Upside of Eating Fat

Yes, you can eat fat.

New research has turned this nutritional nemesis into a must-eat. Think you have to go low fat? Not anymore!

For decades, fat got a bad reputation because scientists assumed, based on the misinterpretation of a couple of large studies, that eating foods containing fat would lead directly to obesity and heart disease. That fatty foods were made out to be our dietary vice, responsible for raising our cholesterol levels, clogging our arteries, and getting us fat. That gets to us thinking that the fat we consume wind up as the fat that we see on our butt and things.

Experts are getting off the “fat is evil” bandwagon – and we should, too – saying that the low-fat diet has backfired. According to Frank Hu, MD, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health “America’s obesity epidemic skyrocketed even while our fat intake went down.”

The Upside of Eating Fat 

Fat is an essential nutrient, just like carbohydrates and protein. Our body requires fat for the following key functions:

• absorbing the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.
• fat is an important energy source
• fat is vital for keeping our skin and hair healthy and smooth 

Research is revealing that eating the right fats can actually lower our risk of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, and improve our cholesterol level. Isn’t that surprising!