Healthy Fats
Part ⅓: The importance of fats…
There are three nutrients that are referred to as “macro “ nutrients because we need them in much larger amounts than any other nutrients. These are protein, carbohydrates, and fats.
At one point in time, fat. was shamed as an artery clogging, obesity making evil. Since then we have learned that eating the right fats, is actually the opposite of all that, but to this day we still have “0” fat yogurts and other foods. They usually don’t taste that great and manufacturers try to make up for the flavor by adding more carbohydrates/sugar, or artificial sweeteners.
People that have problems with digesting fats can tell you, that fats are not bad. Fats are critical to good health, good mood, and even just life.
Fat is the fundamental building block for all of our connective tissues; ligaments, tendons, and cartilage. It is the primary building block of the brain, which is made of a tremendous amount of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Fat is also the foundation for our hormones, which are all made from fats.
Eating the right balance of the right fats can also increase our metabolism an contribute to healthy weight. Omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid) and omega-6 (linoleic acid) are considered essential because our bodys cannot make them, so we have to get enough clean Omega-3 and 6 in our diets. One of the first signs of omega-3 deficiency is depression, as its required for optimal brain chemistry.
As you can see, going “fat free” can only be done for a short time without ultimately being disastrous.
Nearly equally as disastrous, is having contaminated, or unhealthy fats as they can infiltrate some of our most critical systems with toxins and interfere with optimal function.
Our bodies can turn excess protein or sugar into fat for storage. Once it is in the form of fat, our body can use it later, or it can turn it into sugar in the form of glycogen in order to be used to feed our mitochondria to produce energy.
One gram of fat can produce nine calories of energy, which is more energy than any other nutrient alone can provide. This is very efficient and why it is the body’s preferred method of storage.
Our bodies do not want to be excessively fat. If they did, we would store most of our energy as carbohydrates or protein and as a result would need more than twice as much storage to get the same amount of energy. In these terms, fat is the “skinniest” way to have storage for survival.
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