Have you noticed that almost every popular diet out there restricts carbs, fat, calories, or some combination of these? The newsletter from last month touched on the importance of carbs, and why restricting them may not be the best decision. This month, we’re diving into the importance of dietary fat.

Public opinion on dietary fat has changed pretty drastically over the years, from being a macronutrient one would fear, to being all the rage with the keto diet. Although public opinion is a very powerful thing, the ideal amount of fat intake is likely somewhere in the middle.

When we eat a food that has fat in it, our body breaks it down into fatty acids to provide energy. Of the three macronutrients, fat contains the most calories per gram, so it can provide a lot of energy! Besides just providing energy, fat is also needed to absorb fat-soluble vitamins, like vitamins A, D, E and K. Fats are needed in the structure of hormones and cell membranes, and eating enough fat supports the health of hair and skin cells. Some fats can even help reduce inflammation in the body.

Eating a meal that contains dietary fat tends to feel more satisfying than a low- or non-fat meal. One of the ways fat does this is by impacting the “mouthfeel” of a food, or how the food chemically and physically interacts with the mouth. Fat also slows gastric emptying, which means you feel full for longer.

There are many types of fats, but for the sake of keeping things simple we are going to focus on saturated fat and unsaturated fat. Saturated fat is typically from animal products like the fat in meat, butter, or cheese, but coconut oil and palm oil also contain saturated fats. Unsaturated fats generally come from plant foods, and can be found in olive oil, avocado, nuts, nut butters, seeds, and fish. Most of the fats we require can be made by the body, but some must be obtained through our food intake. These are called essential fatty acids and include Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids.

A general goal is for 20-35% of your total daily calories to come from healthy fats, such as unsaturated fats, and fewer than 10% of calories per day from saturated fats. Eating unsaturated fat instead of saturated fat may help reduce cholesterol in the body.

In a small bowl, smash the avocado. Add the lemon juice and a pinch of salt; mix well and set aside.

Poach your eggs, and when they are sitting in the ice bath, toast your bread.

Once your bread is toasted, spread the avocado on both slices and add the smoked salmon to each slice.

Carefully transfer the poached eggs to their respective toasts.

Place slice of tomato on each toast, then hit the toasts with some everthing bagel seasoning. Garnish with microgreens.

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