Fat Soluble

Fat is good.  Natural fats produced by animals and plants are good and necessary.  They soften skin, they make hair shiny, and they signal fullness to our brains.  Now, another important reason to make sure fats are included in meals:

Vegetables have fat soluble nutrients in them.  This means fats are needed for the body to make use of certain nutrients.  If you don't have fat, you don't get the full benefit of these veggies.  So it's easy to say that in order to reduce calories, we'll cut out the butter or olive oil or salad dressing on our veggies.  However, this fact about fat soluble nutrients shows how it is possible for a person to be the slender picture of health and malnourished, missing out on many important nutrients for want of a little fat.  

Now, obviously, you can't go overboard, especially with saturated animal fats.  But dressing your salad or veggies with olive oil, oil and vinegar, or a modest serving of butter won't kill you.  In the long run, you'll do your body good.