You can learn all about good and bad dietary fats in last week's Ultimate guide to good fats and bad fats in food. So don't fear fat, just steer clear of trans fats and consume saturated fat in moderation. Here's what your body uses fat for: cell membranesĪnd we think you'll agree, these are pretty vital tasks. Remember, your body is a formidable computer that knows what it needs. ☝️READ MORE☝️ Find out more on this topic in the question: What is visceral fat?Īs we've established, fats don't just enter the body and set up shop on your thighs or belly. In short, fibre reduces the calories absorbed from whole foods by the body, supports a healthy gut microbial ecosystem and encourages frequent and healthy bowel movements. Dietary fibre has the ability to lower the energy extracted from food by making it harder to pass through the bowel wall. This is called visceral fat and it can have serious health risks for humans.įats and complex sugars in whole carbohydrates like avocados are tied up in a web of nutrients including dietary fibre. When they run out, fat accumulates around the organs.

The body has limited subcutaneous fat stores in the skin. According to Diabetes UK, one in ten British adults over 40 now have this chronic disease. This is called insulin resistance and it is a precursor for diabetes type II. Sugar is also turned into fat by the body, a process that is stimulated by high levels of insulin. Nowadays many people are overweight due to the high levels of sugar in their diet. Insulin is a hormone the body uses to manage glucose levels in the blood. When insulin levels are high, the body stores more fat. From there, it eventually makes it to the bloodstream with a little help from the lymphatic system.

Your body needs fat, also called lipids because fat is a vital metabolic and structural compound.įat can enter the body through food, where it is broken down by pancreatic enzymes and bile salts in the stomach and small intestine. Technically speaking, fat is an organic compound with solvent properties that doesn’t dissolve in water. If it were, we’d all taste delicious, right!?! The most common misconception is that, somehow, fats in food that you eat, enter the body and magically remain in that state, migrating directly to deposit themselves on your hips, belly and in your arteries. First off, it’s important to distinguish dietary fat and fat in the body.

Why we get fat and what to do about it