For decades, there has been a phobia around eating fat. Ever wondered why? It all started with flawed research studies attempting to connect dietary fat to heart disease. But not all fat is created equal, and we are here to make the case for eating more of the healthy kind. From the almond butter to the seeds to the shredded coconut, our bars provide your body with a great dose of the good stuff.
To start, fat is a macronutrient, and a very necessary one for good health might I add. It shares the same name with the stuff on our bodies that people don’t want too much of, but that is about all it shares. Before going into a bit more detail, here are some highlights of why it’s good for your health:
- It’s necessary for cognitive health as your brain is 60% fat
- It is a component for every cell in your body
- It helps to manufacture hormones
- It helps metabolize those fat soluble vitamins (K, A, D, E) which means these nutrients can’t be absorbed by your body without the aid of fat.
- It is necessary for the growth and calcification of bone and for inflammatory responses as well as for skin and eye health
- It helps to make receptor sites for dopamine and serotonin (our reward and feel good hormones). With a lack of healthy fats in the diet, this can literally lead to a lower mood
From an energy density perspective, fat has more calories per gram than the other two macronutrients: carbs and protein. A calorie simply measures the energy density of a food. Fats comes in at 9 calories per gram vs. 4 calories per gram for carbs and protein. However I see this as a good thing! Not only is it more satisfying and satiating, but you can get more bang for your buck on less. The energy is sustained, unlike that quick-burning “fuel” of carbohydrates.
The building blocks of fat as a macronutrient are fatty acids, which are necessary for health, performance and hormone balance. And yes, fats are actually required for fat loss should that be one of your goals. In order to lose fat, we need to ensure our hormones are balanced and working properly because your hormones play a large role in lipolysis, which is just the fancy term for the breaking down of stored body fat. This is why blood sugar balance comes in to play (and why we value it so much here at Gratisfied) because if you were to think of your hormonal system like a symphony, insulin and leptin are basically like the conductors. So when they are off, the whole song is going to seem wrong.
It is also important to understand the difference between healthy dietary fat, and those forms of fat that are actually harmful to your health. I guarantee you that if you were to look at a packaged food, you would likely see at least one of those fats being used, even those products that are marketed to be “healthy!” Forms like safflower and sunflower oil are used a lot, even in the packaged natural foods space. When heat is applied to these fats, which is pretty much guaranteed when something is packaged as it has been cooked and processed, the process promotes inflammation, they can break down and become carcinogenic and lead to that unhealthy imbalance of fatty acids in the both.
Check out a list of some of those unhealthy fats below!
I am happy and grateful to be able to use our Gratisfied platform to spread the world about health in general! So don’t be afraid to suggest a topic, or leave any additional questions you may have! Enjoy the rest of your week, and don’t forget to incorporate those healthy fats into your diet.
XO, Sara
