Avoid Fat at all Costs! Just Kidding.

Fat Doesn’t Make You Fat!

Bet you’ve heard that one before. For a long time, fat was the villain behind all chronic disease, prompting a misguided movement towards “fat free” and “reduced fat” foods. The misinformation and propaganda behind this anti-fat movement led to decades of rising obesity, heart disease, and diabetes and has landed us where we are now as a society–pretty sick and mostly overweight.

Luckily, we’ve made some major headway to move away from that. Among groups of educated consumers, there is a better understanding now of what the problem really is. Processed carbs, processed seed oils, and the overconsumption of calories are the actual things making us metabolically sick. But that isn’t quite enough. Not only is fat not the enemy–fat is our friend.

The right fats are crucial for supporting immune function, insulating internal organs, maintaining healthy skin and hair, and aiding in the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins.

And that’s just a tiny sampling of the many roles fat plays in optimizing your health. DHA is an essential omega-3 fatty acid found in fatty fish. Lack of DHA has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, depression, anxiety, and ADHD.

Fat has also been shown to help promote healthy skin and hair.

Getting your beauty sleep is definitely a thing, but so is getting your beauty fat. This analysis of low-carb diets linked a higher consumption of saturated fat to a significant beneficial impact on several cardiovascular disease risk markers.

And if all that isn’t enough to convince you how incredibly important fats are, they also play a key role in maintaining healthy hormonal health and fertility in both men and women. There is plenty more where all that came from but let’s wrap things up here and let you get along with your day. The point is–eating the right fats is an important piece of a healthy diet.

Not Sure About This Trend…

Ok — fat isn’t inherently bad for you. Got it. But what about booze?

Are there any redeeming factors that can make alcohol a staple component of a healthy diet? The short, disappointing, and obvious answer–no. Which is why this trend seems like it may be taking us in the wrong direction.

Booze-to-go is apparently here to stay. One of the moves restaurants and local businesses had to make to keep their business afloat during the pandemic was to start offering booze to go. As we emerge from the pandemic, loosened restrictions are making it possible for this trend to stick around as part of the post covid new normal.

Easier access to booze may not be our best move forward. I’m not an expert here, but with stress, anxiety, and depression at all time highs and many people leaning on alcohol to “wind down,” it seems we are setting ourselves up for failure here.

Tonic Shots

• I love the occasional glass of wine as much as anyone but it is nice to go booze free every now and then. This is why Surely is so perfect!
• What’s good for the planet is good for our health. Check out these awesome reusable bags for food storage!
• Speaking of healthy, delicious fats–check this brand out!
• Want to do a deep dive on Omega-3 fatty acids? Do it with this podcast!