Sorting Out EFA Confusion

Nutrition
1

I have a question RE: fats and I know it is currently being discussed, but didn’t want to hijack that other thread. Also, mine is more specific to Udo’s Choice. Here it goes; I’m currently 155 lb - 8% BF in a bulking phase taking in roughly 3650 Kcal’s / day. I have my diet tuned in very well, but still a little confused as to where I need to get my correct fats from. I know I should be getting 1/3 of my fat intake from saturated, 1/3 of my fat intake from monunsaturated and 1/3 of my fat intake from EFAs.

Now, i just got a bottle of Udo’s Choice. Is this going to ‘cover’ all of my bases?? By the looks of the nutritional label, it looks like I should be set, but want to make sure I shouldn’t be taking flax, fish, or any other EFA.

2

According to the label, Udo’s is about 70% polyunsaturates (EFAs, omega-6 and omega-3), 20% monounsaturate, and 10% saturated fat. So if you want an overall ratio of 33%/33%/33%, you’ll need additional monounsaturate and saturated fat sources. Olive oil is a great source of monounsaturated fat. It has unique health-promoting properties, and good-quality oils are inexpensive and readily available. For saturated fat, you may be getting some from your protein sources, but you may have to supplement with dairy sources like butter or cream.

I’ll also point out that if you really want to achieve that 33%/33%/33% ratio, you have some number-crunching ahead of you. You’ll have an answer to the high-school question, “When am I ever going to use algebra?”

3

Good advice as alawys by andersons!

Sorry it took me so long to reply. I’ve been offline.

If you’re caloric intake is 3650 calories per day, 25% of that number works out to about 900 calories or about 100g of fat. So that’s your starting point.

As andersons said, you need roughly equal amounts of:

  • saturated fat (found in meat and dairy)
  • monounsaturated fat (found in avocados and olive oil and macadamia nuts)
  • EFAs (Omega 3s and Omega 6s, both)

It’s the latter one that I can tell you’re struggling with. The hard part is that everything seems to have an overlap. Some nuts are high in Omega 6s, but also have some Omega 3s. Macadamia nuts also have some saturated fat. Grass fed beef is high(er) in Omega 3s than beef finished on corn, but is still predominantly a source of saturated fat.

Without a macronutrient database, a software program, you could drive yourself crazy! (grin)

Myself, I don’t break it down into how much I’m getting of each type of fat. I just try to make sure I’m rotating between the three. I never have to worry that I’m getting enough saturated fat because I eat meat. My focus is generally on using olive oil and flaxseed oil predominantly and then getting some omega 6s from nuts or corn to round things out.

Udo Erasmus has a book that lists the breakdown of Omega 3s, 6s and 9s in different nuts and seeds. There’s stuff on the internet, too. But as I said, I don’t really feel you need to sweat it too much. Just make sure you’re getting some of all the different fats you need.

And in answer to your question, yes, the Udo’s will help, but don’t avoid the occasional can of sockeye salmon or the ground flaxseeds you might use sprinkled on top of your food or the olive oil and avocados or fish oil in small amounts if you decide to super-charge your EFA supplementation.

The only thing I would mention is that in adding in the good fats, you need to pay equal attention to avoid the bad fats, and those are anything in which you see hydrogenated oil, partially hydrogenated oil, transfatty acids, fried food. Your body doesn’t fully derive the benefit of the good fats you’re ingesting if it has to compete with the bad fats.

Between the two of us, did we answer your question?

4

The Udos oil seems pretty comprehensive in the EFA department of omega 3s and omega 6s, but Cod Liver Oil would be a superior choice to get your omega 3’s because it is also rich in Vitamin A and D which are necessary for your body to produce testosterone.

I have never used Udos oil before, but if it is made from plant oils, then there is definitely no fat soluble Vitamins A and D.

Your saturated fat staple should be organic butter. This also has fat soluble vitamins. Good commercial brands are Trader Joes Organic sweet cream butter and Organic Valley:
http://www.organicvalley.coop/products_recipes/products.html?cat=2
Coconut oil is another phenomenal saturated fat with endless benefits, however, being a plant source it doesnt have fat soluble vitamins. Of course red meat is excellent too.

Avocados and olive oil-preferably the unfiltered variation–will cover your monounsaturated base.

5

I agree with Tampa-Terry that it’s probably fine simply to make sure that I’m generally eating good fats from each major category (saturated, mono, poly-n6, poly-n3). I don’t remember compelling research supporting the 33%/33%/33% ratios, just observations that a balance of major types of fats is probably optimal.

Now, this may have been a compulsive thing to have done, but for awhile I kept a detailed food log including a breakdown of what types of fats I was eating. I too eat a lot of meat (and not always the lean choices either), so I assumed I was getting saturated fat. However, I was shocked to see that my food log revealed I was hardly getting any saturated fat in my diet, despite eating chicken, pork, lamb, beef, etc. 4-6X per day.

Much of the fat in my protein sources is poly-n6. I found the low amount of saturated fat surprising, but remember the old saying “You are what you eat”? They’re feeding animals differently these days.

If I were to add any vegetable-oil sources rich in poly-n6 (as in Udo’s Choice blend, for example), I would not be able to maintain a decent n3 ratio without taking in too many fat calories for my diet.

Now, maybe for someone who sticks to extremely lean protein sources low in n6s, and who wants to take in many more fat calories per day than I do, extra oil sources for n6s might be useful. But eating meat might still not give you much saturated fat in your diet.

6

Thank you so much for your responses. All of you.

Between this and the other threads / articles that I’ve read, I’m really starting to grasp the whole EFA topic.

I agree with andersons and it’s really a matter of crunching the numbers and paying more attention to where I get my fats from and making sure that all of the bases are covered.

I’m going to stick with Udo’s as well as Cod Liver Oil in the winter and Fish oil in the summer.

One thing that still has me a little confused in the whole ‘conversion’ rate of ALA to EFA’s - you and someone else mentioned between 25-33% if everything is working properly. As long as Udo’s has the elements that will ‘help / assist’ this, I’m happy!

Well, back to planning out the rest of my fats diet and supp’s.

Thanks again!

AA

7

[quote]aschy wrote:
One thing that still has me a little confused in the whole ‘conversion’ rate of ALA to EFA’s - you and someone else mentioned between 25-33% if everything is working properly.[/quote]

I assume you’re talking about the conversion to specific long-chain omega-3s such as EPA and DHA. I don’t know where this 25-33% estimate comes from, but I believe it’s highly overoptimistic. On his own website, Udo Erasmus cites studies in which the typical conversion is about 13%, and most of that is to EPA. Several studies have shown no conversion to DHA in men.