Fat has become an obsession with our modern day society. We monitor how much fat we consume; we measure the fat content of our body; we sweat about how our clothes fit on a day to day basis; many people are so consumed with the need to rid themselves of fat that they undergo painful and potentially dangerous surgery and medical procedures to eliminate fat and lose weight. We have eating disorders related to our desire to be thin.

Have you ever wondered why the heck fat was invented or if it is just another punishment upon mankind for Eve eating the apple?

It is hard to fathom, as we diet and workout to sculpt our bodies and reduce body fat, that fat is actually both a defense and a survival mechanism that is natural for our species going back to early day man. Our bodies have a genetic need to store fat for a rainy day when food is not plentiful and based on our heritage the body also has a tendency to store fat where our ancestors needed it most even though it may cause other health concerns like cardiovascular disease.

Our desire to lose weight sometimes triggers a genetic backlash and actually makes it harder to shed fat if we are not careful about the way we go about the process. For instance, a sudden, drastic reduction in caloric intake can actually cause the body to go into starvation mode and hold onto fat stores as a defense against starvation.

Fat has some beneficial properties for the body that make some amount of fat a necessity no matter how ugly we may think it looks. For example, fat is necessary for the body to absorb, process and utilize fat soluble vitamins such as A, K and D; fat helps us regulate our body temperatures by creating an insulating factor which is why the body stores it all around the body and even on the scalp; fat provides a protective cushion for our organs, for women of child bearing age it provides not only a cushion but a nutritional buffer for the woman to have a child and then nurse it without fully depleting the energy of the body, which is why it is normally lodged in the abdomen, hips and thighs.

Fat is, of course, created by excess calories consumed, unburned fuel and energy within the body. Calories come from carbohydrates, protein and dietary fat – these nutrients are consumed, broken down, digested and then absorbed by the body via the gastrointestinal system, each in a different way. Carbs and protein are distributed to the cells of our body via the liver; fats are distributed via the lymphatic system.

Carbohydrates are the nutrients that are most readily converted into energy. Because it rapidly becomes the body’s preferred fuel – glucose; it is broken down in the digestive tract and distributed to our cells as energy until the need subsides and then the remaining glucose is converted to temporary energy and readily available energy called liquid glycogen. Otherwise, it is converted to fatty acids and stored in fat cells in various areas of the body.

Our body breaks protein down into amino acids and distributes it to the cells throughout our body for a variety of purposes including cell repair and new cell creation. Whatever the cells do not absorb for use becomes energy and then if unused, becomes fatty acid and stored as fat cells.

The body converts dietary fat into fatty acids and glycerol before distributing it in the form of triglycerides to meet a variety of special needs such as allowing fat soluble vitamins and nutrients to be metabolized. However, since the fat is not the bodies most readily convertible form of energy and it is only slightly convertible to glucose, a great deal of the dietary fat consumed does end up being stored as body fat in adipose tissue.

Fat stores in our bodies are converted to energy upon demand once the body uses up its glycogen. Glycogen stores aren’t even tapped in to until the body has used up its readily converted energy source, glucose. In order to tap into these stores and reduce them, the caloric intake must be less than energy demand. However, the other key factor is to provide the body with enough good dietary nutrients that the starvation defense mechanism doesn’t kick in to retain fat reserves. Our bodies have a continuous number of fat cells no matter how fat or thin we are. Fat cells are usually established in the womb and either grow or shrink depending on our weight.