Fitness

Using Millbrook Omega 3 oils for improved Sporting /Athletic Performance: The story of Grant McDonald - Mr. South Africa 2000 (over 40 age group)
Two weeks before this year’s Mr. South Africa body building competition Grant McDonald was persuaded by his colleagues to enter. Grant had been using Millbrook Flax oil for quite some time and he noticed that his endurance and recovery from hard training was improved. [1] More surprisingly he noticed that despite upping his intake of Essential Fatty Acids he was gaining a hard, lean type of muscularity. Information from the Colgan Sports Institute suggested that a person of his caloric intake and training schedule needed a daily intake of 25g Omega-3 group of Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) See table below. Grant McDonald is a Personal Trainer based at the La Lucia Health & Racquet Club, Durban. He has a particular interest in steroid-free, nutrition based body building. Contact him at (031) 562 8884 / 083 781 6059. Over a period of time he built up his intake of Millbrook Flax Oil to 3 tablespoons per day. He added this quantity of oil to his protein drinks right up to the day before the competition while reducing the quantity of animal fats. Despite taking a relatively large quantity of oil he achieved a ‘ripped’, lean muscularity with the same hardness as those who take anabolic steroids but without* the steroid enduced bulkiness.* Grant feels that these attributes helped him win the 2000 Mr. South Africa (over 40) competition.
Coconut Oil for Athletes? Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) have been widely used as easily absorbed quick source of energy for athletes [2] . The concentrated MCTs are derived from processed Coconut oil. However this industrially based oil lacks Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs). We suggest that athletes use cold-pressed natural Coconut Oil in their diets which supply the quick acting MCTs , EFAs as well as the intensely anti-microbial Lauric acid. Despite bad press there is no evidence that cold-pressed, whole Coconut Oil is a heart unfriendly product. On the contrary, evidence is piling up that shows that it is the processed oils that contribute to Coronary Artery Diseas! [3] Table1: Omega-3 Fatty Acids Intake Table 2: Omega-6 Fatty Acids Intake

Table 1: Minimum daily supplementary cis-essential Omega-3 fatty acids (grams per day) required by athletes at different caloric intakes and training levels.

Weekly Training	Daily Caloric Intake
Hours	1500	2000	2500	3000	3500	4000	4500
8	12g	14g	16g	18g	21g	26g	28g
12	14g	16g	18g	21g	26g	28g	32g
16	16g	18g	21g	26g	28g	32g	35g
20	18g	21g	26g	28g	32g	35g	37g
24	21g	26g	28g	32g	35g	37g	39g
28	26g	28g	32g	35g	37g	39g	41g

Table 2: Minimum daily supplementary cis-essential Omega-6 fatty acides (grams per day) required by athletes at different caloric intakes and training levels.

Weekly Training	Daily Caloric Intake
Hours	1500	2000	2500	3000	3500	4000	4500
8	5g	6g	7g	8g	9g	11g	12g
12	6g	7g	8g	9g	11g	12g	14g
16	7g	8g	9g	11g	12g	14g	15g
20	8g	9g	11g	12g	14g	15g	16g
24	9g	11g	12g	14g	15g	16g	17g
28	11g	12g	14g	15g	16g	17g	18g

How to use the Essential Fatty Acid Supplemention Tables

Here is a sample calculation for a person training 16 hours a week with a daily caloric intake of 3000cal (assuming a good athletic diet). From Table 1&2 they would need to supplement 26g Omega-3 plus 11g of Omega-6 Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) Note that 1g of Flax or Sesame oil is approximately 1 ml. This supplementation could be made by using a combination of cold pressed Flax and Sesame oils. Lets start with the Omega-3 requirement obtained from Flax oil.

Millbrook Flax Oil contains 57% Omega-3, so to obtain 26g we would need to take 45ml (about 9 teaspoons!) of Flax oil per day (the formula using Millbrook Flax Oil as an Omega-3 source is: required Omega-3 weight divided by 0.57). This amount of Flax Oil would also supply about 7g of Omega-6 oils (Flax Oil weight multiplied by 0.16).

To make up the remaining 4g of Omega-6 (O-6) requirement: 9g (2 teaspoons) of Millbrook Sesame Oil would need to be taken as well (the formula using Millbrook Sesame Oil as an O-6 source is: required Omega-6 weight divided by 0.45).

These levels of Essential Fatty Acid supplementation are much higher than conventional dietary sources would recommend. Why is this so? Dr. Michael Colgan says that the hard training athlete uses more EFAs “…in oxygen use, insulin control, inflammation control and other aspects of exercise…”.

These tables are a modified form of those originally published by Dr. Michael Colgan in the January 1998 edition of “All Natural Muscular Development”. See also Colgan, M. (1993). Optimum Sports Nutrition. New York, Advanced Research Press.

Notes

[1] Athletes who use Omega-3 oils report increased stamina (longer performance before fatigue sets in), reach higher performance plateaus, and recover from fatigue after exercise more quickly than they did before taking Omega-3’s. These benefits are likely due to increased oxidation rate. Erasmus, U. (1993). Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill. Burnaby, Alive Books (page 386)

[2] Erasmus, U. (1993). Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill. Burnaby, Alive Books (page 308)

[3] Booyens, J., C. C. Louwrens, et al. (1988). “The Role of Unnatural Dietary Trans and Cis unsaturated Fatty Acids in the Epidemiology of Coronary Artery Disease.” Med. Hypotheses 25: 175-182.

Booyens, J. and C. F. van der Merwe (1992). “Margarines and Coronary Artery Disease.” Med. Hypotheses 37: 241-244.