Healthy Fats and Why We Love Them
The kinds of fats you eat and how much you eat are important for your health. Cutting back on some fats can lower the risk of chronic diseases. However, some fats are necessary for good health. It's crucial to balance different types of fats in your diet for optimal health.
Which Fats are Healthy and Which Should You Avoid?
Healthy fats - Monounsaturated fats
Primary sources: Olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds such as almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, pumpkin and sesame seeds.
These are liquid at room temperature and turn cloudy when kept in the refrigerator. People following traditional Mediterranean diets, rich in foods containing monounsaturated fats, have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease which gives rise to the popularity of this way of eating.
Healthy fats - Polyunsaturated fats
Primary sources: Nuts, seeds, flax seed oil, hemp seed oil and oily fish (sardine, mackerel, anchovies, salmon and herring).
These are liquid at both cold and room temperatures. This family of fats includes the omega-3 and omega-6 groups of fatty acids, which your body can’t make. Hence the term essential fatty acids; it is essential to obtain them in your diet for optimal health. Omega-3, specifically, is anti-inflammatory and is found in high concentrations in oily fish and flax seeds.
In moderation - Saturated fat
Primary sources: Animal products including red meat and whole milk dairy products. Other sources are tropical vegetable oils such as coconut and palm oil and foods made with these oils.
These are usually solid at room temperature and have a high melting point. Coconut oil is a saturated fat, but it doesn’t behave like one in the body. It is also heat stable and has a number of beneficial properties making it an excellent choice for high-temperature cooking. Just be sure to get a cold-pressed organic variety.
Saturated fat raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL or ‘bad’) cholesterol that increases your risk of coronary heart disease so saturated fat should be limited in the diet.
Avoid - Trans fats
Primary sources: Vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, baked goods, and other processed foods made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Trans fats are created when liquid vegetable oils are heated during cooking or during the hydrogenation process used in food production. Trans fats raise LDL cholesterol increasing your risk of coronary heart disease, as well as lowering HDL (‘good’ cholesterol).
They are detrimental to your health and should be excluded from your diet.
Avoid fried foods, use organic coconut oil for cooking at home and proactively read food labels on processed foods to identify any unsuspecting sources of hydrogenated fats.
10 benefits of healthy fats:
Support optimal cholesterol levels
Maintain healthy blood sugar levels
Improve skin
Promote good sleep
Optimise brain function
Support healthy inflammatory pathways
Increase satiety
Source of essential fatty acids
Source of essential fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) and phytonutrients
Greater flavour enhancement
Healthy fats sources:
Fruits: avocados, olives
Algae and seaweeds (nori, spirulina, and chlorella)
Seeds: chia, flax, pumpkin, hemp, seed butters
Seed oils: flax oil, chia oil, hemp oil sunflower oil, extra virgin olive oil – ensure
it is cold-pressed, come in a dark bottle. Keep in fridge once open. Do not
heat the oil at high temperature, add to cooked food or salads.
Nuts: almonds, cashew, walnuts, brazil nuts and nut butters.
Oily fish: salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herrings – wild caught
Other: coconut oil, organic grass-fed meat – limit to 2x a week
Easy ways to boost healthy fats
Try to eat oily fish (omega-3) 2‒3 times a week.
Use up to six organic eggs per week.
Add avocado to salad or smoothies.
Snack on raw unsalted nuts and seeds or sprinkle them on food before serving.
Make homemade salad dressings with olive, flax or hempseed oil.
Drizzle a few teaspoons of flax or hemp seed oil into a smoothie or on to food just before serving.
Add olives to salads, stews, pasta dishes.
Stir fry with organic cold-pressed coconut oil - higher smoking point but keep
in mind that frying food in fat promotes free radical formation.
Use organic cold-pressed coconut oil as an alternative to butter.
Add dried seaweeds sprinkles to salad
Add chlorella/spirulina powder to smoothies
