Monday Health & Wellness: 7 Reasons Fat Isn’t Making You Fat |
AD

Monday Health & Wellness: 7 Reasons Fat Isn’t Making You Fat

admin February 10, 2014

The other day, I was shopping at Costco.  It was a weekend afternoon, so the place was busy.  As I often do, I was quietly checking out what was in the carts of my fellow shoppers.  I’m always curious who is into “real food” and what that means to them!

I noticed a common trend among the shoppers: lots of fruits and vegetables, organic items, and… low-fat foods, especially milk.

This, honestly, made me sad.  No judgment towards those people — they are clearly trying to do the best they can for their families.  But they have been lied to and told that low-fat products are healthier.  And they still believe it.  They still do it.  Heck, the government still promotes it constantly!  What chance do they have to hear otherwise?

You might even be surprised to hear this today.  But it’s true: low-fat products are not healthy for you!  Full-fat products are much better, and no — they won’t make you fat.

In fact, you need the fat.  Let’s look at seven reasons why fat isn’t making you fat — and why you need it to be healthy.

Reason #1: Fat Provides Energy

We believe that when we eat fat, that it’s stored as fat.  But it’s not usually stored as fat.  In fact, the fat is digested by bile salts (and other enzymes) and is absorbed through the small intestine to be used by the body.  Fat is an important energy source, and it provides energy more slowly and steadily than carbohydrates do.  It is even possible (although not very desirable for most) to eat basically no carbs and lots of fat and enter a phase called ketosis, where the body burns fat almost exclusively for energy.  Some claim that this leads to weight loss or can even cure epilepsy and other conditions.

In general, though, fat provides real, lasting energy — it isn’t simply stored as fat!

Reason #2: Fat Helps Use Important Vitamins

There are a number of important vitamins that are fat-soluble.  That means if you don’t eat enough fat, you won’t be able to break down or absorb these vitamins, which could cause a deficiency.  These are vitamins A, D, E, and K.  Fat is required to absorb these vitamins, and both monounsaturated fats and saturated fats seem to increase absorption (polyunsaturated fats decrease these important vitamin levels!  PUFAs include canola oil, soybean oil, corn oil, etc.).

Since these vitamins are really key to health — they affect your hormone levels, immune system, bones, nerves, heart, and so on — make sure you’re getting enough fat to keep your levels high!

Source

Reason #3: Fat Improves Your Immune System

Believe it or not — yes, fat can keep you from getting sick.

Coconut oil, a highly saturated fat, contains large amounts of lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid.  Lauric acid helps to boost your immune system so that you can fight off colds and other yuckies.  Plus, since it increases your absorption of key vitamins (see reason #2), that makes you less likely to get sick too.

Reason #4: Fat Helps You Lose Weight

Lose weight while eating fat?  Oh yes.

First, fat helps you to feel more satisfied so that you don’t eat as much.  Second, coconut oil has been shown to promote weight loss (1,).  Third, people who consume full-fat dairy weigh less than those who consume low-fat (1, 2, 3)!

7 Reasons Fat Isn't Making You Fat

Reason #5: Fat Promotes Hormone Balance

Remember reason #2?  Well, all those important fat-soluble vitamins are pretty key to hormone balance, too.  Plus, if you eat a healthy diet (including these good fats), you’ll start to lose weight — and bring your hormones back into balance.  Women who get enough vitamin D (which is really a pre-hormone) are going to have a better hormone balance than those who don’t — and you need fat for that.

Reason #6: Fat Promotes Brain Development

Did you know most of your brain is made of fat?  About 60% is fat!  Kids and teens need a lot of fat in their diet in order to promote brain development — and so do pregnant women.  In this case, DHA (a fatty acid found in oily fish) is very important.  Cholesterol is also very important to the brain (so eat your butter).  Even older people need the fat for their brains because some evidence shows that coconut oil may prevent or even reverse Alzheimer’s!  To keep yourself mentally sharp, eat up!

Reason #7: Fat Improves Your Appearance

…really?  Yes.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that consuming fat can reduce cellulite, minimize the appearance of wrinkles and stretch marks, and make your skin appear smoother and less dry.  Who doesn’t want that?  I’ve personally noticed most of these things, plus the disappearance of rosacea, since beginning to consume more fat. 🙂

There you have it!  7 reasons why fat isn’t making you fat, and why it will even make you healthy.

Throughout the year, we’ll talk more about the research into why fat is good for you, what kinds you should eat, and more.

Do you eat fat?  Or are you still on a low-fat diet?

SaveSave

This is the writings of:

admin
AD

7 Comments

  1. Hurray for fat!

    I don’t think I have intentionally bought “low fat” anything for years. Except for Greek yogurt, because often, grocery stores don’t carry the whole-milk versions. 🙁

    Reply

  2. Great post, Kate! I’m so thankful I don’t have to be afraid to eat my butter and coconut oil – yum!

    Reply

  3. […] Read the original post: Monday Health & Wellness: 7 Reasons Fat Isn't Making You Fat … […]

    Reply

  4. I must say I am a little surprised to read this information. Our body does need it’s omega 3’s in order to do all the good things you say, but that doesn’t make things like butter and oil and other junk food fats good for us. We can get plenty of good fats from our whole grains, avocados, nuts, and flaxseed, to name a few. We are what we eat, and if we eat an unnecessary amount of fat, it will stick to us as fat does.

    Reply

    • Hi Tabitha,

      I think you misunderstand what healthy fat is and how it works in the body. Fat isn’t what makes us fat. Fat isn’t stored as fat. And butter isn’t unhealthy. Polyunsaturated fats are MUCH less healthy than saturated fats. Please take a look at some of our other posts on this issue!

      Reply

  5. Thank you very much for taking the time to get this info out. It’s going in my files to share with others. Your blog is a blessing!

    Reply

  6. […] More from Kate at Modern Alternative Mama on Healthy Fats: 7 Reasons Fat isn’t making you Fat […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Angela Parker Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hi, I’m Kate.  I love medical freedom, sharing natural remedies, developing real food recipes, and gentle parenting. My goal is to teach you how to live your life free from Big Pharma, Big Food, and Big Government by learning about herbs, cooking, and sustainable practices.

I’m the author of Natural Remedies for Kids and the owner and lead herbalist at EarthleyI hope you’ll join me on the journey to a free and healthy life!

Meet My Family
Top
Love our content? Sign up for our weekly newsletter and get our FREE Nourished Living Cookbook!