Does Fat Make You Fat?When you see an ad for a MacDonald’s pizza, KFC fried chicken, or the latest potato chips from the leading food manufacturer in your region, what comes to your mind? I have to admit that it looks tasty and makes you want to line up on the queue just to grab something for yourself. Do you ever stop to think that some of these foods could slowly be making you sick?

Fats in particular have received the widest condemnation; most of us associate fat with being overweight or obese. So, does that mean that foods that are free from fat provide the secret formula to a healthy and fulfilling life? Should you give up fat forever so that you can shed weight and keep it off? Have you ever heard of good and bad fats? If you have been to any class where proper nutrition was being preached, you must have realized that a balanced diet should have carbohydrates, fats and proteins. So, this means that giving up fat and expecting to live healthy is a pipe dream! Now that fats MUST be in food, does that mean that we all are doomed to be overweight or obese?

Not All Fats Are Created Equal

For many years, doctors and nutritionists have emphasized that if you want to lose weight, regulate cholesterol levels and prevent health problems, you need to take a low fat diet. However, what matters is more of the kinds of fat you take. Bad fats can increase your cholesterol levels, as well as your risk of some diseases. Good fats, on the other hand, protect your heart and support your overall health. Moreover, good fats such as omega 3 fats play a major role in your physical and emotional health.

When you go visit grocery stores, you will realize how much we are obsessed with low fat foods. There are always guilty free options available including low fat cakes, cookies, candies, fat free ice cream and baked potato chips. While it is true that the options have become limitless, so have the rates of obesity. Clearly, diets and low fat foods have not delivered on their slim and healthy promises. Despite what you have heard, fat is not entirely the villain in waistline wars. Such bad fats as saturated fats and trails fats are guilty of all the unhealthy consequences that all fats have taken blame for including clogged arteries, weight gain and so on. However, contrary to that, good fats such as omega 3s, polyunsaturated fats, and monounsaturated fats have the reverse effect.

Healthy fats can help you manage your moods, improve your mental health, fight fatigue, and control your weight. The solution is not cutting down on the fat; it is making healthy choices and replacing bad fats with the good ones that can improve your health and well-being.

You Cannot Live Without Fat!

Would you believe me if I told you that you cannot live without fat, no matter how much you would like to eliminate it from your diet? Fats are important in that they provide necessary fatty acids, make our skins soft, offer fat-soluble vitamins, and provide energy needed for various body functions.

Three Vital Questions about Fats

  1. How much fat should you eat?
  2. How can you avoid artery clogging Trans fats?
  3. What is the role of omega 3 fatty acids in your heart health?

It is recommended that adults get about 20-30% percent of their calories from fats. The minimum percentage that fats should provide you with calories is about ten percent. The problem is that an ordinary diet today is made up of more fats than proteins and carbohydrates. Why? Because they are tasty and are found in almost all our food supplies! Fats give foods a rich flavor and are satisfying in the mouth. It is understandable why you might tend to assume that fat is the bad guy that is behind the obesity epidemic which is now traversing. However, this is just part of the problem. Obesity is caused by more than just over indulging in one nutrient.

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