I find it ironic that in the US, we have the highest incidence of obesity in the world, and yet we have become a low fat, no- fat obsessed nation. In the last 3 decades, everything has become fat free, low fat, and no trans-fat in just about every food product on the shelves….it goes on and on. There is even now low-fat peanut butter! (Really? How in the world do you make peanut butter low-fat?) But something is terribly wrong. Americans have become more conscious of eliminating fat from their diets, but the decline in obesity, cancer, diabetes and heart disease has increased. According to the Journal of American Medicine, more than one-third (34.9% or 76.8 million) of U.S. adults are obese. Obesity in children has more than doubled in the past thirty years. This is a far cry from the 1950s and 60s when it was perfectly healthy for kids to eat red meat, drink whole milk and eat peanut butter. And obesity in children was practically unheard of! As a health enthusiast, I believe we as a nation, are looking at the wrong solution in the war against obesity. Low fat, zero fat, non-fat no trans-fats… Whatever you call it- it is not working. We have reduced healthy dietary sources of fat in our diets with no-fat food products and we are now paying the price. Obesity is on the rise, and heart disease, cancer and diabetes are increasing. Food manufacturers have replaced fat in foods with refined sugars. It’s little wonder that we, as a nation, are getting fatter, and with an increase in degenerative diseases every year.

THE BENEFITS OF FAT

Fat is healthy for us if it’s the right kind of fat: and that’s the key- getting healthy fats into our diet. Let’s look at the benefits of fats and what fats we should be eating.
What Fat does for the body:
• Fat serves as a base for carrying vitamins A, D and E.
• A diet high in unsaturated fats can help reduce cholesterol and heart disease.
• Unsaturated fats such as healthy Omega 3s have been shown to protect arteries.
• Healthy fats, such as unsaturated fats, reduce cravings, increase metabolism and balance the hormones in our bodies.
• MUSF (Monounsatured Fats) have been shown to reduce risk of breast cancer and strokes.

FAT DOES NOT MAKE US FAT

Contrary to popular belief, fat does not make us fat. When we incorporate healthy fats into the body, the body utilizes them in a way that will not store them as extra body fat- provided we are eating clean and eliminating processed foods from our diets.

Read more: http://blogs.naturalnews.com/amazing-fats-need/