oil or MCT oil) three or four hours before a match. Medium-chain fatty acids are lipids that are difficult to absorb, and have the characteristic that they are converted into ketone bodies in the liver and can be used as energy throughout the body.
The ketogenic diet involves converting fat into ketone bodies by consuming very little carbohydrate and exercising when the body is short of glucose. Fatty acids are burned in the production of ketone bodies, making it an effective dieting method.
Nagatomo seems to do the following on a regular basis:
I barely eat any carbohydrates at dinner.
○ Eat organic foods such as nuts and coconut oil. ○ Avoid rice and wheat flour.
For breakfast, eat vegetables and foods that are easy to digest, such as smoothies
Nagatomo does not rely solely on glucose as an energy source, but is conscious of creating a "ketone body constitution" that effectively incorporates these "ketone bodies." See you next time!
