What is the purpose of eating fats??

Fat is good for many things, absorbing vitamins and nutrients one of the big ones.

http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/family-nutrition/facts-about-fats/why-you-need-fats

if i go totally fat free i get sick. and constipated. true story. ick.

A few positives about fat:

1. Some vitamins need fat to be absorbed.
2. Fat adds a pleasant texture to many foods.
3. Fat is high in calories. Yeah, I know, sounds counter-intuitive, but for a survival purpose, high calories are good!
4. Fat is naturally occurring in many delicious foods.

Ultimately, what are your goals? Although many say "lose weight" what most really want is to be satisfied with their health. Cutting all the fat intake from your food choices might ruin the experience of eating, and that sounds pretty unsatisfying, mentally. I figure stay into the lower fat choices when possible, but don't make myself miserable in the process.

LOL. Fats are necessary for EVERYTHING. IMO low fat diets are unhealthy. That fats are bad and/or make you fat is the biggest nutritional LIE of all time. The hypothesis has been disproven and disproven and disproven. Natural saturated fatty acids are especially beneficial, again contrary to the misinformation that we are given. Gotta dig beyond the food and health industry propaganda.

Most of us don't need a whole lot of protein, and when consumed without adequate fat, protein is even less beneficial. Carbs are non essential and the importance of fibre has been exaggerated. It's good too (from vegetables), but one doesn't necessarily "need" it (ask the Inuit) and definitely not in huge amounts.

Anyways, there is lots of information readily available on nutrition, physiology, and metabolism. It's a little tedious going through all the studies, but there are many doctors and authors who have already done much of the digging and present the information in an enjoyable, easy to read format. No, don't "believe" everything, just start questioning and exploring.

Eating high fat (low carb, zero grains) has cured a long list of illnesses for me. A few are: severe depression, anxiety, headaches, neurological disorder, chronic pain and fatigue, pre-diabetes, chronic joint pain, lung infections, allergies, sleep apnea, binge eating disorder, etc. Also, a lovely side effect of my lifestyle is effortless weight loss. I've been experimenting with getting my fat higher (I was at 60%, now I try for 75-80%) and I've noticed dramatic results. I feel even better and more energetic, AND during the weeks that I eat the most fat, I also lose the most weight. Yup, strange (but not really).

One of the most critical reasons is that they are essential for hormone production. And they make food taste damn good!!!

Healthy hair, organs, organ function -- your body can't do w/o healthy fats. Plus - it makes food taste good. I never buy fat free - it's gross, and they've usually substituted more sugar or chemicals for the missing fat.

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...

Sometimes you need fats. Fats are healthy if you take in the right amount and the right kind. Of course, trans fats are man-made - they usually come in the form of hydrogenated oils (so if you see that in the ingredients, avoid at all costs!)

Peanut butter, fish oils, and olive oil are the top three foods with healthy fats. They're the ones you should eat on a weekly basis and make sure you take in the necessary nutrients from these foods to keep up with the necessary nutrients you need!

Check my blog for more foods to love/hate.

Every single one of your cells is essentially a fat-bag. Cell membranes, also called the plasma membrane, are made primarily of fats, followed by cholesterol, proteins and glycoproteins.

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Phospholipid bilayer
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fat is an essential macronutrient. supports endocrine function, energy metabolim, organ function, joint function, brain function, muscle function. fat is vital in the absorption of essential vitamins, and works in much capacity to lubricate and shield joints. They are critical in cholesterol (the good kind) upkeep, and also the primary compounds behind genetic sequencing.

eat them!....but not too much!

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.

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.

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.