The Skinny On Fats
How to Ditch the Low, No, and Faux Fats
As you continue to think differently about the foods you eat, I encourage you to continue to fatten up your diet!
Contrary to what we’ve been told for years – and what your doctor may tell you, it’s time to stop fearing fat and start learning about its long-term benefits. Healthy fats help your body - and brain - thrive.
The fats. It's really the type of fat that makes the difference. Processed oils, such as vegetable shortening or anything made with partially hydrogenated oils and/or vegetable and seed oils (canola, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, etc.), are actually refined oils extracted from seeds, then treated with high heat and chemicals to give them a long, stable shelf life. All of the nutritional benefits have been processed out. Processed snacks like chips, crackers, and microwave popcorn all contain these types of oils, as do many salad dressings, frozen vegetables, and other prepared foods.
Crowd out with foods containing good fats, such as virgin olive, coconut, and avocado oils, as well as adding in olives, nuts, and avocados. Ghee makes the cut, ideally, when you buy organic or small producer/farmers’ market butter made from the milk of grass-fed ruminants, such as cows, sheep, and goats, or you can make your own ghee.
Fat is brain food. Though it may seem counterintuitive, your body actually needs fat to function optimally. Healthy fats are absolutely essential for every function of your body and brain, which are roughly 60% fat. So fat is literally brain food. Healthy fats balance mood, hormones, sleep, and metabolism and reduce extreme glycemic highs and lows while keeping you full longer and minimizing brain fog. Fat helps keep hair, skin, and nails in good condition, improves gut health to better absorb fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K, boosts immunity, and eases digestion.
When you eat healthy fats, you actually burn more fat! Visceral fats, which are the dangerous fat that accumulates around your organs (from sugar converting to fat stores), actually begins to melt. You have more sustained energy thanks to converting fat to fuel rather than sugar.
Eat the rainbow and add the fat. The key to putting fat on your plate is to always think "real food" first. Meaning naturally fat-rich, unprocessed foods in their original state. A serving of protein plus plenty of non- or low-starch veggies. Leafy greens and colorful veggies are the simplest and fastest way to fill up your plate. Drizzle with olive oil, top with avocado or nuts, and dig in. They digest more slowly, so your hunger-regulating hormones have time to catch up and send satiating messages to your brain.
The skinny. All you really need to do is add healthy fats to each meal, always with an eye towards keeping sugars and unhealthy starches low. Buy nutritious whole foods and focus on eating satiating fats from the healthiest plants and animals possible. Feeling great on the inside shows on the outside.
