wellpdx

Fat: friend or foe?

I often observe a trend following the holidays of “cutting-out” (sugar, coffee, alcohol, and fat). Don’t cut out the fat! Side effects from removing fat in the diet that I have observed in my patients include: depressed mood, anxiety, hormone deficiencies, increased pain and inflammation, fatigue, weight gain, and immune deficiency.

Fat and cholesterol are essential building blocks in the body. For example, every cell in our body has a protective cell membrane made of cholesterol, and every hormone is synthesized from cholesterol. Fat in the diet is necessary to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K. Fat also supports a stable blood sugar and energy levels.

So what kind of fat and how much should we eat? According to Mary Enig Ph.D., nutritionist/biochemist and

international expert on research in the dietary intake of fats, we need to receive 25% of calories from non-essential fatty acids and 3-5% of our calories in a 2:1 ratio of omega-6: omega-3 essential fatty acids. Processed foods alter fats, i.e. trans-fatty acids, causing them to be harmful to the body and should be avoided. Good fats come from whole foods including nuts, seeds, avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, fish, eggs, whole milk dairy, and meats clean of antibiotics and hormones.

Pregnant and lactating women have an increased requirement of fat to supply energy and vitamins and need 35% of calories from fat. Children have an increased need for dietary fat to form myelin of the brain and nerve cell development. Under the age of 2, children need to receive 50-55% of calories from fat (the amount of fat found in breast milk). The fat content in a child should gradually decrease to 30% by the time they turn 18 years.

Fat in the diet is a huge topic, and beyond this blog post. You may learn more in Mary G. Enig’s book Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils, and Cholesterol, or www.westinprice.org.

My Year of 2012 advice is don’t cut out the fat!