Fat Free Living Month

It’s really no surprise that January is National Fat Free Living Month. It is the month of resolutions, dieting, and starting over, after all. But is fat free living really plausible?

Sure, most of us could use with a little bit of fat-cutting in our diets. I’m always onto my dad about reducing his whole milk to 2% milk, but he always makes a face and says that it doesn’t taste as good. “Whole milk is for baby cows!” I stubbornly insist as he pours the fatty liquid on top of his Count Chocula.

Then again, who am I to talk? I eat more than my own fair share of pizza and cheese—both of which could use some definite fat-cutting. During National Fat Free Living Month, we should all definitely strive for a little less fat in our diets.

But that doesn’t mean complete fat free living! We need some fats in our diet to stay healthy; in fact, our brains thrive on the good fats that we need. Sure, try to eliminate the saturated fat—but make sure to keep enough polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats in your diet. These fats have a whole range of health benefits your body needs, such as…

• Transportation of key vitamins throughout the body, such as D, A, K, and E
• Strengthening the heart, immune system, and metabolism (see, dieters need fats too!)
• Protecting the body’s inner organs
• Metabolic functions and other body processes, such as hormone and structure functions (including burning off the body’s unneeded fat and weight loss)
• Energy

To get these “good” fats, you can add oily fish (tuna, salmon, sardines, etc.), wheatgerm oil, flaxseed, hemp seed oil, extra virgin olive oi, canola oil, walnut oil, and soy oil to your regular diet.

Something else people should be wary of with this whole “eating fat free” idea is that it won’t necessarily make you lose weight. Plenty of foods that say they’re fat free are still laden with sugar and other processed materials that will continue to make you gain weight—think marshmallows, gummy bears, things like that. So be wary of the “fat free” label.

In fact, no one part of a processed food label is going to tell you how good it is for you; a whole-label approach is best. This means reading the calorie, fat, sodium, and other key nutrient counts while you make your decision. Your best bet for a healthy diet, as you probably already know, is one full of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein.