While carbs function mainly as a fuel source and scale up as training increases, protein and fat are mainly structural and signaling molecules. The benefits of protein and fat rise dramatically before leveling off at a certain threshold.

Below the minimums is a sort of "multiplying by zero" - you're leaving structure and function on the table.

Above the thresholds is fine in most cases, you're just not getting much additional benefit (with a few exceptions).

Most athletes are already far exceeding the minimums for fat and protein — the problem is they're eating so much of both that carbs get crowded out. This makes it more difficult for them to meet their energy needs, which is highest order.

In this episode, I cover what protein and fat actually do in the body, why the minimums are lower than most people think, and the tradeoffs of exceeding the minimums (including a few simple recommendations for vegan athletes).

Finally we get into fat types — what the research actually says about saturated fat, seed oils, and omega-3s — and what it means to eat an "anti-inflammatory" diet.

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