Muscle Fitness Muscle & Fitness UK - April 2018 | Page 99

Written by Dean Connor BSc
DEAN CONNOR BSC BIO
Since graduating with a degree in Sport and
Exercise Science from Liverpool John Moores
University, Dean has spent the last 12 years
as a personal trainer coaching over 25,000
hours of 1-2-1 sessions. Alongside his work
with his private clients, delivering seminars
has become a huge passion, helping the
public better understand nutrition on
platforms such as Bodypower 2017. Post
graduate study has included the Shredded By
Science Program and as a Nutritionist under
Mac Nutrition Uni. Passionate to help as
many people worldwide, Dean also became
the Co Director of Empowered By Eating,
a membership site encompassing a video
series that guides the user through a
progressive program to develop their understanding of nutrition at their own pace. Dean has been
successful in the past as a fitness model and has been featured on the cover and within the pages
of various publications but now prefers to be found as an information provider in those magazines.
Evidence based nutrition practice is what Dean prides himself on delivering albeit written in a
manner that is simple to understand and implement.
hot topic of contention today. At one
time, the research pointed to a low
dietary fat approach as the only way
to a healthy body and so shelves
became stocked with low-fat
products aimed at capitalising
on the dieting market. In more
recent times, further research
emerged highlighting findings that
showed the benefits of dietary fat
and how a higher fat approach can
positively affect your body. With all
of the research, the most current
findings and with what we now
know about fat and its role, which
approach is best, low fat, high fat,
moderate fat or does it really matter
at all? Let’s find out.
Now you may currently sit in
either one of the two camps (low fat
or high fat) and that is fine, but bear
with me, by the end of this I hope
you can make your own balanced
judgement based on what we
cover. Context, as always is hugely
important so I want to address as
many questions as possible here
to enable you to make the right
judgement for you without any
agenda or bias towards one of the
two (low vs high fat diet).
Fat is an essential nutrient that
our bodies require. A quick glance at
the following list of functions and
benefits will undoubtedly prove that
to you and may in fact offer some
food for thought so to speak.
down fats and fat-soluble vitamins
to help their transport through the
walls of the small intestine. In other
words, without fat in your diet, this
process would not happen and you
would be at risk of deficiencies in
these vital vitamins.
The production of hormones is a
FUNCTIONS &
key role of fat and one which is of
BENEFITS OF FAT
huge importance to your overall
• Vitamin absorption
health. Cholesterol, is vital to this
(fat soluble vitamins A, D, E & K)
hormone production and whilst
• Energy source
most of its requirement is produced
• Maintain a healthy immune
by the body itself, dietary cholesterol
system
can be put to good use and should
• Production of hormones
not be feared like it once was.
(Testosterone, Estrogen and
Satiety (the feeling of being full) is
Progesterone)
a major player when it comes to the
• Improve blood lipid profiles
success of any diet, in particular that
• Satiety
which is focused on fat loss and thus
• Cell structure
results in a calorie deficit. In the
period after eating a meal (post-pran-
Highly important then, wouldn’t
dial) the effect of the food eaten on
you agree? Water soluble vitamins
your hunger levels and how satisfied
(B-vitamins, vitamin C etc.) as their
you feel can have a great bearing on
name suggests, dissolve in water
whether you reach for more food and
and are absorbed directly into the
possibly eat more than you require.
bloodstream for transport, whereas
In terms of macronutrients, protein,
fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, &K)
enter the digestive system and where which we discussed last month
exerts the greatest effect on satiety
in the small intestine, bile (from the
which is why it is so important as
liver) can exert its effect in breaking
APRIL 2018 / MUSCLE & FITNESS
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