The Fats of Life

How much fat is needed?
When fat intake is reduced to below 20 grams per day, serious problems could arise. Feelings of increased tiredness and a reduction in the ability of the immune system to work are caused by low fat intake. This could have the effect of increased susceptibility to healthy problems including colds and flu or more serious ones such as osteoporosis.

What are the effects of not enough fat in the diet?
To maintain a healthy heart a diet low in saturated fat is needed. But the difference between a healthy low fat diet and unhealthy no fat diet is immense. Cutting out too much fat can also result in the body not receiving important health benefits from certain oils and fat soluble vitamins (A,D,E,F and K). A common way of reducing fat is to stop eating red meat, or dairy products; however they are both good sources of iron, zinc, calcium and vitami
B12

Why do we need fat?
Fats, oils and even small amounts of cholesterol are vital for our healthy function and are excellent sources of antioxidants. Two other good fats are the essential fatty acids known as linoleic acid and linolenic acid. Both help regulate blood clot formation, blood pressure, immune response and can prevent inflammatory diseases.

Energyr
Fat is a more dense energy supply than protein and carbohydrate, and is also easier to store. However, there is growing scientific evidence that different fatty acids have different capacities to be stored as fat. This could be the reason why people in the Mediterranean have body fats lower than expected, considering their fat intake. With a traditional Mediterranean diet the fat intake comes from foods such as olive oils, nuts, yoghurts and cheese.

What is the best way of controlling fat intake?
Red meat is a rich source of protein, B vitamins, zinc and iron. Instead of eliminating it from the diet the best solution is to simply trim the fat, choose lean cuts or not add any additional fat in cooking. Dairy foods are also a great source of calcium and most low fat diary products still contain good levels of calcium.

It is important to remember that fat is not all bad and an extremely low fat diet may be an unnecessary restriction that could have negative health effects. As a result, fat intake should be regulated and not eliminated.