We eat for many reasons. Our main reason is typically simply to eat and feel full. Our body constantly uses energy to do things and maintain the functions we’re used to and eventually needs more fuel. We can get that with incredibly simple food though. Many of us prefer our food a bit more complex than things like oatmeal. We also eat for enjoyment. All the cultures of the world have found ways to combine the spices and other ingredients in their region to create memorable dishes with complex flavors that fill our stomachs pleasantly at the same time they provide us with tasty enjoyment. Unfortunately, some of the best ways to add flavor to food involve products full of fat. Is this necessarily a bad thing? We’re going to discuss how you can enjoy fat-based spreads responsibly so that you can still enjoy food without feeling guilty about adding a little flavor.

The Necessity of Fat
Most of us are used to a world where the idea constantly streamed at us via all forms of media is that “Fat is bad”. There is some truth to this as excess fat in your diet can lead to weight gain and that can lead to long-term health problems. People don’t actually pause to add the “excess” part to the general cry of alarm though. Your body genuinely needs you to enjoy fatty things now and again as it serves a function in your body. Eating fat helps keep your body operating smoothly. In particular, some fatty acids are actually key to having healthy looking hair and skin. It also plays a large part in helping regulate how much your eat. For better or worse, your brain finds it easier to understand that you’ve eaten when the food has some fat in it. It triggers the release of chemicals telling you “Okay, that’s enough.” Not getting an appropriate amount of fat in your diet can cause a lot of problems for your body ranging from difficulty transporting nutrients, to chills, and even mounting difficulties with mental focus. Fat can be okay for you.

Butter
Don’t shun your butter! This is one of the culprits people most often credit with causing weight issues. Butter is, admittedly, around 80% fat in most cases with the rest of it being taken up by water. We use it routinely in cooking to add richness to the flavor, but butter is frequently used as a basic spread for some foods. The key thing to remember is that butter utilizes animal products for its fat and is generally nothing more than refined milk fat and water. However, butter isn’t all bad. It has both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in it that are linked to positive health benefits and helping keep parts of your body working smoothly. The downside is that these fats are outweighed by the saturated fat in the butter. Saturated fats help give you some of the rich flavor of the butter, but are also the fats that cause health issues when you eat too much. You may want to consider limiting the amount of butter you use in your food. You can still enjoy it, but it may be better to cook with than to routinely eat on things.

Margarine
A lot of us turn around to reach for margarine when trying to avoid butter. This makes perfect sense given a lot of margarines advertise themselves as a healthier alternative to eating butter, but in truth, they typically have similar levels of fat to butter. This is what lets them keep the similar texture to butter. The larger difference between the two is that margarine is derived from vegetable oils and as a result can vary wildly in the number of saturated fats found in the product. A good general read to determine how much saturated fat there is in a margarine is to press into it. Firmer margarines generally have more saturated fats in them. In general, margarine is a decent alternative to anyone looking to still enjoy a spread derived from fat as you can simply favor lighter margarines for bagels and other foods that benefit from a spread. Just make sure not to overdo it as even too much margarine can eventually be bad for you.

Fat is a crucial element to everyone’s diet. Your body begins to have increasing problems when you’re not eating enough fat in your diet. Our culture may constantly shout about the dangers, but eating fat-based spreads in controlled amounts isn’t going to kill you. Those trying to lose weight to improve their cholesterol might want to favorite margarines though. Regardless of the spread’s type, fats will keep making our diets richer in more ways than one.