Yeah. Low fat is a SUCH a huge crock.
Your body needs fat to process vitamins and minerals. When you don't get enough fat, your body can't absorb nutrients as well. An extremely low fat diet can result in fatigue, weak nails, hair loss, etc.
However, there is a difference between HEALTHY fats and UNHEALTHY fats. Saturated fat is a bad fat and should be avoided. Trans fats are not good at all. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are healthy. Omega3 and Omega6 fatty acids are also healthy and necessary for good health.
Ideally you should get at least 20% of your calories from healthy fats. I am for 25% of my calories from fats, and some people even aim for 30%.
I just posted on this in another thread ... so I'm just going to copy and paste the pertinent part of it here:
Sources of healthy fats include:
Peanut butter
avocados
olive oil & olives
fish, especially salmon and tuna (lots of Omega3s)
nuts and seeds of all kinds (almonds have the most healthy fat, but walnuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, etc. are all good sources of healthy fat)
dark or bittersweet chocolate (you have to be careful with this one cause the added sugars can be a problem - but a now and then treat of dark chocolate is good for you)
Dairy fats come lower on the list of healthy fats - the nut and veggie fats are better for you.
One thing you can do to add some healthy fat to your diet is to do things like drizzle some olive oil over your veggies or over a salad. You can even buy flavored or herb infused olive oil and use it as a salad dressing. Just a tiny bit - 1/2 tablespoon really adds a nice pop to steamed, roasted, or baked veggies ... or to a salad. In fact my favorite way to dress a salad is to use a tiny bit of olive oil and some red wine vinegar.
Another yummy thing to do especially in the summer is to make a sandwich or stuff pita bread with some chicken and veggies, and stick a few slices of avocado in there. Or make an avocado dip/guacamole type thing and spread that on your sandwich.
Peanut butter or almond butter on an apple or banana is a great snack - I eat pb on an apple frequently.
YOu can buy whole flax seeds and use them in your cooking or meals as well. They have a nice nutty flavor, and a tablespoon of them sprinkled in your yogurt is a good way to add fat.
For olives, skip the disgusting canned olives that are in the grocery store - they're too full of salts anyway. Mediterranean style olives that are marinaded in oil are awesome - Kalamata olives are an example of that style. And I love olive tapenade. (It's like a ground up olive spread.) I love to put tapenade on my sandwiches instead of mayo or mustard - and the New Orleans style muffaletta is famous for using tapenade. It's really yummy.
Hope that helps.
