No fat at all on raw, good or bad?

[Double Helix]

I'd presonally prefer eating avocadoes over seeds if I was looking for fat. Although a whole avocado is a whopping 30 grams of fat, you need to make sure you are getting a lot of calories, or just eat a few slices.

Can you try inputting your daily intake on www.fitday.com and then telling us your ratio? I think you will be quite surprised that you are getting fat in your diet. If you aren't eating any overt fat, like nuts, seeds, avocado, etc. then you are probably getting somewhere between 6-8% which is perfect, as the healthiest amount is 10% and under.

And to many people's suprise and astonishment, the BEST fat (yes that "good" fat) is found in all WHOLE FRESH plant foods, in perfect amounts. People don't realize that there is fat in greens and bananas and stuff like that, it's low but it's in there.

[healthyme]

I think that just listening to your body closely will work. I eat a lot by intuition and just crave an avacado a few times a week. The flax seed, well, I take about 1 tablespoon a day and that seems to have worked well. My husband has had really bad skin but this regimine has really cleared up his skin in just 4 weeks. He was considering going to the dermatologist but now he's going to continue the flax seed in his a.m. smoothie.
It's so hard sometimes to regulate what you read and hear about, there's so much information. Listening to your own body, you know it better than anyone, should lead you down the path you need to take. Extremes in diet or anything never seem to work to our benefit.

[dandelion]

Don't we need fatty foods to absorb the fat soluble vitamins like vit A,D,E and K? vit D for example is essential for good bone health, so it seems we need at least some fats for healthy bones! I am all for low fat, but I think we need some. Green vegetables are loaded with vitamin K, so it looks they also need a little fat.

[Double Helix]

Originally Posted by dandelion

Don't we need fatty foods to absorb the fat soluble vitamins like vit A,D,E and K? vit D for example is essential for good bone health, so it seems we need at least some fats for healthy bones! I am all for low fat, but I think we need some. Green vegetables are loaded with vitamin K, so it looks they also need a little fat.

If you are eating a whole fresh plant food diet without supplements, seasonings or condiments, the actual foods you are eating are naturally providing you with everything you need in order to use all of those nutrients.

So, for instance, if you eat bananas you don't have to have a tablespoon of pure fat in order to absorb or assimilate the potassium. We never had to before.

If you ever get to read The China Study, you'll see that countries with a very low fat consumption also have extremely low osteoporosis and cancer and other diseases. It is the high protein in countries with osteoporosis that causes calcium to be pulled out of bones.

[RawFoodGrl]

We definitely do need some fats in our diet, and I don't think it's healthy to drastically cut them out.

That said, in the beginning there is always detox, and sometimes it can be hard to tell if a reaction is to missing vitamins and nutrients or the detox process.

The intuition part comes in time - but also each one of us is different and can benefit from eating what works for us (as there is no single one way to eat that will be effective for all people at all times).

I've been reading a fascinating book called Rawsome! by Brigitte Mars. Besides other interesting information and recipes, she goes through all the vitamins, essential fatty acids and proteins, listing what foods contain these things.

I thought I pretty much had everything covered, but realized there are a few areas I do not, so I am adding a few more foods to my diet.

This book might help you feel confident that you're getting all your nutritional needs covered.