When the body is nourished and rested all the organs, hormones, cells and molecules play in perfect harmony. When one section is out of sync, the whole performance can seem disjointed or strained.
In my previous article about energy metabolism, I explained the 3 biochemical phases your body uses to convert food into energy:
- Glycolysis and Beta Oxidation
- Citric Acid Cycle
- Oxidative Phosphorylation (Electron Transport)
Glycolysis is the first step dedicated to managing glucose from your carbohydrates in energy production. Beta Oxidation is the first step toward using fats to make energy – both dietary fats and stored fats. If you’re starting to think this might apply to the realms of weight loss, you’re right.
What is Beta Oxidation?
You may have guessed that diets low in carbohydrates and high in fat from food, such as Keto or Atkins, rely heavily on Beta Oxidation to keep you going. Really, your body uses Beta Oxidation whenever there is a demand for energy and carbohydrate intake or storage is low, such as between meals or during exercise. The source of this energy is the fat your body has so wisely stored for times just like this.
As with Glycolysis, Beta Oxidation has specific nutritional needs. When Beta Oxidation is not working well, you may feel fatigued or unable to think, especially between meals. It also becomes more difficult to lose weight, even when you reduce calories and exercise more. If you have ever tried any of the high fat, low carbohydrate diets and didn’t experience the results you hoped for, it could be that your body was not efficient in supporting Beta Oxidation.
Since we all utilize Beta Oxidation, the information in this article is aimed to provide more insight for your health goals, regardless of the diet you are eating or whether weight loss is one of your targets.
Fats & Fat Digestion
Let’s first understand “fats” in terms the body uses.
When you eat a meal, such as a salad with chicken, avocado and dressing, you’re getting fats mostly in the form of triglycerides. (You may know about triglycerides from the blood test that measures cholesterol and heart health. The difference is that the blood test is looking at how your body processes, stores and then clears triglycerides and is about much more than what you ate.)
Triglycerides from a meal break down during digestion into free fatty acids. Once absorbed, free fatty acids can either be used as building blocks to synthesize hormones, cholesterol or other important molecules, or they can enter beta-oxidation. Different cells use beta oxidation differently, but this article will focus on the cell types that use beta oxidation for energy.
The free fatty acid chains vary in length – short, medium and long.
- Short-chain fatty acids aren’t found in good amounts in food, these are produced by the friendly bacteria in your digestive system when they have fiber. (Remember short-chain-fatty acids from the GLP-1 article?)
- Medium-chain fatty acids are found in foods like coconut oil or palm oil and in smaller amounts in dairy products like cheese or butter. “MCT” oil is also a popular product made from coconut oil and added to coffee and smoothies.
- Most of the fatty acids from the foods we eat, as well as the fat that is stored on the body, are in long-chain form.
Short- and medium-chain free fatty acids absorb through the digestive lining and are carried through the bloodstream to the liver where they absorb easily across cell membranes to enter Beta Oxidation. You can think of this as “easy energy.”
Long-chain fatty acids rely on a more complex process of first disassembling their structure, then passing through the lymphatic system for absorption to the liver, reassembling, and then finally going into the cells for energy. Even once they get to the cells, these large molecules rely on protein carriers to help them into the process of Beta Oxidation. You can think of this as “complex energy.”
Conditions That Make Beta Oxidation Work
For your body to utilize Beta Oxidation for “complex energy” from the fat you eat, or the fat you have stored, you must have:
- Low insulin and high glucagon. Carbohydrates trigger insulin and glucagon, and these must be low to trigger in Beta Oxidation for energy.
- You can achieve this by either extending your fasting window and/or eating a low carbohydrate diet.
- Care for your liver. The liver does a lot of work in terms of processing fats, especially the long-chain fats.
- Avoid alcohol, inflammatory oils (review this article for a reminder about inflammatory oils) and eat a diet rich in vegetables and protein to promote healthy liver function.
- You can also check your routine blood results for the Comprehensive Metabolic Panel and make sure your “Albumin” levels are in range. Albumin helps to break down stored fats and carries the longer-chain fatty acids to the cells for Beta Oxidation.
- Carnitine is a critical amino acid (protein) that carries the long-chain fatty acids into Beta Oxidation. Your body will synthesize carnitine from other proteins you eat. To optimize carnitine
- Incorporate protein sources in your diet, especially red meat, poultry, fish and dairy products. *
- Vitamin B6 is critical in synthesizing Carnitine and is found in the highest amounts in the same foods high in carnitine.
- Maintain adequate iron. Women who are menstruating can have lower iron levels, so make sure you enjoy foods high in iron, such as meat, poultry, fish eggs, beans and lentils, grains, nuts and seeds. Have your iron levels checked if you think you might be low. A common sign of low iron is fatigue.
- Boost Vitamin C by eating lots of fresh greens, peppers, broccoli, cabbage and citrus fruits. Add a supplement if you’re sick or if you experience seasonal allergies.
*Vegetarian proteins contain lower levels of carnitine, B6 or iron so vegetarians and vegans should make sure to have adequate intake of beans and lentils, grains, soy and nuts. You can also ask your practitioner if supplementation may be right for you.
- Hydration with water and electrolytes. Fluid in and around cell membranes is important to carrying free fatty acids to the cells for Beta Oxidation.
- Aim to drink 64-80 oz of water each day, and more when you’re outside or exercising. You can improve hydration with electrolytes, which are minerals to help maintain the balance of water in and around the cells. We like LMNT electrolyte powder but you can also drink mineral water or put a pinch of sea salt in your water.
- Antioxidants and flavonoids. As fats are broken down into free fatty acids free radicals are released. Free radicals are molecules with unpaired electrons that can damage cells and other molecules.
- Make ½ of your plate at meals from vegetables and fruit. Refer to this article from Jill for a list of flavonoids:
Other Considerations for Low Carb Diets
There are many factors that influence your body’s incentive to use fat for energy and each person’s contributing factor(s) will be different. Other factors to consider before implementing a lower carbohydrate diet may be:
- Stress management and adrenal health
- Thyroid function and conditions
- Blood sugar management
- Preexisting cholesterol levels
- Digestive strength, especially fat digestion relative to gall bladder function
If the body is like a full symphony orchestra, then Beta Oxidation may be the little triangle in the back. The music will find a way to go on, but it’s absolutely enhanced when that triangle plays its part well.