Women runners who eat a relatively low-fat diet may face a greater risk of injury than women who include an average amount of fat in their diets, according to a study.
This goes against the general belief of some runners that a lighter body, which yields less weight on joints, protects against injury.
The one-year study involved 87 female runners who ran an average of 30 miles per week.
It was found that women who received 30 percent of their calories from fat were less likely to be injured than those who consumed 27 percent of their calories from fat.
This works out to an average consumption of 80 grams of fat per day among women who were not injured, compared to 63 grams per day among those who developed injuries.
Researchers pointed out that the women eating the lower quantity of fat were still eating an amount considered to be healthy for active women.
They suggest that the lower fat diet may not have provided the women with enough nutrients to repair the microscopic muscle damage that can occur during workouts.
Along these lines, previous studies have found that extremely low-fat diets may reduce endurance and moderately low-fat diets may also reduce endurance and increase the risk of injury.
Previous injury, difference in leg length and poor flexibility also increased the risk of injury among women runners.
Researchers suggested that the association between fat intake and injury might not be as strong in men.
Experimental Biology 2003, April 11-15, 2003, San Diego, California
While it is no secret that I am a major enemy of the typical low-fat diet, my views have been remarkably modified in the last few years.
The major reason why low-fat diets are harmful is that most people replace the fats with grains and sugars. If they were to substitute vegetables instead, as I detail in my new book The No-Grain Diet, then it is far less likely that there would be a problem.
The study found differing results using a remarkably small difference in fat intakes.
nutritional typing recommends that one-third of people actually go on a low-fat diet of as little as 15 percent fat, which is half the amount used in the study. Another one-third of people need about 20 percent fat, and the other one-third about 30 percent fat.
These ratios are relatively dynamic and vary somewhat based on a number of variables. The most significant one is the temperature--you will likely benefit more from a higher fat diet in the winter than you would in the summer.
But one of the central keys to remember is that if you:
Then you are best advised to avoid grains completely.
This will be far more effective at reducing risks of future injury from running, or any other sport, especially if you are eating right for your nutritional type.
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