Skinny on Fats in the Diet

November 30, 2011

After talking about body composition last week and how a high percentage of body fat can poorly influence overall health, I decided it was important to clarify the role of fat in the diet. If you’ve been confused about what type and how much fat to include in your diet, you’re not alone. Yet one thing is certain: after many years of being told to avoid fat because it will make you fat, we now realize that fat is absolutely necessary as part of a healthy diet, and if eaten sensibly, will help to keep you lean and looking and feeling good.

In general, our diets should include approximately 20 – 35% calories from fat. So for example, in a 2,000 calorie/day diet, this would amount to 400 – 700 calories. At 9 calories per gram, this converts to 44 – 78 grams of fat per day. If that sounds like a lot to you, consider why fat is so important in the diet:

It’s a source of concentrated energy
It is a major structural component of cell membranes
It’s a source of insulation
It’s necessary for healthy skin and nails
It slows down digestion
It’s needed to absorb fat-soluble vitamins and nutrients
It keeps our vision strong
It’s involved in cell signaling
It’s a major component of the central nervous system and necessary for proper brain function

(more…)