Fat Isn't the Enemy (The 90s Lied to Us)
Diana VeechSnackWells, Baked Lays, and the great butter conspiracy of my childhood.
I grew up in the 90s, like I imagine most of you dear readers have. Which means I grew up in the golden era of fat free everything.
SnackWells cookies that tasted like cardboard but came in a green box so they felt virtuous. Baked Lays that had the audacity to call themselves chips, but inevitably lead to extra trips to the bathroom. The Activia commercials with Jamie Lee Curtis (hella trustworthy authority figure) looking directly into the camera and making digestive health feel like a personality trait. Fat free salad dressing on sad iceberg lettuce. Margarine instead of butter because apparently we had decided as a society that a science experiment in a tub was healthier than something that came from a cow.
It was a whole thing.
And then I got to college. And my roommate put butter on her waffles. Real butter. Just sitting there on top, melting into every little square, golden and glossy and completely life changing. I cocked my head to the side in wonder, plopped some on my waffles, and it was like that moment in Ratatouille where Remy eats the lighteniny mushroom.
I legit called my parents and asked them why they didn't love me. Why they had kept this joy from my life. *cue the tears*
I am only partially joking.
Here is the thing: the 90s fat free obsession did not make us healthier. It made us hungrier, it made our food taste worse, and it launched a decades long fear of a macronutrient that our bodies genuinely need to function. Fat was never the villain. It was just misunderstood.
Let's fix that.
What Fat Actually Does in Your Body
Before we get into the good stuff versus the less good stuff, let's talk about why fat exists in the first place. Because it is not just sitting there making your jeans tight. It is doing real, important work.
Here is what fat is actually doing for you every single day:
🥑 Providing energy — fat is one of your body's primary fuel sources, especially during lower intensity activity and rest. Your body literally runs on it.
🥑 Protecting your organs — your heart, kidneys, and liver are all cushioned by a layer of fat that absorbs shock and keeps them in place. That is not excess. That is biology.
🥑 Supporting cell growth — every single cell in your body has a membrane made partially of fat. You need dietary fat to build and maintain those cells.
🥑 Regulating cholesterol and blood pressure — certain fats actively help lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol. The right fats are literally good for your heart.
🥑 Absorbing fat soluble vitamins — vitamins A, D, E, and K cannot be absorbed by your body without fat present. Eating a salad with fat free dressing? You are missing most of the nutritional benefit of the vegetables. Put the olive oil back on.
🥑 Hormone production and regulation — this one is especially important for women and anyone with a hormonal system, which is all of us. Dietary fat plays a direct role in producing and regulating hormones. Too little fat in your diet and your hormones will let you know about it.
The Two Types Worth Knowing About
Not all fat is created equal and this is where it gets a little more nuanced. But I promise it is not complicated.
Unsaturated Fat — The One We Should Be Eating More Of
This is the fat that does the most good in your body. It comes primarily from plants and fish and it actively works in your favor — lowering bad cholesterol, raising good cholesterol, and supporting heart and brain health.
Where to find it on your plate:
🥑 Avocados and avocado oil
🥑 Nuts and seeds, especially walnuts, almonds, and pumpkin seeds
🥑 Olive oil
🥑 Fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel
🥑 Coconut oil which is technically a saturated fat but worth a mention because it behaves differently than animal saturated fats.
Saturated Fat — The One We Were Told to Fear
Here is where the 90s really did us dirty. Saturated fat got lumped in with trans fats and processed junk and was declared the enemy. But the nuanced truth is that saturated fat in moderation is perfectly fine and in some cases genuinely good for you.
Where it shows up:
🥑 Red meat and pork
🥑 Butter and cheese
🥑 Full fat dairy
🥑 Coconut products
The general guidance is that around 30% of your daily calories from fat is reasonable, with no more than 10% coming from saturated sources. That is not a ban. That is a balance.
And speaking of balance — butter on your waffles? Completely fine. Revolutionary, even. Please see the intro do this post.
What About Trans Fats?
Trans fats are the ones actually worth avoiding. They are artificially produced through a process called hydrogenation and show up in heavily processed foods, some margarines, and a lot of the fat free era snack foods that replaced real fat with something arguably much worse. The FDA has largely phased them out of the food supply at this point but it is worth checking labels on heavily processed packaged foods.
This is also why the 90s fat free products were not actually healthier. When you take fat out of food it tastes like nothing. So manufacturers replaced it with sugar, additives, and in some cases trans fats. The SnackWells cookie was not a health food. It was a marketing triumph.
The Fat Free Era's Biggest Lie
Here is the part that really gets me.
When you eat fat, it slows down digestion and keeps you full longer. When you eat fat free versions of things, which are almost always higher in sugar to compensate for the lost flavor, you get a fast energy spike and then you crash and you are hungry again an hour later.
The fat free yogurt with 20 grams of sugar was never going to keep you full until lunch. The full fat Greek yogurt with 5 grams of sugar will. This is not a coincidence. This is just how food works.
Fat keeps you satisfied. Fat carries flavor. Fat helps your body absorb the nutrients from everything else on your plate. The 90s version of healthy eating removed the very thing that made food work the way it was supposed to.
The Quick Rule
If you take nothing else from this post, take this:
Eat real fat from real sources in reasonable amounts.
Avoid heavily processed fake fats.
Stop being afraid of butter.
That is it. That is the whole thing.
Olive oil on your vegetables. Avocado on your toast. Full fat yogurt in your overnight oats. Butter on your waffles. All of it is fine. All of it is good. All of it is your body getting what it actually needs.
The WRM Connection
The Well Rounded Meals cookbook was built around real ingredients including real fats — olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, bone broth. No fat free substitutions, no ingredient lists that read like a chemistry textbook. Just real food that works the way food is supposed to work.
If you want more of this kind of cooking in your life, you know where to find us. Free shipping on orders over $30, always.
Grab you copy here!
Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist or dietitian. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making significant changes to your diet, especially if you have specific health conditions or concerns.