The Role of Fats in Eating Disorder Recovery

Fat is often the most feared macronutrient in eating disorder recovery. For decades, diet culture demonised fat and equated it with increased body fat. But nutritionally, fat is critical for healing!

Fat Supports Hormone Regulation

Dietary fat plays a key role in hormone production and inadequate fat intake can contribute to:

• Disrupted menstrual cycles

• Low energy

• Mood instability

• Poor satiety

For individuals recovering from restrictive eating patterns, increasing dietary fat is often necessary to restore hormonal function. Not only that…

Fat Helps You Feel Satisfied

Meals that include fat are more satisfying and stabilising. Without fat, meals may leave you physically full but not truly satisfied, increasing the likelihood of feeling out of control, grazing or bingeing later.

Adding fats such as olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocado, butter, or full-fat dairy can improve meal adequacy and reduce food obsession.

Fat Is Not a Threat - It’s Protection

The body needs fat for brain health, vitamin absorption (A, D, E, K), and cellular repair. Chronic low-fat eating can keep the body in a stressed, undernourished state. Including fat consistently isn’t unhealthy.

For many people in recovery, it’s a missing piece of stabilisation.