Do We Actually Need Fats?

Today i wanted to clarify exactly what we need to be eating and to roughly what quantity within our diet.

You'll have heard lots of stories about what we should and shouldn't be eating along the lines of high protein, no fat, no carbs after 6pm... the list is endless!

But what do we really need to be consuming?

For a healthy, balanced diet we need to be consuming a percentage of these that might actually surprise you!

55-60% Carbohydrates

10-15% Proteins

30% FAT

Yes that's right, 30% FAT!

But why is this when we've always been told by pretty much every diet out there to cut out fat altogether?

The reason for this having been the case with most diets no matter how they package it, is that by cutting fat out of your diet you can cut calories, just like if you cut crabs or proteins out of your diet. But just like we need carbs and proteins, we need fat in our diets for a good reason.

Without fats in our diet our bodies cannot breakdown and absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K). They are insoluble in water and therefore are carried in the body through fats. Fat-soluble vitamins are important for our body for general good health, daily repair of the body cells and functioning of the organs. Of course the quality of those fats really matters, i'm not saying do out and eat fatty foods!

Now the problem with reducing fat from our foods, especially those that we can buy from the supermarkets, is that without this fat, it would taste pretty bland, so they replace some of this fat with sugar and / or salt to add flavor back in. Daft right?!!

So next time you reach for that Low-Fat or Zero Fat food, think twice!