What is the purpose of eating fats??

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  • taylorwaylor
    taylorwaylor Posts: 417 Member
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    Everyone on here is right, HUGE part in your nerves, needed for cushioning, HUGE in vitamin absorption. Your body needs it just as much as it needs carbs and protein. They're ALL important. This is explained in detail in the NROLFW book if you read that section.... you have that book don't you? I know you do the workouts...

    Ah! I do have that book but i don't remember that section... But now i'm ganna look at it :)
  • jlohcook
    jlohcook Posts: 228 Member
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    All great posts on why you essentially need fats. The body needs them, so, not good to cut them out entirely.

    But too high in fats will clog your system, artery, that's why some people get stroke, or fatty liver etc etc. that's why people opt for low fat stuff but be careful, low fat does not equal low sugar. In fact many low fat food have higher sugar content.

    Everything is about moderation, a balanced diet to get the best of health.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    what would eating high in fat do??

    havent you ever tried peanut butter straight out of the jar...??? it makes people happy!!!
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    Don't forget about the heart, which is probably the single most important reason dietary fats are needed.

    don't forget the brain either, a diet high in calories and fat is necessary for a big brain to grow. Hence why breastmilk is full of healthy fat, and why humans eat meat. It's the fat in the meat that is important for brains. Someone already mentioned nerve cells well brain cells are the same kind of cells.

    too little fat in the diet can increase the severity of mental illness, and in one study it was linked with a higher suicide rate
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    All great posts on why you essentially need fats. The body needs them, so, not good to cut them out entirely.

    But too high in fats will clog your system, artery, that's why some people get stroke, or fatty liver etc etc. that's why people opt for low fat stuff but be careful, low fat does not equal low sugar. In fact many low fat food have higher sugar content.

    Everything is about moderation, a balanced diet to get the best of health.

    heart disease is more about the kinds of fats you eat, than how much you eat. So long as your total calories don't exceed what you burn off in a day, the body will use the fat you eat for energy. Clogged arteries are caused by elevated levels in the blood of unhealthy kinds of fats, there are healthy fats that actually protect your arteries from this. i.e. it's the kind of fat in your blood that makes the difference, not the total amount.
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/607627-dietary-fat-cholesterol-and-fish-oil-importance
  • notthatthis
    notthatthis Posts: 218
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    All great posts on why you essentially need fats. The body needs them, so, not good to cut them out entirely.

    But too high in fats will clog your system, artery, that's why some people get stroke, or fatty liver etc etc. that's why people opt for low fat stuff but be careful, low fat does not equal low sugar. In fact many low fat food have higher sugar content.

    Everything is about moderation, a balanced diet to get the best of health.

    Fairly dangerous misconception with that statement, the body creates it's own fat stores if it wants. It can achive this through having to much carb and protein. All carbohydrates can convert to fat, some sugars convert to fat much more quickly than others - like the great High Fructose Corn Syrup scandal. You can eat animal fats and protein and no carbs and not get fat.

    To the OP, the health problems of too low a body fat can be as bad as the symptoms of too high a bady fat. Like hyponatremia is to hydration as dehydration is to hydration.
  • Emmea2729
    Emmea2729 Posts: 100 Member
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    cells in your body are made of a lipid bilayer... lipid = fat. without this, cell function would go to pot. you need a certain amount of fat so your body can keep running. but, obviously, it depends on the type of fat you eat, and how much.
  • ptewasin
    ptewasin Posts: 15 Member
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    I read through these replies and they are very good, but in a nut shell, there are two kinds of fuel for body energy (that's where counting calories comes from) 1- carbs turned into sugar and 2- fats. Sugars burn faster, fats slower. A low fat diet is a high carb diet. Years ago, the only people on high carb diets were athletes who burned lots of fuel very quickly. Trans fats which, it seems, are mostly man-made fats gum up the arteries- (think motor oil in your car, but you can't change it in your body although fiber helps to push it on through.) Too much of either fuel will be stored until it is needed. This is why we have to control portions in our culture and time of plenty. Low fat products will be high in sugar/carbs. Sugar free products are usually high in fats. Both can be high in sodium ( a whole other discussion). This is why you have to read labels.
    You need fat to digest and utilize proteins. No one needs sugar. Carbs that are more complex (burn slower- think of a fire and burning paper vs. burning an aromatically pleasant wooden log) keep you warm and happy. Too many fats will make you fat, too much sugar can make you dead, and likewise, too many carbs will also make you fat.

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