The difference between perception and reality can be significant. Take, for example, the diets that so many Americans subject themselves to. Everyone thinks they're doing the right thing by reaching for the products that are "low fat" or "no fat."

But as I've told you for years, in spite of the jihad being waged against it, fat is good for you.

And now - finally - there are members of the mainstream healthcare community that are actually willing to come over to my side of this argument. It's about time.

Dr. Louis Aronne, the founder of the Comprehensive Weight Control Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital, made the heretical statement that "fat is not a poison." Aronne went on to say, "People think that eating raw food, and eating no fat at all, is the best way to go, and that's not necessarily true."

After a statement like that, I would have thought fanatics would be chasing him with torches and pitchforks.

As a reader of the Daily Dose, this information is old hat to you by this point.

Many of the low-fat and no-fat diets popular today have resulted in a drop in cholesterol… but the problem is, it's been the good kind of cholesterol that's fallen.

Other studies that I've told you about have shown that people who were not following low-fat diets actually tended to lose 44 percent more weight than those who cut their consumption of fat.

And in spite of its widespread acclaim and effectiveness, the celebrated Atkins Diet is now widely regarded as a path to heart disease (which, by the way, is completely untrue).

Aronne even points out that drizzling vegetables with a bit of fat (like a nice, warm and melted pat of butter, for example) can actually increase the absorption of beta-carotenes and helps to increase the amount of healthy substances which are delivered into your bloodstream.

Fat has become a four-letter word in our society (much like cholesterol), and it's led to people making the mistake of going to extreme measures to removing the stuff from their diet.

Meanwhile, in cultures whose food is extremely high in animal fats - notably the Greeks, the Japanese, and the French - the people have incredibly low rates of ailments like heart disease and hypertension.

Yet these scourges are rampant here in the U.S.

Don't let anyone tell you that animal fats are bad for you. They boost your energy and your immunity. They help your body build stronger and more resilient cells. They contain chemicals that help your brain stay focused, and even contain concentrated levels of "good" HDL cholesterol.

And oh yeah… they taste pretty good, too.

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