Out of the three macronutrients — fat, protein, and carbohydrate — dietary fat has to be my favorite! Give me all the nut butter, grass-fed / organic beef & eggs & butter, and plenty of dark chocolate (obviously) :).

Some of my favorite (daily) ways to consume dietary fat include peanut butter & whole-milk yogurt on my breakfast bowls, walnuts/cashews in my energy bites & bars, olive oil-based dressings & nuts on salads, oils & butters for dinner veggies & rolls, meats & eggs w/ dinner, and evening dark chocolate & other delish sweets to cap off a nourishing day of eats.

Thankfully the low-fat craze of the 90s seems to be less of a thing now, but so many people still seem to fear eating dietary fat!

Like all things food-related, not all foods are of the same quality, and therefore the “same food” can be healthful or less-than-healthful depending on its quality. High-quality, preferably organic sources of dietary fat (including saturated fat sources!) are EXCELLENT and NECESSARY for optimal health.

That being said, you all know I”m all about balance and I’m not going to bat an eye about eating processed desserts, non-organic meat/eggs, or seed oils once in a while. Unless there is a valid health reason to be totally black and white about a certain food, I’m not going to concern myself with eating “less-than-ideal” options once in a while. I know my body can handle this and it is perfectly fine!

We need to look at the big picture of our health, food patterns, and overall toxic load, and not miss the forest for the trees by obsessing over the store-bought cupcakes or non-organic ground beef we ate yesterday.

Dietary fat does NOT “make you fat.”

In fact, I would argue that avoiding high-quality sources of dietary fat puts you at *greater risk* for unhealthy weight gain (beyond YOUR body’s natural healthy weight range), due to the effect that not getting enough dietary fat has on things like our metabolism, hormones, and overall nutritional status.

Again, we miss the forest for the trees when we obsess about avoiding any and all dietary fat.

All that being said, let’s dive into today’s 7 reasons to eat more (or ENOUGH) dietary fat. Feel free to leave any questions or comments below!

7 Reasons to Eat More (or Enough) Dietary Fat: 

Dietary fat is essential for healthy hormone levels.

Our sex hormones, including estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, are made from CHOLESTEROL. Yes. WE NEED CHOLESTEROL. Some of this cholesterol is made in our livers, and some of it comes from our diets (assuming you aren’t vegan or vegetarian — two ways of eating which I DON’T think are the best from a health standpoint).

This is a good thing! High-quality sources of dietary cholesterol are helpful for having optimal hormone levels, which is important for a multitude of things including bone health, mood, normal/healthy weight maintenance, normal sex drive, an ability to ovulate / get pregnant, healthy hair/skin/nails, and more. Some of my favorite go-to dietary cholesterol (fat) sources include (organic/grass-fed) beef, eggs, butter, full-fat dairy yogurt, and darker meat poultry (including the skin!).

Dietary fat is key to feeling satisfied with eating.

While eating (at least one source) of all three macronutrients is important for feeling satisfied with a meal, fat is especially important for that *truly satisfied and able to move on from food now* feeling. Pursuing satisfaction as a cornerstone of your eating decisions is key to feeling calm and centered more often than not when it comes to eating.

Try adding some olive oil to your sautéed broccoli, some butter to your baked potato, a delish sauce to your chicken or fish, and see how it amps up that feeling of satisfaction from your meal. We are then much more likely to be able to move on to whatever life has for us next instead of obsessively thinking about food or binge/chaotically eating later on.

Animal sources of saturated fat can be all-star sources of certain micronutrients. 

Certain micronutrients — especially zinc and iron — are generally more highly concentrated and better absorbed by our bodies when we consume them from animal sources compared to plant sources. As in, your body will absorb more iron from something like ground beef compared to something like spinach. I’m all about the (high-quality) beef, poultry (especially the darker cuts!), seafood, and eggs (w/ yolk!) when it comes to getting adequate intake of these crucial micronutrients. You can read more about the importance of zinc here and iron here.

I could GO ON about all the things that mainstream medicine/healthcare gets wrong, including the notion that we should avoid saturated fat sources! (Assuming they are of high-quality.)

Eating enough dietary fat is necessary for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.

We NEED to consume dietary fat in order to absorb the all-important fat-soluble vitamins — vitamins A, D, E, & K. Without dietary fat, you will not be absorbing these key vitamins. It’s possible to be eating what you might consider a wonderfully nutritious diet full of colorful fruits & veggies, but you won’t be actually taking advantage of so many of the micronutrient / health benefits of said fruits, veggies, and other nutritious foods without the needed dietary fat for vitamin absorption. Mother Nature and taste go hand in hand when we consider how adding some delish dietary fat to our meals serves the key function of actually obtaining the health benefits of our nutrient-dense meals!

One reason why I am into full-fat dairy products is because then we are able to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins they may include, or that we might be eating alongside our dairy. For example, consuming full-fat yogurt allows your body to better absorb any vitamin D that might be in the yogurt. Full-fat dairy is also much more satisfying and is less processed, as it naturally contains fat.

Dietary fat is essential for healthy cell membranes.  

Every cell in our bodies is contained by a cell membrane made from FAT. Fat for the win yet again! What CAN’T this macronutrient do?

Having healthy cell membranes is essential to the proper uptake of nutrients into our cells, again highlighting the importance of dietary fat intake for optimal nutrient status. James Greenblatt, MD, writes, “Without proper fat intake, your cells are like houses with crumbling walls.” (Answers to Anorexia, pg. 186)

Dietary fat is essential for a healthy brain & mind.

Fat is essential to the very structure and composition of the brain. About 60% of the dry weight of the brain is made up of fat (primarily in the form of DHA, one of the main omega-3 fatty acids).

What’s more, dietary fat is essential for good mental health. Going back to my point on dietary fat and hormones, if we don’t have the necessary components to make normal amounts of sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone, we aren’t going to feel well mentally. Adequate amounts of progesterone, in particular, are key to feeling calm and not anxious. Nutrients, like vitamin D, that require fat to be absorbed, are also important when it comes to mental and emotional well-being.

I’m all about things like therapy, self-care, and mental/emotional health, but if we don’t have the NEEDED NUTRIENTS to make the neurotransmitters and hormones that are NEEDED TO FEEL WELL MENTALLY, we are going to continue to suffer. The raw components for calmness and feeling well just aren’t there! No amount of therapy or psychological aptitude can totally outrun a malnourished brain.

The body cannot make essential fatty acids; we must obtain them from dietary fat.

Two types of fatty acids — well-named “essential” fatty acids — cannot be made by the body and must be obtained in our diets. These are omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Some sources of omega-3 fatty acids include fatty fish like salmon and halibut, walnuts, flaxseeds, and chia seeds,. Some sources of omega-6 fatty acids include sunflower seeds, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds. Some people get too much omega-6 fatty acids in their diets compared to omega-3s (primarily due to excessive plant/seed oil consumption), but we still do need some omega-6, ideally from mostly high-quality sources. We just don’t want it too high in comparison to our omega-3 consumption.

Symptoms of not having enough essential fatty acids include insomnia, anxiety, poor memory, extreme thirst or tiredness, joint pain, poor immunity, poor circulation, an irregular heartbeat, and sensitivity to sunlight.

Furthermore, inadequate essential fatty acid status is correlated with constipation, elevated cholesterol, dry skin, depression, osteoporosis, suicide, and even cardiac death. When it comes to anorexia in particular, Greenblatt notes, “Suicide and cardiac death are in fact two of the most common causes of mortality among anorexia. sufferers, and both are associated with omega-3 fatty acid deficiencies.”

Lack of dietary fat contributes to a host of physical, mental, and emotional problems, all of which are connected! Healthy bodies AND minds require healthy amounts of nutrients in order to function properly.

Things you might consider:

• Are you currently getting at least one source of dietary fat at each (or most) of your meals? If not, consider if this is due to active avoidance rooted in fear. If it is simply a matter of preference or not being intentional, you could consider if adding in dietary fat at meals where this is lacking would serve you from a nutrition, health, and taste standpoint.
• Throughout human/food history, many foods have naturally been consumed with a fat source. Butter on bread, dressings on salads, sauces on meats and pastas, oils/butter on veggies… As outlined above, not only does this make sense from a taste perspective, but also from a nutrition perspective! If there are ways you’ve sought to avoid or take out dietary fat out of fear of it being “extra” and “unnecessary,” are there ways this post may have sparked an interest in exploring adding more fat back into your diet? If so, what is one way you could start to experiment?