Why Fat is Good For You and Your Kids

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Last Updated on January 31, 2015

fat is good for you

My best friend is a grain lover.  I still love her and have never suggested she stop eating grains.  I learned long ago that the saying “You can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” applies to almost everything and  people don’t like having someone tell them that the lifestyle/diet  they have chosen is wrong.  Also, I don’t think that one diet works for everyone (Paleo in this instance) however, I do believe that some of the principals of the Paleo diet work for everyone – eating whole, unprocessed foods,  fruits/veggies and limiting sugars (in all forms – i.e- grains, honey, etc) would do wonders for anyone’s health.

Anyhow, we were Skpying and she shared how she had put her kiddo on 2% milk and without thinking, I blurted out that she should let him have whole milk.  I immediately thought – oh crap – not only had I just told her how to parent her child but I had implied her decision was wrong.   Now, my BFF’s kiddo ranks on the 100% for weight in his age group.  I can see why she’s wants to adjust his diet because like any good mother, she’s worried about his weight and what the health affects may be.

First, while this may seem revolutionary to some people, fat is good for you and kids need fat for proper development.    Here’s a quote from two scientists and a link to the article/study “Infants, Toddlers Should Not Restrict Fat Intake, Experts Say“:

“There’s little information that restricting fat before 2 years of age could be beneficial, but there’s plenty of evidence that this could be dangerous,” he says. “One of the main reasons is that it may retard growth and development.”

They go on to recommend that children under the age of 5 should not restrict their fat intake.

Another quote from another article that contains information from several peer reviewed studies “Saturated Fat is Not Bad For Your Brain, and You’ve Been Lied to

“A 1996 paper published in the Journal of Nutrition, for example, claimed that a certain amount of dietary fat is necessary for children because it “… facilitate[s] maturation of the central nervous system, including visual development and intelligence.”

Kids need fat ya’ll and if you’re worried about your kiddo’s weight than you should start paying attention to how many sweets and/or carbs are going in their mouth.   This applies to adults too (myself included).

BTW, I am not advocating low carb for kids.  The Little eats multiple forms of bananas, sweet potatoes, etc every day but he also drinks whole raw milk with lots of cream,  butter and coconut oil.

From the studies I have read and my own experience, I learned that  fat is good for you -regardless of your age group.   Sugar is far more harmful to your health than fat is.

This helpful infographic breaks down what fats I eat and what I don’t.

why fat is good for you

Here are a couple more great articles that share why you should be eating fat in your diet:

Why A High-Fat Diet is Healthy and Safe
Taking the Fear Out of Eating Fat

25 thoughts on “Why Fat is Good For You and Your Kids”

  1. Thanks for sharing this. I do think many people don’t realize the difference between healthy fats and fats. It’s a good thing to get the fat from whole milk or nuts instead of from cookies and cakes.

    Reply
  2. There are no words to describe how much I absolutely adore this post. I think society has spent SO long drilling “fat is bad” into our heads and introducing fat free, sugar free (aka chemically filled) foods to us, that people just believe it. Although my family and I don’t eat Paleo, we do eat as clean and as organic as possible. Of all the many changes I have made, getting rid of margarine and buying only regular butter, coconut oil and olive oil was the absolute hardest!

    Reply
    • I’m so glad this resonated with you 🙂 Real – if I must put it this way – God made fats – are good for you. It’s sad that so many people, in the effort of eating “healthy” remove fat from their diet and replace real foods with fake foods that are loaded with artificial ingredients and sugar. Your body has no idea how to assimilate these foods and it causes problems.

      Reply

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