If you're in your late 20s/early 30s like myself, you have grown up with the "wisdom" that fat is bad. When one looks to start losing weight, one of the first things they do is start "lightening" up their cooking by reducing fat. Skim milk, fat free yogurt, and low fat cheese may be staples in your house because they are "healthier" options to their full fat counterparts. Yeah I know that's a lot of air quotes. :)
Is low fat/fat free really healthy?
This is the question on the table isn't it? The truth is, your body NEEDS fat to thrive, especially saturated fat. Yep, you read that right! I said saturated fats. We've been duped into thinking that saturated fats are the bad guys and polyunsaturated fats are good. It's actually quite the opposite. Saturated fats play a critical role in the body for immune function, cell membrane function, kidney and lung function, as well as aiding in protecting the body against infection. Also interestingly enough, human breast milk, which is seen as one of the most healthy foods on the earth, is very high in saturated fat AND cholesterol.
Furthermore, vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat soluble. You absolutely NEED fat to absorb them into your body, metabolize them, and use them for optimal function. If you are eating a fat free diet, you are essentially robbing your body of these important nutrients. These vitamins are also naturally occuring in foods like butter, especially butter that is from grass fed cows. Who doesn't love butter? I'll take any excuse to eat more butter. :) Also fat free and low fat products are not as healthy as they're cracked
up to be for another reason. When natural fat is taken out of a
product, for instance yogurt, it's always replaced with something to
fill the void. That filler is usually sugar. Here is a quote from
Michael Pollan's
Food Rules on this topic.
The forty-year-old campaign to create low-fat and nonfat versions of
traditional foods has been a failure: We’ve gotten fat on low-fat
products. Why? Because removing the fat from foods doesn’t necessarily
make them nonfattening. Carbohydrates can also make you fat, and many
low- and nonfat foods boost the sugars to make up for the loss of flavor
… You’re better off eating the real thing in moderation than bingeing
on “lite” food products packed with sugars and salt.
But I don't want to get fat! Does fat make you fat?
I realize this is anecdotal, but I think there is power in personal testimony, so I'll share mine. When I first started eating saturated fats and throwing conventional wisdom out the window, I admit I was skeptical. I had just had my second child, and had packed on a whopping 45 pounds of weight. The last thing I wanted to do was gain more weight by eating fat. I threw caution to the wind anyway, and ate the heck out of some butter and coconut oil. I figured, hey, even if it did make me gain weight, it would give me killer breast milk supply. Little did I know, eating more fat not only helped my breast milk supply, but the weight began falling off of me. Coconut oil in itself is a wonder food and excellent in aiding in weight loss. My baby boy is now a year old and I am the leanest I have ever been in my adult life. Yes I do attribute some of the weight loss to breast feeding, but I know a large part of it was the increase in healthy fat intake. I also breastfed my first child for a VERY long time and while I did lose weight, it wasn't as much as when I was consuming large amounts of healthy quality fat.
If that doesn't convince you, Eat Fat Lose Fat, is a convincing case for eating quality saturated fats, especially organic virgin coconut oil. I tend to follow the logic that God-given fats are going to be healthier than factory made chemical fats. Call me crazy, but that's how I roll. :)
There are many other things that have contributed to America getting fat such as processed foods, sedentary lifestyles, stress, lack of sleep, etc. Fat (healthy ones at least) is a good guy. Don't lump it in with the other unhealthy junk in our society.
What are healthy fats?
- Butter or ghee: Like I mentioned above, butter is the source of fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Not only is it great for your health, the taste can't be beat. Look for butter that is organic and made from grass fed cows. Vitamin K2 is found richly in grass fed butter, but is almost non-existent in butter derived from cows fed on corn and soy. Ghee is basically clarified butter, where the milk proteins are removed. Those that are avoiding dairy, can usually tolerate ghee.
- Coconut oil: One of my favorite things on the planet for basically EVERYTHING, coconut oil is truly a wonder food. It is shelf stable, aids in weightloss, has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. It is also rich in lauric acid, an immune system booster, which is found abundantly in human breast milk. I use it for a million different things from deodorant to a moisturizer as well as in my cooking. It's excellent in oatmeal and is a great replacement for shortening. Please buy some coconut oil today!
- Animal fats: lard, beef tallow, chicken/duck/goose fat: These are the fats that most people have a problem with. When animals are fed on the pasture and eat primarily grass, their fat is healthy and provides a source of vitamin D. Animal fats also impart great flavor to food. Have no fear, enjoy the fat.
- Palm oil: I've never used this personally, but it is a naturally occurring source of antioxidants and beta carotene.
- Olive oil: Everyone loves olive oil for its flavor and health impact. It has been touted as a healthy fat and is a monounsaturated fat. What most people don't know is that it is very heat sensitive and should only be used in very light cooking, as a finisher to sauces, or in cold dressings so as not to destroy the health properties and can cause free radicals.
- Avocados: Let's just say yum! Not an oil but a food that is primarily fat but is very good for you.
What to Avoid
Polyunsaturated fats: These fats are extremely dangerous but are ironically the ones most doctors recommend. You know them as corn oil, canola oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, and vegetable oil. They are highly processed and contain high levels of Omega-6. Our bodies need an equal amount of Omega 3 and Omega 6 in the body for proper function. The problem is that most people are deficient in Omega 3 and bursting over the top with Omega 6. Omega 3s are found in fish, nuts and algae. Not too many people eat high amounts of these foods, which which means that we are extremely heavy on the Omega 6 side. High amounts of Omega 6 throws our bodies in a tail spin, contributing to a myriad of health problems including but not limited to blood clots, inflammation, high blood pressure, irritation of
the digestive tract, depressed immune function, sterility,
cell proliferation, cancer and weight gain.
Consider this. With the introduction of these factory made and
"heart healthy" polyunsaturated fats, heart disease, obesity and cancer
should have supposedly gone down if these fats were indeed healthy. In
fact, the exact OPPOSITE has happened. These rates are at an all time
high and are climbing. I think we have to ask ourselves if there could
indeed be a coorelation. I propose yes.
Long story short,
avoid these oils.
Trans fats: These are NEVER safe and should be avoided at all costs. They are linked to heart disease, obesity, abdominal fat, diabetes, and cancer. They are found much processed packaged foods. Take caution.
In Summary
Eat the fat! Just kidding...almost. Take caution when choosing your fats. If you get this right, you'll be well on your way to better health.
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