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By Valerie Berkowitz
eDiets Contributor
You’ve likely heard of the negative consequences of eating fat, gaining weight, heart disease and other associated health risks. The truth is this is only half the story. You should know fat has important functions in your body, and it plays a positive role in good health and weight loss.
Besides improving the taste and texture of food (no one enjoys food that’s tasteless and has poor texture), dietary fat is vitally important for good health. Naturally occurring fat is essential to life. Real fats are not synthetic. They are found in nature’s foods and come from the following:
- Animals raised on food they were designed to eat (not grain or soy)
- Vegetables
- Fatty fruits like avocado and olives
- Nuts and seeds
- Olive and coconut oils
- Fish
For the reasons mentioned below, fat should be included as part of a balanced diet:
- Is critical for proper brain and nerve function, eye sight, skin and even sperm count
- Slows the progression of age related memory loss and other cognitive disorders
- Bolsters mood and prevents depression
- Is used to make cell membranes, hormones and hormone-like substances
- Carries the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K (without fat, you’d become deficient in these vitamins)
- Helps convert carotenes to vitamin A
- Enables mineral absorption
- Allows the body to fill in bone with calcium and other minerals
Commercially made “fake” fat like hydrogenated fat is what should be avoided. In fact, it’s the fake fat (trans fats), excess sugar (including corn syrup) and excess calories that just might be causing weight and health issues that plague us today. Eating too little fat is not healthy and may leave you feeling hungry, which can lead to eating more calories than you might have consumed if you had chosen a food that contained a little more fat.
Valerie Berkowitz, MS, RD, CDE, CDN is co-author of “The Stubborn Fat Fix” and Nutrition Director for The Center for Balanced Health. She is certified as a lifestyle counselor and certified by the American Dietetic Association in adult weight management. Valerie has been practicing for over 20 years and for a few of those years moderated eDiets online communities. Her specialty is helping people recognize underlying reasons that weight loss may be more difficult than it has to be. Valerie is the mother of three children, soon to be four, and strives to make eating a balanced and fun experience for everyone.
Check out Valerie’s book, The Stubborn Fat Fix, for even more help on getting rid of excess weight! To find out more, click here.
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