Just because a food is high in fat does not mean it is by definition unhealthy. In fact, it can actually be a good idea, on occasion, to eat highly energy-dense foods. It's only unhealthy if you're sedentary and you eat this kind of food to excess.

I know this will sound heretical to those readers conditioned by the food industry to believe that "fat is bad." But on a typical Sunday, where our afternoon plans might include a five-mile run, a long hike, or two hours on the local tennis courts, we've found that modest portions of protein-rich (and yes, relatively fat-rich) foods, like polish sausage, eggs, steak or ham, actually make for a nearly perfect energy-dense breakfast.

What does the term "energy-dense" mean? It simply means you get a lot of calories, and thus fuel for your body, in a relatively small volume of food. Note that you'll need to watch your portion size carefully with these kinds of foods. Just a few bites can fuel your body for a surprisingly long time.

And certainly, no energy-dense meal can be good for you if you don't exercise and ultimately burn all of the calories you take in. But a modest-sized breakfast of foods such as sausage, steak or eggs, eaten an hour or two before heavy physical activity, will provide you with a far superior fuel than any typical sugar-laden breakfast cereal.

Furthermore, if you are doing heavy, strenuous exercise, such as long distance running or other endurance training, your find that your body will break down its fat cells and muscle cells. You have to ingest more protein-and yes, fat too-in order to replenish what your body is burning off. This is why high-carb, low fat diets can often fail your body during heavy training, resulting in training injuries and compromises to your immune system. You just can't cut your fat and protein intake down to a bare minimum while you're under an aggressive endurance training regimen.

Once again, the key issue is: you need to burn the fuel. Make sure you exercise regularly and balance your diet with plenty of fiber and fresh fruits and vegetables. And if you cling to a sedentary lifestyle, then you should avoid energy-dense foods as much as possible. It's simply too easy for your body to convert fuel-rich food like this into body fat.

Learn more about this author, Daniel Koontz.
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