Low Fat Diets Lead To Malnutrition

Hear the word malnutrition and chances are your mind’s eye produces an image of a third world child lacking the energy to even swat the flies circling their bodies. With approximately 2/3s of our countries population overweight, many of them obese, it may not occur to many of you that we are a nation suffering from malnutrition.

For thirty years you have been lead to believe the key to disease prevention is a low fat diet. The low fat message has been taken to such an extreme that many of you have attempted to cut all fat out of your diet. When the fat content in your diet is too low it is difficult to eat enough food to get all the needed nutrients.

8 Reasons Why Fat is a Necessary Nutrient

1. Fat provides energy: Fat provides back-up energy if blood sugar runs out(after 4 to 6 hrs. without eating).

2. You eat less food less often: Fat in your diet can actually help you lose weight. You need less food to fell satisfied and you do not feel the need to eat as often.

3. Prevents omega 3 fatty acid deficiency: Omega 3 fatty acids regulate the inflammation that leads to heart disease, strokes, diabetes and depression.

4. Necessary for the absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K: Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat soluble vitamins which mean your body can not absorb these vitamins without the aid of fat.

5. Fat builds healthy cells: Fats are a vital part of the membrane that surrounds each cell of your body. Without a healthy cell membrane, the rest of the cell couldn’t function.

6. Fat builds healthy brains: Fatty acids create the specialized brain cells that help you think.

7. Fat forms a protective cushion for your organs: Many of the vital organs, especially the kidneys, heart and intestines, are cushioned by fat that  helps protect them from injury and holds them in place.

8. Fat keeps your heart healthy: Fats keep your heart beating at a regular rhythm; 60% of your heart’s energy comes from buring fat.

Malnutrition develops when the body does not get the right amount of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients it needs to maintain healthy tissue and organ function. Your body does not recognize the difference between not eating enough food and eating too much of the wrong kind of food.