We're Busting 5 Myths About Fat and Your Health

Conventional “wisdom” says fat is bad. If you eat fat, you become fat and destroy your health. But that's just one of many myths surrounding fat. Fats aren't all the same, and some kinds of fat are actually essential for good health. All the people who've been telling you fat is your #1 enemy are way off-base. It's time to bust these fat myths once and for all.

Myth 1) Eating Fat Is Bad For You

Actually, healthy fats are essential to good nutrition. We need good fats in our diets to lower our risk for chronic health problems, keep our skin healthy, and even absorb other nutrients. We have to remember that every cell in our body has a lipid (fat) layer around it, this is important in our cells ability to communicate. Trying to cut fat out of your diet causes health problems and it's not a reliable way to lose weight. Especially for our hormones, hormones are built with fats. 

Myth 2) All Fats Are The Same

As with many other foods, there are low-quality and high-quality fats. The three main types of fats are:

• Trans fats, also called partially hydrogenated oils, are found in processed foods. They have zero health benefits and can trigger problems like inflammation.
• Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and include fats from vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish and commercial foods.They're not as bad for you as trans fats, but you do want to limit how much you eat.
• Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and stable at high temperatures and you'll find them in red meat, dairy, coconut oil and palm oil.They're a very healthy type of fat.

Myth 3) High Fat Foods Hurt Your Heart

Diets full of saturated fats raise your cholesterol, which can contribute to heart disease. While some recent studies claim that saturated fats don't significantly impact risk of heart disease, they do agree other fats are healthier. However this isn't necessarily true. It comes down to the quality. We have to understand its not a calorie counting game and a quality counting game. 

Myth 4) Low-Fat Is The Key To Weight Loss

If the majority of your diet contains fat and your eating more calories than you burn, then you probably will gain weight. But as long as you keep your fat intake in a healthy range you'll be fine. Saturated fats should make up less than 20% of your calorie intake each day. About 5% of your calories should come from healthy unsaturated fats. Since healthy fats help you feel full, control your appetite, and absorb essential nutrients they actually help you lose weight.

Myth 5) Vegetable Fat Good, Animal Fat Bad

Even though plant-based fats are usually healthier for you than animal-based fats, you have to take into consideration how they're sourced and processed. For example, beef from grass-fed, organic regenerative cattle actually contains healthy fats. On the flip side, some vegetable oils are processed with high heat (turning the fats rancid) and harsh chemicals that strip out nutrients. That's why it's important to get organic, minimally processed oils whenever possible. Rather than trying to eat low-fat or doing other fad diets, we recommend you focus on eating a balanced variety of clean, healthy foods. That's why all Crucial FOUR's products are either organic, wild crafted or heirloom whole-foods with high amounts of needed nutrients. Take the quiz on our website to discover what your body specifically needs to stay healthy (click here to learn more about that).