Are All Fats Bad for you ?

Too much fat is a problem, but so is too much brown rice, exercise, or water. Anything in excess is unhealthy. We should all eat less fat, perhaps 30% of our diet. But quality is much more important than quantity. Refined and altered fats are bad. Unprocessed fats and oils are not when consumed in moderation as part of a healthy diet.

There are really three problems with fat, and they have very little to do with the quantity of fat we eat:

• We consume too many nonessential fats and not enough essential fats.
• We eat fats and oils that are too refined and dangerously altered.
• We do not consume the wide range of nutrients the body needs to handle fat correctly.

What we do not understand, we fear. Because Americans do not understand how fat functions as part of a healthy diet, they are afraid of it. Our media has further fueled this paranoia. The results?

1. Fat-free, sugar-laden junk foods are hawked as beneficial snacks.
2. A lack of health-generating essential fatty acids of the omega-3 class in our diet, which can lead to a weakened, imbalanced immune system and an increased risk of degenerative diseases.
3. Foods high in protein and fat are avoided, and more refined carbohydrates are eaten instead, leading to an unhealthy dietary imbalance. This increases the incidence of hypoglycemia, PMS, and obesity.