5 Signs You’re Not Eating Enough Healthy Fat

While the FDA’s guidance on fat and health may be lagging behind the science, it's now generally accepted that fat (of the high-quality, healthy variety), is our friend.

Still, even though fat is emerging from the dark corner of shunned nutrients, many of us are still not eating enough of it.

While this is the beginning of a nourishing morning smoothie, a key component to a balanced meal is missing—fat! This is a common recipe among health-seekers and smoothie shops alike, but since it's lacking in fat, it will likely leave you feeling hungry in less than two hours.

While these foods are good sources of one type of omega-3 fatty acid, ALA, our body then needs to convert it to EPA and DHA to reap the full omega-3 benefits.

Unfortunately, our bodies aren’t super-efficient at this conversion, meaning that those following exclusively plant-based diets may be falling short when it comes to EPA and DHA.

There are a few reasons you may feel nauseated after taking vitamins, but one common reason is that you take them on an empty stomach.

Many assume that a lack of afternoon energy is inevitable for a desk-dwelling, nine-to-fiver. However, your lunch’s lack of healthy fats might be contributing to this crash.

I’ve worked with clients who report eating a (seemingly) healthy lunch of a kale salad loaded with veggies and grilled chicken breast with a nonfat Greek yogurt on the side. If you skip the dressing, this lunch is seriously lacking in the fat department.

Research suggests that omega-3 fatty acids may help mild mood disorders. Besides including more omega-3s in your diet (see #2 above), reducing the amount of omega-6 fatty acids in the diet may improve the efficacy of those omega-3s.

While omega-6s are essential, most of us consume way too many of this type of fat, which can interfere with omega-3 function in the body. The biggest culprit of omega-6s comes in the form of plant oils (canola, sunflower, safflower, soybean, etc.) found in abundance in packaged foods.