Where’s the fat? A question I often ask my clients when they tell me what they eat in a day.
Although most have heard that it is now okay to add fat into our diets, I still feel like many of you hesitate to do just that.
Why? Because most of us were raised in the low fat, high carb era and for some reason we still have it in the back of our head that fat is the devil. Many believe that if they eat a tablespoon of butter it’s going to give them an instant heart attack or an extra pound on their ass over night. Well let me tell you right now that is not the case. One of the best things I ever did for my health was start adding fat to my diet not only did my blood sugar finally stabilize but my hunger levels dropped and I felt satisfied after eating a meal!
Still not convinced?
Well lets briefly take a look at the history of fat; up until until 1980 the obesity epidemic was 12-14% and by the late 1980’s it shot up to 22-25% DOUBLE in a ten year period. There were two major changes in the country during that period. One was, high-fructose corn syrup which became the primary caloric sweetener in America. The other was that they started pushing the low fat diet and products such as skim milk, breads, pasta and lean meats became the staple of North American diets. Good bye tasty, beautiful butter hello spreadable, plastic margarine.
Fast forward to 2016 and our obesity rates have now climbed to 30-35%! But the good news is doctors and science are finally realizing that we made a huge mistake in demonizing fat and now its back!
Good fats that is; which include grass fed butter or ghee, olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, fatty fish, grass fed meat and nut oils have now been shown to have a multitude of health benefits.
-Good fats have been shown to provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone like substances. Helloooo ladies we need our hormones!
-As far as weight loss goes; when you eat these fats with part of a meal, they slow down absorption so that you actually can go longer without feeling hungry, BONUS! Unlike carbohydrates which the body quickly uses up and sends that hangry (hungry and angry) signal out to eat more carbs.
-Fat helps us to absorb important fat soluble vitamins A,D, E and K by acting as a carrier for these nutrients. These particular vitamins help our skin and bones, something most women care deeply about!
-Most importantly fat makes food taste dam good, which means your more likely to feel satiated after a meal. This in turn helps the after dinner sweet tooth and late night binge eating, another BONUS.
Worried about your cholesterol levels going up?
Don’t be, it’s been well established now that stearic acid (found in cocoa and animal fat) has no adverse effects on your cholesterol levels, and actually gets converted in your liver into the monounsaturated fat called oleic acid. The other two main acids; palmitic and lauric acid, do raise total cholesterol. However, since they raise “good” cholesterol as much or more than “bad” cholesterol, you’re still actually lowering your risk of heart disease. More on that here
Try to incorporate at least 1 tablespoon of good fats to every meal.
Once again good sources of healthy fats include; Grass fed butter or ghee, olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, dry roasted or raw nuts and seeds, fatty fish, grass fed meats and nut oils.
All fat is not created equal!
Lets be clear on something; fats from the list above are great but there are many fats that are detrimental to our health. These include cottonseed, soybean, canola, safflower, sunflower, peanut, grape seed, vegetable, margarine and conventional raised meat products.
These fats are highly processed and very high in Omega 6. A diet high in omega-6 is associated with an increase in inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and cancer just to name a few!
Want more check out Mark Sissons “Definitive Guide to Fats”
I challenge you to invite more fat into your diet!
“Hey butter I invite you to jump on my carrots” and see what happens……you may just enjoy that steamed carrot just a little bit more.
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