The Fat Question: Why fat doesn’t make you fat
Written by Margaret Floyd on 08/05/13 am31 09:28 AM
By
Margaret Floyd, NTP HHC CHFS
There’s a big ol’ myth out there that stubbornly refuses to die. It goes something like this: eating fat makes you fat.
From a basic caloric standpoint, this appears to make sense. Fat contains 9 calories per gram, whereas carbohydrates and proteins contain 4 calories per gram. If calories were the only thing to consider, it would stand to reason that if you eat fat, you’re going to gain weight because of the higher caloric load.
Well, first off –
let’s clear up the calorie myth. If you haven’t done so already, please read
last week’s post on why calorie counting is such a small part of the health and weight puzzle.
So let’s look at exactly what your body is DOING with fat. Is it just about energy storage in the form of chunky thighs and a big belly?
Many are surprised to learn of the vitally important roles of fat in the diet:
- For one, fat is a structurally integral part of every single cell membrane in our bodies. Read that again. It is structurally essential in EVERY SINGLE CELL in our bodies. That’s a pretty darned important role. We’re not talking just “fat cells”, we’re talking every single cell for every single function in the body.
- Fats are required in order to properly digest and assimilate those all-important fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E and K. Conveniently, many foods containing these vitamins also come with the fat required to digest them. For example, the fat in egg yolks allows the body to access the vitamins A and D it’s so abundant in. So maybe Mother Nature had it right after all? This is another reason why pasteurized skim milk fortified with synthetic vitamin D is such a silly idea.
- Fats are required for the adequate use of protein. So all the egg whites in the world won’t help you out if you’re not eating them with the fats in the yolk to access that protein properly.
- Fats are a source of energy, and a nice consistent, smooth burning energy at that. In other words, the kind of sustained, even-keeled, constant energy we all long for is right in front of us – in fats. They also slow food absorption, which helps with energy regulation as well.
- Fats are key players in managing inflammation in your body. Some fats help your body inflame when necessary, other fats help your body anti-inflame. Unfortunately, low-quality fats are in themselves highly inflammatory, but that’s about the processing, not the fat in and of itself.
So we’ve established that fat is an absolutely essential part of our diets and shouldn’t be feared. It’s a big bummer (sorry, couldn’t resist) that we use the same label – “fat” – for this vitally important macro-nutrient as the bodily condition we’re all trying to avoid.
But what about the weight issue? Isn’t dietary fat what resides on my inner thighs?
Here’s something really important to know about fat: it does not trigger the hormonal dance that creates fat storage the way that sugar and other starchy carbohydrates do.
When you eat something sweet, your blood sugar levels increase too quickly, and your pancreas secretes the hormone insulin to take the excess sugar out of your blood. Insulin is a
fat storage hormone. It stores that extra sugar first as glycogen, and then as triglycerides (fat) once glycogen stores are full.
When insulin is activated, its partner hormone, glucagon, can’t operate. Glucagon’s job is to mobilize stored sugar back into the blood for energy use. These two hormones are constantly in a dance with each other and cannot be present in the blood at the same time. So either your body is in an energy-burning/mobilizing state (glucagon) or your body is in an energy storage state (insulin).
Sugar mobilizes insulin; fat does not.
It’s that simple. In fact, the fat in a sweet treat will actually help to slow down that sugar spike, and thus reduce the insulin surge, mitigating some of the ill-effects of the sweet. This is why the whole fat-free dessert thing is such a bad idea. Not only are you mobilizing a ton of insulin, you’re also removing the one thing in there that could slow that process down.
Another piece to this puzzle is satiation. The digestion of fats
triggers your satiation mechanism. This is why low-fat diets are doomed to fail and such an exercise in fierce willpower. Your body is never satisfied without fat, despite the number of calories (one more reason why calories aren’t the be all and end all).
It’s quite the opposite with sugar or foods converting to sugar quickly in the blood (starchy carbs like bread, pastas, cereal, potatoes, etc…). These foods inspire overeating and binging in part because they don’t satiate and in part because of the insulin reaction we explained above. After insulin has done its job of storing that extra sugar as fat, guess what happens? Your blood sugar takes a big hit and you now are in a low-blood sugar space. What do you crave now? You got it… more sugar.
This means: eating fat makes you fuller sooner and longer. Eating sugar leads to a sugar crash which makes you hungrier sooner and in a position to crave more sugar. A vicious cycle indeed.
Now,
are all fats created equal? Not by any stretch. In fact, industrially processed oils and rancid fats are ubiquitous in the diet and extremely harmful to both our health and our waistlines. But real, unadulterated fat from quality sources used appropriately is a key component of any healthy diet.
Here’s the bottom line: Eating fat doesn’t make you fat. Eating sugar makes you fat.
Want to switch up your diet so that your body is in fat-burning mode rather than fat-storage mode? Join us for the next group Sugar Control Detox! Get on the list to be the first to find out.
For more reading on fats, check out:
Eat fat, lose weight
The truth about saturated fats
5 Reasons you shouldn’t be afraid of quality fats
Related posts:
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25 Comments
Paige said:
- Great article!
I’ve started eating unsalted grass fed butter and cut way down on my grains. In addition to losing weight, I feel like I have way more energy!
The most amazing shift has been that I’m sleeping a lot less. This was never my goal but I’ve gone from having to sleep 10 hours a night to 7.5 hours a night. I wake up with more energy than ever before!
- Chase said:
“In fact, industrially processed oils and rancid fats are [...] extremely harmful [...] our waistlines.”
Incorrect. In terms of weight loss, a fat is a fat. Your body doesn’t care whether it’s saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. Now in terms of general health and well-being, yes, it’s relevant. But for weight loss, it’s not.
Margaret Floyd (author) said:
- Actually, Chase, weight loss is about much more than just calories in/calories out. There are many many examples of this, but for one that pertains very specifically to adulterated and rancid fats: these are highly toxic, and our bodies store toxins in fat. No matter how many calories you consume, if you have a toxic burden your body will not allow a certain amount of fat to be shed in order to protect itself, as it will mobilize those toxins into the blood stream and thus endanger organs. So yes, industrially processed oils are very harmful to our health AND our waistlines.
How to Make Lard. . .and Why - Valerie Comer said:
- [...] saturated animal fat worse than any other. No more. The tide has changed as evidence mounts that fat doesn’t make you fat. (There are many other sources—Google [...]Fat | Good Clean Chow said:
- [...] loaded our trollies up with fat free this and that, without a second thought. I urge you to read this great article on fat, it reads fast and gives you some great advice to think [...]
- Ten Things I Learned On A 30 Day Paleo Diet | Plant Meets Paleo said:
- […] Fat is your friend. Before you go and get ready to send me an angry e-mail, read here, here AND here. Healthy fats are vital components of a nutritious diet. Healthy fats have even been […]
Christina said:
- Good read
Concerning your comment to Chase, how would someone mobilize toxic fat stores?
Burger King's Saitsfries - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community Weight Loss News and Current Events said:
- […] I'm rather weary of the whole low-fat craze. Fat doesn't make you fat. Carbs make you fat. Read this article or this one (or google and find multiple other articles about this). __________________ Start […]
- leon said:
- Denovo lipogenesis has been researched and it’s generally accepted that the body turns sugar to fat only when excess amounts of sugar are routinely ingested ie constant overeating of sugar. Even then the cost of conversion from sugar to fat is 30% of the calories consumed. (Hellerstein. Denovo lipogenesis in humans. 1999/Acheson et al. Glycogen storage & denovo lipogenesis during massive carb overfeeding.1988)
sal said:
- Here are my macroeconomic and caloric intake this past week. Proteins 291 grams, fats 106 grams, and carbs at 120 grams with at least 36 grams of fiber per day. Granted I love to work out lifting and running but I have been resting the past three days. I have been trying to lose weight and get a nice, ripped figure. The bottom line, I was just too heavy. I was stuck at 208 pounds for months, once I changed my diet to all protein and fat, within weeks I am now 194 and dropping fast. I have figured out this, if I can bring my carbohydrate intake below 100, I will be a furnace burning machine. Granted, all my fats came from Avocados and almonds, which are high in fat. I eat whole eggs in the morning, about three to one egg white. 18 grams of fat. Of course chicken breast. It works. All my carbs come from nutrient densed foods only. Nuts/protein bars or shakes/vegetables/fruits/greek yogurt/. I stopped eating legumes, I love lentils, but I stopped. I feel better. No bread,sugar,cakes,candy,soft drinks. A great tip, I juiced vegetables and pour some into my blender with protein shakes. I love it. I firmly believe I will reach my goal weight of 177 pounds, muscle and ripped two months tops. Here is the kicker. I can workout on any workout program, it all works. Sal
Beware of Thunder Fred! | Scribbles by Sean said:
- […] out of our blood. Insulin is a fat storage hormone that is mobilized by sugar, not fat. Over at EatNakedNow, Margret Floyd writes, “It’s that simple. In fact, the fat in a sweet treat will […]
Khoi said:
- I’ve been researching around the web for a paper but haven’t got the answer to this question: where exactly does fat go after you eat them?
I know the stored fat and cholesterol in your blood stream are converted from excess glucose, but what happens to the dietary fats????
I’ve heard talks of its use as a slow energy source? what’s the process and how does it work?
- My NON diet- Eating for a healthy mind, body, and soul. | When North, Is South said:
- […] on in the 80′s that led to the fat-free craze of the 90′s that still lives on today, but fat does not make you fat. Anything high in Omega 3′s are great on your plate.This goes for everyone, but is […]
Harsh said:
- Margaret is having 150g of olive oil per day bad for you?
How to Naturally Heal Your Gut | Soundness of Body & Mind said:
- […] One of the most effective ways that I healed my gut was by consuming more saturated fat. If you’re wondering why saturated fat is so good for you and what are good sources of it, then read Eat Naked’s post on The Fat Question: Why doesn’t fat make you fat. […]
- TJ said:
- In depth article. Sugar, especially added sugar is definitely the worst thing to digest frequently. It’s surprising to see what sugar can actually cause health wise. I’m not a heavy sugar taker but I’ll definitely have to find an alternative for hot drinks!
Can you have too many carbs? | Beets and Bacon said:
- […] Barnard brought up this relationship between carbohydrate load creating weight gain in his article, writing that “The theory is that this insulin release promotes weight gain. What the theory’s proponents are forgetting is that insulin release is triggered by proteins too. Just as insulin helps glucose enter cells, it does the same for the amino acids that are the building blocks of protein. So it turns out that fish, beef, eggs, and cheese trigger as much or more insulin secretion as many high-carb foods.” Woah, woah, woah. I think it’s quite bold to be blaming protein for any significant insulin secretion and fat storage. While protein does elicit some insulin response, the glucagon response is much stronger, and therefor the body uses fat as fuel in that moment, instead of storage. Glucagon is a hormone that basically allows you to burn stored nutrients for fuel instead of storing them as fat- that’s what we want! So since these dense sources of protein from fish, beef, eggs and cheese contain very little carbs, glucagon is the dominant hormone over insulin and is therefor released, signaling glucose and fat to be used as fuel instead of being stored as fat. Yay! So while fat does have more than double the energy per gram, it doesn’t actually make you fat. […]
George said:
- What a brilliant article!!
I have been sharing this for weeks since I found it! So many clients I have who are looking to lose weight and get healthy live off low fat things and wonder why they’re not slimming down.
Fat is an essential part of our diets and while we should try to reduce the consumption of certain fats and to a degree fat in general (from a calorie point of view), it is important that you have an adequate amount of fats and that you try and get them from things such as animal produce ie. meat, milk, butter, cheese etc. I can’t stand people who come to me and say “I only eat low fat things such as margarine etc. because there’s no fat in it and is therefore healthier for me”.
This article should be shared everywhere!
- Grassfed Mama Why I am a Trim Healthy Mama - Grassfed Mama said:
[…] Insulin is the energy storing hormone and glucagon is the energy burning one. The two can’t work at the same time, so you are either burning or storing energy. When you eat carbs and fat together, the carbs are stored first by insulin, then the fats starts to be stored because insulin is already working. When you keep fat separate from carbs, insulin is never released and you don’t store it as fat. Coconut oil can help speed up your metabolism and continue to burn even more.
- I have a question.
We humans store fat in cells known as adipocytes. My question is, the fat that is stored there exclusively the fat that our body generates out of sugars, or is there also non-human-made fat stored there?
@
mike. I’m not sure what you mean by “non-human-made” fat? This might help: our bodies break everything we eat down into its constituent parts and then our body uses it for what it needs – there are many roles for fat in our bodies. Eating fat doesn’t necessarily turn into fat storage. If you eat ANYTHING in excess – sugars, proteins, or fats – it will ultimately be converted into adipose tissue as fat storage. In our fat-phobic culture, it’s usually the excess carbohydrates that get converted to fat storage first.
