Your body uses fat to:

• Provide a source of energy
• Act as a shock absorber to protect your organs
• Cushion your bones
• Insulate you from the cold
• Give shape to your body
• Absorb the fat-soluble vitamins in food
• Make hormones and other biochemicals such as estrogen, testosterone, vitamin D and bile

Fat in the diet provides:

• A source of energy
• A sense of satiety
• Flavor to food
• A pleasing texture to many foods
• The essential fatty acids necessary to keep your cells healthy, including those that make up the gray matter in your head.

What are Essential Fatty Acids?
Fats and oils in foods are made up of basic units called fatty acids. In the body, these typically travel in three’s as fatty acid chains attached to glycerol, forming a triglyceride. Based on their chemical structure, they are classified into 3 major categories: monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, or saturated fats. The oils and fats that people and animals eat are nearly always mixtures of these 3 types of fatty acids, with one type predominating. Two specific types of polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleic and alpha-linolenic, are called essential fatty acids. They must be present in the diet in adequate amounts because they are literally essential to life and health.

Linoleic acid (LA) is an omeaga-6 fatty acid. It is plentiful in many oils (corn, safflower, soybean and sunflower), whole grains and walnuts. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is a plant precursor of docosahexanoic acid (DHA) one of the omega-3 fatty acids in fish believed to have many protective effects on the heart. Sources of ALA include seaweeds and green leave of plants (in very small amounts), soybeans, walnuts, butternuts, some seeds (flax, chia, hemp, canola) and the oils extracted from these foods.

How Much Fat Do I Need?
Diets, unless they are restricted in fat, are rarely inadequate in linoleic acid. For most people, 6-10 grams/day of LA (about 3% of total calories) is sufficient to prevent a deficiency. (A deficiency of LA can lead to impaired growth, fatty liver, skin lesions, and reproductive failure.) One is more likely to be deficient in alpha-linolenic acid, including vegans and vegetarians. (Deficiencies of ALA can result in impaired visual and brain development and neurological disorders, possibly depression.) For that reason, it makes sense to eat foods that are good sources of ALA daily. Choose at least 2 servings from the list below. Vegetarians, vegans and those who do not eat fish or eggs should choose 4 servings daily.

Good Sources of Alpha-Linolenic Acid An Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acid
Choose 2-4 servings daily:

• 1⁄2 Tablespoon of freshly ground flaxseed
• 2 Tablespoons walnuts or butternuts
• 6 oz. firm tofu
• 1⁄2 cup soybean
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon flaxseed oil
• 10 cups of dark greens

7 Critical Functions of Essential Fats

• Developing and maintaining gray matter in the brain
• Achieving optimal growth
• Maintaining the integrity of cell membranes
• Keeping skin healthy
• Proper visual development
• Maintaining a healthy nervous system
• Regulation of blood pressure, blood clotting and the body’s inflammatory response