High Fat Intake Increases Athletic Performance: Perhaps

Here is an interesting study looking at fat adaptations in horses, which may attenuate acidity of exercise. However, the dietary fat implemented in the study was corn oil. The usage of corn oil may not be the best fat as a means to demonstrate increase in exercise tolerance. Corn oil is high in omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids which are claimed to increase systemic inflammation. Interestingly, researchers found the horses in this study to "... spare protein, especially under conditions of high energy demand " in respect higher fat intake. Also, the horses experienced lower cortisol as a result of adapting to a higher fat diet. It appears that a higher fat diet may enhance overall exercise in horses.

Researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute discovered an increase in fatty acid oxidation in horses after sprint training when they had them ingest sodium bicarbonate but observed higher blood lactate concentrations during exercise. The sodium bicarbonate may improve the fatty acid oxidation by changing mitochondrial mass and mitochondrial respiration, according to Bishop et al.

Is there any other intervention strategies to improve fatty acid oxidation? A review article published in Sports Medicine talks about how caffeine may contribute toward greater fatty acid oxidation by means of increasing cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), which is thought to enhance lipolysis, although researchers argue that caffeine stimulates the central nervous system rather than the fatty acid oxidation. Another intervention protocol using L-carnitine may help transport fatty acids across the mitochondrial membrane, which is also discussed the review article.

Green tea extract demonstrates a potential for enhancing fatty acid oxidation. For instance, Venables et al found a 17% increase in fatty acid oxidation in human subjects that took green tea extracts and performed moderate-intensity exercise. As an added benefit, the researchers noticed an improvement in insulin sensitivity in the subjects that ingested the green tea extracts. Fat adaptation can benefit athletes that compete in endurance events lasting longer than 90 minutes.