Macronutrient: Fat

Fat is one of the three macronutrients we need to carry us through life. It is essential but there is much controversy about how much we need and what kinds are best for us. Fats are essential to give your body energy and to support cell growth. They help protect your organs and keep your body warm. Fats help our body to absorb some nutrients and produce important hormones.

The government recommends getting about 30% of your calories from fat but has that has been proven to be too much. In fact, extra fat causes much harm and not even that much extra . The newest information recommends 10-20%. We Americans are, on average, getting more than that. Its harmful and we show the world that we are sick in this area by seeing our outward appearance. Even though we try to hide this, we can’t. It’s not an invisible thing.

Recommended fats in small quantities include nuts, seeds, avacados and coconuts. Notice they are plants.

Eating more fat than you need, makes you fat. Fat has more calories per gram than carbohydrates. It’s easy to over eat fat. There are good fats and bad fats and it matters which you eat but all fats should be limited. Bad fats also usually contain hormones, antibiotics, saturated fat and the wrong kind of iron. Dairy fat is especially harmful because it has a protein called caisen, proven to turn on cancer cells in Petrie dishes and rats.

Eating too much of any fat contributes to obesity and many common diseases. In addition, when you carry too much fat, it depletes your vitality and shortens your life span. Instead of filling up on fat, try filling up on starches like potatoes and rice. In solid science and studies of societies, the leanest live the longest and the healthiest in general.

• The China Study (Colin Campbell)
• Food over Medicine (Pam Popper)
• The Spectrum (Dean Ornish)