The War on Fat: Why Everything You’ve Been Told About Dietary Fat is Wrong

The Truth About Fat: Why It’s Essential for Your Health and Weight Loss

For decades, we were told fat was the enemy. My personal healing journey and science proves that healthy fats support weight loss, brain function, hormone health, and prevents a wide range of diseases.

If you haven’t already, be sure to read my previous blog post where I share our (me and my husband) personal story of chronic illness, misdiagnoses, and how we finally found the path to healing.

Everything I share here I have put into practice for our family and have seen the life changing results first hand!

The Fat-Free Lie: How We Got It Wrong

The low-fat movement, which took off in the 1970s and 1980s, convinced people that eating fat led to weight gain, high cholesterol, and heart disease. The result? A massive increase in obesity, diabetes, and metabolic disorders. An entire generation that fears butter, eggs, and full-fat dairy. A food industry that replaced healthy fats with seed oils, refined sugar, and artificial additives.

But what if everything we’ve been told about fat is wrong?

Modern research now confirms that dietary fat is not only healthy—it’s essential for survival.

For those still believing all of the old marketing, check this out:

• A 2010 meta-analysis in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found no significant evidence that saturated fat (like butter, cheese, and other animal sources of fat) increases heart disease risk. (Source)

How Low-Fat Diets Created a Health Crisis

The low-fat movement led food manufacturers to replace fat with processed carbohydrates, sugar, artificial ingredients, and worst of all - seed oils.

• Removing fat made food less satisfying, leading people to overeat.

• Refined carbs caused blood sugar spikes, increasing the risk of diabetes.

• Artificial ingredients introduced chemicals into our diets that harm metabolism.

This shift backfired spectacularly, leading to an explosion of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.

Here is some science that backs this up:

Howard et al. (2006) – "Low-Fat Dietary Pattern and Weight Change Over 7 Years: The Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial" (JAMA)

-A large-scale study that found no significant weight loss over 7 years in women following a low-fat diet, challenging the idea that reducing fat leads to weight loss.

Ludwig et al. (2018) – "Dietary fat: From foe to friend?" (Science)

-Argued that low-fat diets can contribute to obesity and metabolic disease by increasing hunger and promoting blood sugar fluctuations.

Why Fat is Essential for Your Health

Your body needs fat to function properly. It plays a crucial role in:

1. Hormone Production

Your body requires dietary fat to produce essential hormones like:

• Estrogen (needed for reproductive health)

• Testosterone (important for muscle growth and mood)

• Cortisol (regulates stress and metabolism)

A study in the Journal of Urology found that low-fat diets can decrease testosterone levels, impacting energy, mood, and more. (Source)

2. Brain Health

Did you know that your brain is nearly 60% fat?

Healthy fats—especially omega-3 fatty acids—support:

• Cognitive function

• Memory and learning

• Protection against dementia and Alzheimer’s

A 2015 review in Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, and Essential Fatty Acids confirmed that omega-3s play a crucial role in brain health including memory, learning, cognitive well being, as well as possibly preventing or delaying neurodegenerative conditions like alzheimers. (Source)

Did you know that some leading experts are now referring to Alzheimer's disease as 'Type 3 Diabetes' due to its' profound correlation with dietary caused insulin resistance and insulin dysfunction in the brain?

3. Cellular Function & Nutrient Absorption

Every cell membrane in your body is made of fat, allowing for proper nutrient absorption and cellular communication. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, meaning they require fat to be absorbed and used by the body.

How Eating Fat Helps You Lose Weight

It may seem counterintuitive, but eating fat helps your body burn fat. Why? When you consume healthy fats, your body:

• Receives a signal that food is abundant, so it doesn’t need to store extra body fat.

• Stays full longer, reducing cravings and overeating.

• Burns fat for fuel, rather than relying on carbohydrates for energy.

I have had people follow my dietary suggestions before on greatly increasing their healthy fats. They were SUPER skeptical and said it made no sense and was against everything they learned but that they'd try it. They were shocked... they started leaning out even though they didn't increase their activity, they were sleeping better, had less brain fog and more consistent energy, and less dramatic hunger spikes that leads to a lot of processed food high carb snacking.

This has worked for me and those that I have counseled. It feels wrong because of all the ads we've been inundated with since we were children, but keep in mind that since the beginning of civilization humanity ate an abundance of healthy fats and had little to no obesity!

The Best Fats to Eat (and the Ones to Avoid)

Not all fats are created equal.

The Best Healthy Fats

These natural, minimally processed fats are the best for brain health, hormone balance, and weight management:

• Animal Fats – butter, tallow, lard, meat with the fat & skin, cheese, etc.

• Coconut Oil – Rich in MCTs, boosts brain function

• 100% Olive Oil - make sure seed oils aren't in the ingredients

• Avocado Oil – great for high-heat cooking & homemade mayo

• Nuts & Seeds – Almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds

• Avocados

The Fats to Avoid

• Industrial Seed Oils – Soybean, canola, corn, cottonseed

• Hydrogenated Oils – Found in margarine, shortening, processed snacks

• Artificial Trans Fats – Increase heart disease risk

A 2008 study in Experimental Biology and Medicine found that a high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio from industrial seed oils increases inflammation and chronic disease risk. (Source)

Expeller cold pressed seed oils aren't nearly as problematic, but those are rare. Most seed oils are high heat processed, high chemical processed, rancid, high inflammatory foods and should be absolutely avoided.

There is an amazing documentary on this with a lot about the science and explains why seed oils are a HUGE contributing factor to the disease and obesity epidemic in America. It contains medical studies to support their claims and features 2 Medical Doctors and a PhD Investigative Science Journalist. It is available for free here on Youtube.

Final Thoughts: The Truth About Fat

For too long, we’ve been misled about the role of fat in our health.

• Fat does NOT make you fat.

• Fat is essential for brain function, hormones, and metabolism.

• The real culprits behind obesity and disease are sugar, processed carbs, and industrial seed oils.

  
  

If you want better energy, brain function, and long-term health, it’s time to ditch the fat-free mindset and embrace healthy fats again.