How important is eating fat?

Your body needs healthy fat to function. It's good for your brain, skin, nails and hair. We need fat in our diets, there's nothing wrong with healthy fat in moderate amounts. It's easy to add olive or canola oil to nearly anything you cook. Sometimes I'll put canola oil in my smoothies because it has almost no taste and isn't as off putting to me as olive oil is.

Purple said it exactly, we need fat to function.

fat is essential. good for hair, nails, digestive system to name a few thing that fat is important for.

Salmon! Ever had a Salmon burger? Great healthy fat.... I live in Alsaka though and have PLENTY of the stuff... Also Avacados are a healthy source, and nuts, sprinkle some on a salad.

Pardon me if this was mentioned. I skimmed and didn't see it.

There are specific, vital nutrients and vitamins that are fat soluble and the body cannot absorb them without fat in the diet.

It may not be important to weight loss, but you're going to get pretty sick without it.

Olives. Tuna Fish. Peanut Butter. Avocado. Olive oil (cook with it, or make oil and vinegar salad dressings) Add seeds to your salads or sandwiches (sunflower, sesame, flaxseed, pumpkin seed)

How do you manage to eat negligible fat? Most foods seem to have a ton of it, unless you eat only raw vegetables. I am a vegetarian, and don't eat junk food, semi skimmed milk, fat free yoghurt etc, and yet my diet still manages to be 30-40% fat by calories (so about 10-12% fat in volume terms).

Anyway, I think fat is important. Vitamins are fat soluble, so you won't be getting them if you have literally no fat in your diet. You also need omega oils for brain function.

I don't eat much fat except diary products and I'm severely allergic to nuts so can't add them or anything that contains nuts (ie the coconut oil)

I have semi-skimmed milk with cereals and tea and have cheese a few times a week usually Wensleydale or babybels & I like yoghurts. (strong cheese gives me migraines).. is this enough? .. would fat (milk) in chocolate count? .. or from potato crisps?

Any fat counts as far as absorbing nutrients. But like carbs, there are good fats and not-so-good fats. On Weight Watchers, one of the Good Health Guidelines was to add two teaspoons of healthy oil (flax, canola, olive and a couple others were on the list) to your day. Someone mentioned adding canola (or flax, too) to smoothies, you can cook with it, add it to yogurt, cereal, you name it. Flax and canola are pretty tasteless.

There's also a great bit of research that adding those healthy fats helps burn visceral fat.

If you need to increase your supplemental oil, consider this one:
http://www.udoerasmus.com/products/oil_blend_en.htm

or flax seed. I personally have a hard time with fish oil capsules and my body is able to convert the plant sources easily. I buy golden flax seed and grind it in a coffee grinder (single use - don't also use for coffee!) and add it to my morning smoothie. I have also sprinkled it on cereal or yogurt or even just shook it up with water and drink. The golden flax has a nice mild nutty flavor and grinds up very well. Here is a source for excellent flax seed:
http://www.goldenflax.com/home3.php

Here is an extensive list of foods high in omega 3s (the other EFAs are more common in our diet):
http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000140000000000000000.html

everything you want to know about fat

FATS

FAT CELLS
• you are born with 5-6 billion fat cells and increases through childhood to about 25-35 billion fat cells.

• Genetics can play a role in the number of fat cells.

• They can increase in numbers due to pregnancy and during adulthood when extreme amounts of weight are gained.

YOU CAN NOT LOSE FAT CELLS, YOU CAN ONLY SHRINK THEM

Body fat is a reserve source of energy and will expand and shrink based on how you fill it.

Carbohydrates = stored energy


DIETARY FATS
What are fats?
Fats (or more correctly, fatty acids) are an essential part of the diet. Contrary to much of what we seem to hear, they are not confined to meat and animal products, but are also present in virtually all seeds, nuts and many plants themselves - think of olive oil for an example.
The way in which we refer to fats often belies their true functions - cholesterol, for example is not only the essential ingredient for both male and female hormones, it also has important healing functions. Other fats, such as the essential fatty acids DHA and EPA are fundamental to brain and nerve function.
Dietary fats are a concentrated sourceof food energy. They are also the source of linoleic acid, an essential nutrient, and the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.
They have a higher calorie per gram - ~9calories per gram (compared to ~4 calories per gram for Carbs and Protiens)
HDL's : (High Density Lipoproteins) are called "good" because they move cholesterol away from artery walls and back to the liver.

LDL's : (Low Density Lipoproteins) are called "bad" because they keep cholesterol circulating in the blood, causing the arteries to become clogged with deposits.




Monounsaturated Fats

Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) while increasing HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). Nuts including peanuts, walnuts, almonds and pistachios, avocado, canola, and olive oil are high in MUFAs. MUFAs have also been found to help in weight loss, particularly body fat.

Polyunsaturated Fats
Polyunsaturated fats also lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Seafood like salmon and fish oil, as well as corn, soy, safflower and sunflower oils are high in polyunsaturated fats. Omega 3 fatty acids belong to this group.
Omega 3 fatty acids
• All fish contain omega 3 fatty acids, but they are more concentrated in fatty fish such as mackerel, salmon, sardines and herring. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish at least 2 times a week.
• Many commercial food products, such as bread and baked goods, yogurt and infant formula are now fortified with omega 3 fatty acids.
• Other food sources of omega 3s include:
o Soybeans and tofu
o Some nuts and seeds like walnuts, flax seeds, and pumpkin seeds
o Cooking oils such as flax seed oil, canola oil, and soybean oil
o Some eggs, such as omega-3 enhanced eggs
Omega 6 Fatty acids
Omega-6 fatty acids are considered essential fatty acids: They are necessary for human health but the body can’t make them -- you have to get them through food. Along with omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids play a crucial role in brain function as well as normal growth and development. Also known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), they help stimulate skin and hair growth, maintain bone health, regulate metabolism, and maintain the reproductive system.
Omega 6 vs Omega 3
• Best when they are in a balance of 2:1 – 4:1
• Todays American/European Diet 14-25X more Omega 6 than Omega 3
o High Fructose Corn Syrup(HFC)
o Soy oils and derivatives
o Meat fed with corn/soy (Omega 6) vs grass fed (Omega 3)





Saturated Fats
Saturated fats raise total blood cholesterol as well as LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol). Saturated fats are mainly found in animal products such as meat, dairy, eggs and seafood. Some plant foods are also high in saturated fats such as coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil.
• Whole Food Saturated Fats VS. Manufactured Polyunsaturated Fats
Polyunsaturated vegetable oils are a 20th century creation. While polyunsaturated fats are not shelf-stable and need heavy refining, saturated fats are nearly impervious to oxidation and rancidity, owing to their high degree of saturation. They don't need to be refined and are rich sources of vitamins. It also means these are the proper fats for cooking, as poly- and monounsaturated fats tend to oxidize and spit free radicals throughout your body with application of heat and light.
SATURATED NATURAL SOURCES are better than MANUFACTURED UNSATURATED SOURCES
• Contains vitamins, antioxidants, and other phytonutrients important for good health
• Coconut and Red Palm Oil (Virgin pressed)
Trans Fats
Trans fats are invented as scientists began to "hydrogenate" liquid oils so that they can withstand better in food production process and provide a better shelf life. As a result of hydrogenation, trans fatty acids are formed. Trans fatty acids are found in many commercially packaged foods, commercially fried food such as French Fries from some fast food chains, other packaged snacks such as microwaved popcorn as well as in vegetable shortening and hard stick margarine.
Trans fats are straight molecule and not natural, curved ones leads to one of the simplest and most important deficiencies of trans fats - that the enzymes that control bodily function cannot bind to them and cell membranes made from them. This means that these cells malfunction and that vital body processes are interrupted, causing many serious, chronic and degnerative diseases.
The current hysteria regarding cholesterol stems from research done during the 1940s and 1950s by the manufacturers of the new margarines and "healthy" hydrogenated fats. The suggestion was that cholesterol (specifically Low-Density-Lipopotrein, or LDL-cholesterol) was responsible for heart disease, which was even then beginning to increase, due to the relatively high-fat diet enjoyed by most westerners.
This is not borne out by the facts.
1. Western diets had always contained a relatively high proportion of red meat. this was not a new phenomenon.
2. in 1978, Dr Mary Enig proved that cancer rates were directly related to consumption of vegetable oils (including hydrogenated fats) and total fat intake, but NOT related to animal fat consumption. This research is often ignored by the "cholesterol lobby", despite the fact that it has been confirmed by other researchers.
3. Ischaemic heart disease (IHD) was virtually unknown until the 1940s, when hydrogenated fats were introduced.
4. Little, if anything was done to examine the health effects of hydrogenated fats, which are entirely unknown in nature.
5. Hydrogenated fats are literally "plastics", which do not have the same properties as natural fats.
6. The dangers of trans fats were recognized as long ago as 1958, but the vegetable oil industry continues to bad-mouth safer, natural animal fats.
Tips for choosing the best types of fat
Limit fat in your diet, but don't try to cut it out completely. Focus on reducing foods high in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol, and select more foods made with unsaturated fats. Consider these tips when making your choices:
• Saute with olive oil instead of butter.
• Use olive oil in salad dressings and marinades. Use canola oil when baking.
• Sprinkle slivered nuts or sunflower seeds on salads instead of bacon bits.
• Snack on a small handful of nuts rather than potato chips or processed crackers. Or try peanut butter or other nut-butter spreads — nonhydrogenated — on celery, bananas, or rice or popcorn cakes.
• Add slices of avocado, rather than cheese, to your sandwich.
• Prepare fish such as salmon and mackerel, which contain monounsaturated and omega-3 fats, instead of meat one or two times a week.
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats have few adverse effects on blood cholesterol levels, but you still need to consume all fats in moderation. Eating large amounts of any fat adds excess calories. Also make sure that fatty foods don't replace more nutritious options, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes or whole grains.

Mary G. Enig
Know Your Fats : The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol