By Daniel
In my eyes, nutrition and the recommendations surrounding are currently and will be ever evolving. This process is good for the health of the everyday person and the athlete as well. Things that I once believed as hard facts, that I was instructed in my college nutrition textbooks, I'm now beginning to challenge. In part I think this is due to further research and knowledge, but also because our food sources are becoming more industrialized to fit the lifestyle and population demands.
Recently I've been reading The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle and a concept struck me that I don't believe the author intended, but did because of my recent mindset to challenge the norms of nutrition recommendations. The concept was the nutritional role of fats (lipid) as they relate to endurance training, skill development, learning, and our immune system. This realization began forming from several points made by research and statements as they were played out over several chapters. Here over the course of a series, I will bring them together and explain.
First it's important to lay a foundation, which is Coyle's key principle contained in the book is myelin, which is a dense fat, composed of phospholipid membrane, that wraps around a nerve fiber insulating it like electrical tape. It is important to note that not all nerves or synapses are myelinated, but with learning our body triggers the insulation of specific pathways that you hone more frequently with repetition. So the nerves are running everywhere, getting signals from the brain, innervating muscles, and firing off the marching orders for each and every twitch and action you make, but it's the myelin that is keeping our wires from getting crossed. It's not a glamorous component as he explains, “If the brain is....a cityscape of dazzling neuronal structures, flashing lights, and whizzing impulses, then myelin plays the humble role of asphalt.”