Several decades ago, the food industry and “health specialists” began to promote the increased consumption of carbohydrates and reduction in fat consumption. Since then, the obesity epidemic has begun to rise.
Fat is a vital part of our diet and just as consuming fiber when it comes to carbohydrates, fat can slow digestion and help keep you satiated longer. When processed carbohydrates are consumed, especially in the absence of healthy fats, cravings for unhealthy goods tend to rise, especially later in the day. As a result of consuming copious amounts of healthy fats, cravings can be decreased immensely.
Animal fats can also be incredibly healthy. Grass fed meats often contain higher amounts of omega threes, which can actually reduce inflammation. Most toxins are stored in fat cells when they cannot be excreted by the liver and animals fed diets much closer to their natural environment, are exposed to significantly fewer toxins than those traditionally raised by farmers, so their fats are often highly nutritious.
Fat and cholesterol are necessary for hormonal production and cell production. Without fat, testosterone in males quickly takes a nosedive and low-cholesterol diets can negatively affect every cell and tissue in the human body.
Consuming carbohydrates in the absence of fat can increase insulin response in the body and thus decrease insulin sensitivity, which forces the body to hold on to fat more easily and increase risk of diabetes.
In the end, although fat does contain more calories per gram than a protein or carbohydrates, it keeps you significantly more full, requiring less calories in the end and positively affects hormonal levels, especially when consumed in healthy varieties.
In combination with my last blog post, you should now have a better base understanding of why it is extremely important to consume fats in your diet and how the excess consumption of carbohydrates has led to many negative health effects in the Western world. Start implementing healthy fats such as grass fed meats, olive oil, coconut oil and avocado oil, in your diet and you should see increases in health and more easily control weight loss or weight gain!