Fat is Your Friend: 14 Ways
You’ve probably heard by now that fat is “no longer” bad for you.
Read that again. Truth is, it never really was — at least not the traditional fats we’d been consuming for centuries.
At some point in our recent history (*cough* 1960s *cough*), governmental agencies suggested low-fat foods and to avoid things like red meat and butter, blaming them for heart disease. The reasons why are deep and complex, and I suggest this book to anyone looking for an in-depth analysis.
Kinds of Fats
The chemical formula for fats includes long chains of hydrocarbons, or carbon molecules attached to hydrogen molecules. They’re classified based upon how many double bonds exist in this chemical makeup. The presence of a double bond makes the chain “less saturated” because it removes hydrogen atoms.
Saturated = no double bonds at all (so it is “saturated” with hydrogen atoms), usually found in a solid form at room temperature and therefore are less susceptible to damage from air or heat exposure
Monounsaturated = one double bond in the entire molecule, usually found in a liquid form at room temperature, and can be more susceptible to damage at the location of the double bond
Polyunsaturated = multiple double bonds throughout the molecule, therefore always in liquid form, and are very susceptible to damage due to multiple points of access
Omega-3 = polyunsaturated fat distinguished by the first double bond found at the third carbon atom in the chain
Omega-6 = also polyunsaturated, also distinguished by the same principle, except at the sixth carbon
We typically want more omega-3’s than omega-6’s, in a ratio ranging from 1:1 — 1:4. (Unfortunately, standard American diets are more like 1:20.)
When found naturally, most unsaturated double bonds produce a “cis” formation — meaning at the location of the double bond, the remainders of the chain on either side are positioned in the same direction.
Trans fats are the commonly-known name of the fats artificially produced to mimic natural fats, except that in this case, at the position of the double bond, the remainders of the chain are in different directions/positions, or “trans” configuration. This positioning is what makes trans fats so inflammatory and problematic.
For now, let’s keep it short and sweet, and discuss the ins and out as to why fats are friends, not foes.
Are All Fats Friends, Not Foes?
Absolutely not. All fats are different, and there’s a TON of unhealthy, industrialized, highly-processed ones that wreak inflammatory havoc in your body (like the artificial trans fats mentioned above).
Additionally, not everyone tolerates fats equally. Some people are predisposed to struggling with consuming a certain percentage of saturated fat in their daily diets, while others thrive on a high-fat diet. Even folks without gallbladders have stories across the spectrum of good and bad experiences in consuming and digesting fats.
We are, remember, bio-individuals who process everything differently. You’re even “bio-individual” now compared to five years ago, because your body has changed so much during that time, regardless of your age.
Bio-individuality is both a gift and a curse, in that you’re able to tailor your diet and lifestyle to your needs, but those needs are always changing and you’ll always need to tweak them.
That’s typically why nutritional therapy is needed — it’s hard to keep up with your body’s ever-changing demands, and sometimes it just might be too difficult to see the solution, being so involved in the problem.
While bio-individuality always plays a role, there is a bare-minimum-removal list I utilize within my practice, for certain fats that cause health problems for most people. If we can get a good baseline for our human genes across the board by removing the inflammatory fats from this list, we can begin tailoring the good stuff to each bio-individual after that. Removing the fats below is important to help narrow down sources of inflammation, before considering other suspects like food sensitivities or immune system challenges.
I encourage my clients to avoid the following fats:
Canola (rapeseed) oil
Corn oil
Soybean oil
Peanut oil
Safflower oil
Cottonseed oil
Sunflower oil
Grapeseed oil
Anything labeled “vegetable oil,” “margarine,” “shortening,” etc. You can read on about it here!
Given proper growing or raising practices, the best fats for cooking with, eating, and general overall consumption are:
Seafood
Coconut oil
Avocado oil
Egg yolks
Olive oil
Butter/ghee
Pork lard
Duck fat
Beef tallow
Bacon fat
Macadamia and/or other nut oils
Sesame oil
14 Benefits of Healthy Fats
Cell membranes with strong structural integrity.
What does this mean?
As living animals, our cell membranes are composed of a “double phospholipid layer” that regulates what goes in and out. AKA, the linings that protect our cells and keep them strong and healthy are literally made of fat. Therefore, consuming healthy, natural fats over inflammatory, artificial ones keeps the integrity of this lining intact and robust.
A good example of this in action — healthy fat consumption improves the health of your skin by keeping the barrier strong to threats and water loss, and therefore keeping skin properly hydrated.
Regulates body temperature.
See skin example above. :)
Stable and healthy cholesterol levels.
Again, cholesterol is literally made of fat, and so are the lipoproteins (think HDL, LDL, etc.) that carry it throughout your blood.
Strong gut barrier.
Specific fats provide the substrate required for our gut lining to repair and keep a tight formation (which prevents pathogens and undigested food particles to enter your bloodstream and kick off an immune response).
Consistent energy and satiation.
Fats digest more slowly than the other two macronutrients, and research has shown that the body can effectively burn fat for sustained energy throughout the day, even in the brain! This consistent source of all-day, slow-burning energy allows you to stay alert, productive, and keep hunger at bay.
Speaking of the brain… it boosts brain health.
Once again, the brain is literally made of fat.
Okay, not ENTIRELY, obviously, but they play a big role in the synapses between neurons and make up the myelin sheath that perpetuate signals and protect nerve cells from damage. Healthy fat consumption allows fats to be used as fuel by the brain, improves sleep, and helps protect against mood disorders and neurodegenerative conditions like dementia.
Decreased inflammation and improved organ function.
This goes for the eyes, the arteries, the liver — OH MY!
Healthy fat consumption supports healthy retinas, lowers the risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease, and reduces the amount of fat present in and on the liver.
It also helps strengthen bones, reduce blood sugar spikes and insulin release in the pancreas, and composes the protective lining that surrounds your organs.
Hormone production.
I’ll say it again… hormones are literally made of fat. Eating unhealthy fats produces unhealthy hormones and disrupts your body’s necessary internal signals.
Fertility.
See #7 above. :)
The absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.
After digestion, vitamins A, D, E, and K are only absorbed from the small intestine when transported by fats.
Energy stores.
Fats, per gram, contain more than double the amount of energy when compared to carbohydrates or proteins. Fat cells on your body, when prompted, supply you with that sustainable, slow-burning energy I mentioned earlier. Quality matters — for all the above — but especially here, because when you begin to break down fat cells and burn energy, you want those compounds to be stable and natural, especially because cellular toxins can also be released. Effective energy use and detoxification require healthy inputs.
It improves the taste of food.
No explanation needed.
Other than, maybe, proving prehistoric benefit of higher natural fat consumption, especially when referring to the energy it provides over the other macronutrients.
Stabilizes blood sugar.
Remember when I mentioned that fat digests slowest of all macros, and reduces blood sugar spikes?
Eating comprehensive meals means you’re not just eating fat, right? Putting the above ideas together, eating a balanced meal with healthy fats helps to slow the speed of digestion of everything you ate, and in doing so, your blood sugar does not spike as quickly or as high, reducing the need for extra insulin. This steady-state digestion prevents the “crash” you’d normally feel after a high-carb meal or snack.
Protects organs from toxins.
Fat cells store toxins, as mentioned above. Why is that?
Well, basically, it traps them to prevent them from overwhelming your organs and detoxification pathways. This gives your body the chance to handle them incrementally.
How has increasing your health fat consumption changed your life?
Have you discovered more ways that fat supports health, that aren’t on this list?
Got questions in general?