Questions I often get is,
- “Should I low fat?”
- “If I eat fat, am I going to gain weight?”
Well let’s kind of think about it. When we think of the word, fat, what kind of foods come to mind? We’ve got avocadoes, butter, any nuts and seeds, olives, olive oil, salad dressing. What actually happens to my body when I eat avocadoes or olives? What happens in my body when I eat fat? Where does fat go in our body? Well, fat has a lot of different functions!
I like tell my clients is that fat makes us happy. All of our neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine and a lot more) travel through fat. The hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone; all of those travel through fat in the body. If we are not eating enough fat in we will not be as happy (neurotransmitters) AND our hormones are not functioning properly! This is a huge, huge important reason to eat enough fat!
Some really interesting and fun facts is that back in the late nineties the early 2000’s we started to or probably in the late eighties and early nineties we saw this huge push for low fat food. During this time are also started to see an amazing increase in the use of depression medications. While there is this correlation and not necessarily causality, but this correlation when we don’t get enough fat coming in, we tend not to be as happy. Eating enough fat makes a huge difference. There is also some great research that shows that omega 3s make a huge impact on depression.
Another reason fat is so important for our body and it is that every single cell in your body is made of fat. The outside layer of a cell is called the phospholipid bilayer and “lipid” means fat. Eating enough fat will ensure that every living cell in your body is getting enough for it to function properly.
So fat helps our mood. It helps our hormones. And it helps every single cell in your body. We totally need to make sure we are getting enough fat! Always remember there is no such thing as bad food. There is no good, bad, right, and wrong and all food goes. We just need to find that balance. So I wouldn’t say have fried pickles every day, but if they are there; every so often, it won’t be the worst thing in the world!
Please leave questions and comments! I always love hearing from you guys. Have a great day!
Adrien Paczosa is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian practicing in Austin, Texas and the surrounding counties.
She is the owner and founder of I Live Well Nutrition her Dietitian practice which started in 2007 and serves clients in the Austin, Texas area in two locations. Fearless Practitioners, the division of her business that offers training to dietitians and wellness professionals.