Digestion Tip Number Nine.

Becca's Digestion Tip Number Nine: Fat is good for you.

It is sad that fat always gets a bad rap. The fat-free movement is a powerful one. You can buy almost everything fatty in a fat-free form (even fat-free cheese and peanut butter! These products shock me because the defining macro-nutrient in dairy and nuts is FAT, so how can they make fat-free versions that aren't completely plastic?!).

It all comes down to the type of fat that is consumed. Some fats are really bad for the body while others are amazing for our health. With that said, I won't get into all the different types of fats right now (that will be a whole other blog post) but I will briefly say that in general, bad fats are: saturated animal fats, hydrogenated fats/oils, and trans fats, while the good ones are: unsaturated fats and saturated plant fats.

So, why is fat great? (These are just a few reasons).

- Fat gives “mouth feel”, making our food smooth, giving it more texture, and making it more enjoyable to eat.
- Good fats are anti-inflammatory.
- Fat takes longer to digest, making us feel full longer.
- Fat is good for our skin and hair.
- Fat in the diet helps us absorb fat-soluble vitamins (as mentioned in my Digestion Tip Number One).
- With little or no fat in the diet, certain signals aren't released in order to tell the brain that enough has been eaten, and as a result, hunger may be felt more often despite the consumption of regular meals. (I talked about this here).