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Vitamin deficiencies
Your body needs dietary fat to help it
absorb fat-soluble vitamins such as
vitamins A, D, E, and K. Not getting enough of these essential nutrients can,
among other things, increase your risk of:
- night blindness
- infertility
- swollen gums
- easy bruising
- dry hair
- loose teeth
- depression
- muscle pain
- blood
clots under your nails
Dermatitis (skin inflammation)
ResearchTrusted Source has found that fat is an
essential part of the structure of your skin cells and helps your skin maintain
its moisture barrier. If you don’t get enough dietary fat, it could affect the
health of your skin and lead to dermatitis.
“Dermatitis” is a general term to describe
inflamed skin. Dermatitis caused by a dietary fat deficiency often presents
itself as dry, scaly rashes.
Slow wound healing
According to researchTrusted Source, your body needs fat to create many
important molecules that control your body’s inflammatory response. Low dietary
fat intake could disrupt this response and lead to slow wound healing.
Deficiencies in fat-soluble vitamins
like vitamin C and vitamin D can also cause wounds to heal more slowly than
they should.
Hair loss
Fatty molecules in your body
called prostaglandins promote hair
growth. Consuming too little essential fat could change your hair texture,
and researchTrusted Source suggests it could also increase
the risk of hair loss on your scalp or eyebrows.
Frequent sickness
Severely restricting fat intake can
weaken your immune system and lead to more frequent illnesses.
Your body needs dietary fat to produce
several molecules that stimulate the activity of your immune cells.
Essential fatty acids are also
important for the growth of immune cells. In particular, your body needs the
omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid and the omega-6
fatty acid linoleic acid for this purpose.
Tips for creating a more balanced
diet
The USDA recommends getting up to 35 percent of your
calories from fat. This means:
- up
to 97 grams of fat per day in a 2,500-calorie diet
- up
to 66 grams of fat per day in a 2,000-calorie diet
- around
50 grams of fat per day in a 1,500-calorie diet
But not all fats are created equal.
It’s best to avoid eating foods that contain trans fats whenever possible.
It’s fine to include some saturated
fats — such as eggs, meat, or dairy — in your diet. But try to get most of your
fat intake from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated sources such as:
- olives
and olive oil
- nuts
and seeds
- fatty
fish and fish oil
- avocado
Your body needs dietary fat for many
biological processes. If you don’t get enough fat in your diet, you may notice
symptoms such as dry rashes, hair loss, a weaker immune system, and issues
related to vitamin deficiencies.
To help maintain good health, most of the fats you eat should be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats. These fats are typically found in fatty fish, nuts and seeds, olive oil, and avocados.
