Wait, hold on..it's not true?

Okay so I'm guilty of believing the myth that I'm about to debunk.  Fat does not, I repeat, does not make you fat!  When I first started losing weight I was super uneducated about health and believed everything that I heard from all sorts of media sources over the years.  As a society we've been brainwashed that fat is the enemy and that we need to cut it out of our diet completely in order to lose weight.  I understand because between the news, internet sources, advertisements, television shows, word of mouth, fad diet books, and even walking up and down the grocery aisles we're told to say NO to fat.  It's around us everywhere;  Low-fat cheeses, reduced fat chips, non-fat milk, 98% fat free soups, 99% fat free yogurts, 50% reduced fat crackers, etc.  My main emphasis of this post is for everyone to have a better understanding of fat, it's importance for our body, and to understand that all fat is not bad for you!  


Let's jam out some important nutritional facts! So as I stated earlier the fact that you eat fat does not create the fat on your body.  The reason why people gain weight is simply because they are eating too much (too many calories) and are consuming foods of poor quality. A calorie is a unit of energy and fat is a stored energy.  Therefore, if you consume too much energy whether it be fats, protein, or carbohydrates (the three macronutrients) you're most likely going to gain weight because there is an energy surplus.


There are 4 types of fat: Trans fat, saturated fats, polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fats.  Trans fats are formed when hydrogen is added to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid.  More commonly, you'll see this on food labels as partially hydrogenated oils.  Since this fat is industrially manufactured it should be avoided at all costs!  Typically trans fat can be found in fried and highly processed foods.  Saturated fats are derived from animal and some plant-based sources such as dairy, meat, eggs, coconut/palm kernel oils.  When consumed in moderation saturated fats do not impose any danger to your health.  Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are the two healthier fats.  Some studies have shown that these fats in moderation can lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.  Avocados, olives, olive oil, almonds, and canola oil are examples of monounsaturated fats.  Safflower, sesame, corn, and soybean oils are examples of polyunsaturated fats.  Besides acting a source of energy, fat actually transports important micronutrients throughout the body (Vitamins A, D, E, and K).  Additionally, fatty acids in the body are known to elevate mood, improve cognitive function, improve vision, and lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.


If you take one thing from this post it is that we need to healthy fats in moderation to have a well-balanced diet.  Think quality and quantity!  Based on some readings that I did it seems that a healthy range for fat consumption is 20-35% of your daily caloric intake. Alright time to go eat some avocado - bye!