Importance of Fat to a Half Marathon Runner's Body

Most of our neighborhood athletes shun fat in the perception that consuming fat-laden food will make them sluggish and hence reduce their fitness levels. While it is indeed true that obesity is so much because of fat, fat in general is not bad for the body. As always, an optimum level is so very important in order for you to excel in sports.

So, the question arises - How is fat useful to my body? As a half marathon runner, you need to extract the maximum out of your physical attributes. Beta Carotene is a nutrient that helps you in vision and is found in green salad. Green salad also contains nutrients like lycopene that helps you in skin care. As an outdoor athlete lycopene too is important. But, these nutrients shall not be absorbed from the green salad in the absence of fat. Technically thus, a green salad with a full-fat dressing is more nutritious than one with a fat-free dressing. Fat thus helps you in enhancing your nutrient intake. It is not just the nutrients mentioned above. A lot of vitamins are also fat soluble and hence are absorbed better in the presence of fat.

Half Marathon runners also need to constantly keep a check on their blood pressure. To help you in this, Omega 3 fatty acids that is present from plants and fish is extremely vital. This also helps you in a more generic way by keeping your heart healthy preventing other chronic diseases.

As an athlete, you are advised to maintain a balanced consumption of meat. While meat helps you with good protein intake thus helping you in improving your physique, the fat that comes along with is totally avoidable and does not help you in your game.