Maintaining The Balance Of Fat Vs Muscle Cells
In the debate of fat vs muscle which cells would win hands down? Muscle cells would most likely be the crowd favourite if asked which was preferred. Although these cells are attractive and important to have, the old adage of all things in moderation can apply when considering which cells to try and accumulate, fat cells are even important in maintaining muscle so can one really be better than the other.
There is a balance between the correct amount of fat to intake in a diet vs. Protein (muscle) that needs to be absorbed by the body. Think of fat as a kind of fuel the body runs on (along with carbohydrates), and protein as the building blocks that are used to build muscles and vital organs.
Fat cells along with carbohydrates act as fuel to power muscle cells in their demand to perform. Carbohydrates are used to give the initial burst of energy to the muscles because they are mobilized much quicker than fat cells.
Fat cells are slower to mobilize and respond to the energy demands of the muscle, but are required to sustain energy to the muscles during extended lengths of time. If there are no fat cells to supply energy to muscle cells than working muscle cells begin to breakdown other non working muscle cells to meet their energy demands.
This breakdown of other muscle cells is important to avoid, the first muscles that are broken down are those that provide the least resistance. Which are the one that typically make up the vital organs of our body, for example the heart, eyes and liver to name a few.
Therefore the debate should not be fat vs. Muscle cells but more so the appropriate ratio of these cells to each other. This information can be determined from you body mass index (BMI) which can be determined from your local gym or health clinic and compared to the appropriate population averages.
Simply enter your email address in the form below to receive our information packed newsletter so you’ll never be left wondering what the best nutrition and health choices are. **Don’t worry – we won’t share your information with anyone and you can easily unsubscribe at anytime.
Great article and information. I think so many times we end up focusing on not too much fat cells, etc, that we sometimes forget that our bodies really require everything in moderation. This article really hits that point.
I too find this post very interesting and agree with Timothy. It seems these days so many advertisements and diets are focusing on not eating too much fat or having too much fat and we seem to be forgetting the basic nutrition which tells us that we need to eat and have everything in moderation. Thanks for sharing this.