Health organizations like the American Heart Association advise you to avoid saturated and trans fats, and to limit overall fat intake, but do not advocate eliminating fat altogether. That's because fat is actually an important part of a healthful diet. Fat should make up 20 to 35 percent of your daily calories.Dry and flaky skin is one sign of not consuming enough fat. Lack of dietary fat can have many other consequences.
Nutrient Deficiencies
If you do not have adequate fat in your diet it is difficult for your body to absorb certain nutrients. Without it you cannot absorb vitamins K, E and D, says nationally known nutritionist Anne Collins. You also need it to absorb vitamin A and carotenoids, according to the University of Illinois. Vitamin K deficiency leads to increased risk for bruising and bleeding, say the experts at the National Institutes of Health. If you cannot absorb vitamin D, you cannot absorb calcium as well, which impacts your bone health. In children, not getting enough vitamin D can lead to rickets, in which bones become soft and bend. Among adults vitamin D deficiency can cause osteomalacia, which is characterized by muscle weakness and bone pain, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements. If you become deficient in vitamin E you may suffer nerve and muscle damage. Long-term vitamin E deficiency also can hamper your body's ability to fight off infections. With vitamin A deficiency, night blindness is a top sign. Deficiency in vitamin A also diminishes your body's ability to fight infections.
Lack of Energy
You may suffer low energy if you cut too much fat out of your diet, says Joyce Beare-Rogers, a nutrition consultant from Nepean, Canada and lead author for a United Nations University review of dietary fat in developing countries. In fact, fats are a more efficient source of food energy than carbs and proteins. Every fat gram provides your body with nine calories of energy. Proteins and carbs have four calories per gram, says Dr. William Sears, clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. While fats are the most energy-efficient forms of food, they are the slowest form of energy burned in the body, which is why excess calories are stored as fat, according to Merck.
Poor Hormone Production
Your body cannot properly produce hormones without fat, according to Merck. For example, fats regulate sex hormone production, which explains why some very lean teen girls have delayed pubertal development and amenorrhea, or absence of menstruation, says Sears. Fats also are needed because they're structural components of prostaglandins. These hormone-like substances regulate many of your body's functions, including its inflammatory response and blood clotting.
Impaired Growth and Body Health
Kids may not develop and grow as they should if they don't consume enough fats, according to the Nemours Foundation. Adults also need fat to maintain healthy bodies. Without fats, your cells might not function properly, because fats are vital to the membrane that surrounds every cell in your body. Fats also provide the structural components for myelin. This insulating sheath surrounds each nerve fiber in your body. The sheath enables the nerves to carry messages faster.
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