As many of you have likely noticed, the concept of low-fat and no-fat diets have become increasingly antiquated in recent years. Fat, to put it matter-of-factly, is here to stay. So why is fat suddenly en vogue? Much of our newfound appreciation stems from an improved understanding of its redeeming properties, notably:
- Foods that contain fat, contain fat-soluble vitamins – vitamins that we cannot produce on our own (with the exception of Vitamin D) and therefore must obtained through our food and/or supplementation. Fat soluble vitamins obtained through food are more readily absorbed.
- By the way, fat makes up over 50% of our brain! It helps maintain brain cell integrity, fluidity and it even protects the brain from harmful toxins.
- Fat helps with hormone production and fertility. Vitamin D specifically is a pro-hormone. This means our body utilizes vitamin D to helps with the production and regulation of hormones – hormones such as estrogen, testosterone, serotonin, and dopamine – all of which affect your fertility and mood! The better balanced your hormones are, the more fertile and sane 😉
- Fat helps satiate us. Not only does fat taste good, but it provides us with more calories than carbohydrates or protein, resulting in a greater sense of satiety (both physically and psychologically).
Now that we’ve got that cleared up, the question begs; what’s the skinny on consuming good sources of fat???
- Focus on high quality fats.
- Include them in each meal.
- Combine fat when consuming carbohydrates to help avoid blood sugar spikes.
So why don’t more people embrace fat? For a long time, fat has gotten an unfounded and unfortunate bad rap. Two common and false notions at the helm of why Americans tend to still shy away;
- Low fat diets = weight loss. For years the food industry has been telling us we need to eat a low fat diet to lose weight and maintain our figures.
- Saturated fats (animal fat) lead to heart disease. Long term propaganda has demonized saturated fats as a root cause of heart disease and high cholesterol.
The truth?
First off, fat doesn’t make you fat. If you’re trying to cut some pounds, you’re better off trimming your added sugar intake, as opposed to fat. And as far as heart health goes, we now know that cholesterol in the diet does NOT raise cholesterol in the blood. However, the combination of less-than ethical research recommendations and well-funded propaganda from decades ago has left the American people with a fear of fat. Sad but true. Even worse, on average, Americans are consuming too much of the fats that cause and exacerbate inflammation and disease. Furthermore, there’s confusion around which fats to cook with heat versus those that are better consumed cold to avoid oxidation. I have found the who, what, when’s of fats to be most easily digested (pun intended) courtesy of Diane Sanfilippo’s inphographic here;
If you’re looking for more of a breakdown of the fat content of specific foods, check out Mark Scisson’s A Definitive Guide to Oils. Another great resource on the topic of fat throughout time is, Eat The Yolks by Liz Wolfe!
