In this article you will learn:
How to make healthy choices for fat sources
What various options are and what to look for
The top things to avoid when it comes to dietary fat decisions
Lazy Author Alert:
This article is based on research and years of practice, but if you want the full details then grab yourself a copy of my nutrition book, where I share precise action plans, over 1500+ scientific references and a lot more information. Remember also that digesting your food (like fats) is just as important as eating quality amounts of it, and most people have impaired digestion which leads to bile and liver issues, cholesterol imbalance, reflux and other problems. That's why I recommend a comprehensive digestive enzyme so that the changes you make can work for your best health.
The Details:
This is going to be Part 2 of a 4 Part series. If you need help implementing these principles, don't be afraid to reach out. Below are my guiding rules for making healthy, lifelong choices with fats. Yum!
Remove inflammatory fats from your diet that are high in polyunsaturated fat like canola oil, soybean oil, vegetable oil and safflower oil. If you use sunflower oil, make sure it is “high oleic” and all of your oils should be organic and from a reputable source. Try to limit your intake of polyunsaturated fats from foods and get to know which ones are the major offenders from what you like to eat.
Try to store your oils in dark, glass containers and avoid using plastics as those can leech into your oil.
Consume predominantly high quality saturated and monounsaturated fats like avocados, coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil, grass-fed ghee and butter.
Make sure that your beef is grass-fed, eggs and pork are pasture raised and try to avoid poultry or minimize it. Eat fatty fish that is wild caught like salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines, but try to get them fresh more of the time than canned. If they are canned, make sure it’s not in canola or soybean oil.
Avoid fast food and deep fried food as these are loaded in toxic, inflammatory fats. Also avoid “fake” butter, margarine and dairy imitations because they are loaded with inflammatory plant oils.
Invest in a high quality Omega 3 supplement. Research suggests that Omega 3 from algae sources is absorbed by the body better than down-the-line sources like krill(1) which can also be contaminated with mercury and other toxins. Because algae is the first in the chain to produce the Omega 3, it is a preferable source to obtain this vital nutrient. For a high quality supplement that fits these parameters, check out this one.
Eat plenty of quality fat with every meal to reduce the need for snacking and stabilize your blood sugar from crashing.
Keep tabs with your health professional on fat and inflammation markers within the first 6 weeks of trying a new approach to your diet and see how you do. Get your genes analyzed by Self Decode and see how your body individually responds to fat. After a few weeks of getting into the rhythm, you can also create a food log for 3-4 days to see what amount of carbs, fats and protein you are eating. Percentages will be different for everyone. For me, 70% was too high even with my love of fat. Today my calorie breakdown is roughly about 25% protein, 45% fat and 35% carbs, but these numbers can fluctuate depending on my energy needs, how much I’m doing and so on. Sometimes I eat a lot, some days I eat less. Again, forget the numbers and go with principles instead — your specific percentage will turn out just fine.
Watch your intake of various nuts and seeds and always do your research. Some nuts are high in monounsaturated fats, like cashews and almonds, while others like walnuts and sunflower seeds are high in polyunsaturated fat. If you are going to eat nuts, make sure you consume the kinds higher in mono or saturated fats (macadamias, almonds and pistachios for example) and make sure that they are always raw and organic. Refrigerate them for storage and do not leave them out. These are all important considerations that affect the quality of the building blocks you are putting into your body through these foods. If something with loads of polyunsaturated fat, like walnuts for example, has been roasted, fried or otherwise prepared, that means that the fat has been denatured through heat and become inflammatory. This is why snacking nuts are just not a good idea unless they are raw, organic and taken care of like I just described. This includes nut butters and any other version of this food. Cheap nut mixes are full of inflammatory fats and, worse, great candidates for mold toxins.
When cooking with fats always opt for coconut oil and ghee because they are the most stable, with avocado and olive oil next in line. Avoid cooking, frying or grilling with any vegetable oils and, if you go out, always ask what oil the food was cooked in. If it was some cheap shit, just get something else.
Go to Part 3: Carbs
References
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24261532
