If you want to be FUELLED, you need to get educated and get real about FAT. You might have already known to eat your spinach and broccoli but eating your essential fats and oils might be new. Before diving into the types and sources, I’m going to address a major roadblock for most people in this area: The erroneous myth that fat is fattening.
Chances are that you or someone you know thinks that eating fat will make you fat. That’s because we live in a society where for a long time, since the 1980s, we were constantly bombarded with messages telling us to cut fat entirely out of our diet. Remember all the fat-free cookies, salad dressings, soups, sauces, etc.?
Fats in general have gotten a bad rap in our “heart-healthy” and fat-obsessed diet culture. I’m here to tell you that that concept is old science and simply untrue. It’s time for everyone to get real about fat. Fat is an excellent FUEL for your body and your brain, when chosen correctly. So it is time to re-examine your relationship with fats and oils and what they can do for you. It’s time to readjust your mindset.
You have got to be sure you are getting the quality fats that your body needs from your diet. Lack of high-quality fat in the diet is linked to poor skin health, brain function, amenorrhea, hormonal imbalance, cravings you can’t kick, moodiness and a slew of other health issues. Your body needs to take in essential fats, known as Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. What “essential fats” means is that your body does not produce these essential nutrients on its own but they are crucial building blocks for life and are vital to your well-being. So you need to get them from the foods you eat.
The key takeaway is that not all fats are created equal and not all affect the body in the same way.
What you need to know about fats and oils are that there are fats that kill and fats that heal.
Fats that kill are those fats and oils that damage human health. These are industrially processed and refined fats found in boxed foods and most restaurant foods, but also include some animal fats like pork lard. Hydrogenated fats (check your food labels!), industrially processed shortening like Crisco, as well as mayonaise, corn oil, and industrial seed oils, also known as “vegetable oils,” like canola, cottonseed, soybean, safflower, etc., are some of the worst ones out there.
Fats that heal are health promoting fats and oils that your body cannot make itself but every cell in the body requires them to function and so you must obtain them from foods. As mentioned above, these are your omega 3’s and omega 6’s.
The role omega 3 and omega 6 essential fats and oils play in your body are that they:
- Provide building blocks for cell membranes
- Raise metabolism
- Aid in digestion
- Aid in the production of hormones, including sex hormones testosterone and estrogen
- Reduce inflammation
- Protect our body by buffering and neutralizing acids
- Provide lubrication in our body so that our cells are free to move
- Improve and heal skin conditions
- Elevate our mood, lift depression and improve our ability to deal with stress
- Stabilize the heartbeat
- Lower our risk of heart disease
- Prevent and reverse degenerative diseases
- Increase bone building properties
- Are an antioxidant powerhouse and play a role in anti-aging
- The brain needs them to function optimally – they boost our brain power
- Increase energy
- Help our body absorb vitamins A, D, E and K
- Help our body absorb minerals such as calcium
- Fat is satiating, leaving us feeling full and satisfied. It curbs cravings.
Talk about having beneficial, life-extending, age-defying properties! These essential fats and oils are the complete opposite of being harmful and fattening to our body.
Some health risks associated with diets low in these good fats, on the other hand, include:
- Poor brain function
- Compromised heart health
- Hormone imbalances and the risk of infertility in women
- Weight gain and overeating
- Higher risk for depression and anxiety
- Gut related problems
UGH!!
And here’s some more great news about your essential fats and oils: They’re DELICIOUS!
The best natural sources are (in no particular order):
- Udo’s Choice Oil 3-6-9 Blend
- Hempseeds or hempseed oil
- Flaxseeds (ground) or flaxseed oil
- Avocados
- Fish oil supplements
- Fat off healthy, fatty fish, such as herring, sardines, mackerel, wild salmon and trout
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Nuts and seeds, nut butter or seed butter (walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds)
My favourite is Udo’s Oil 3-6-9 Blend and I was so lucky to have 2 friends bring me some back from Canada over this past weekend!
So, if you’re still living in the low-fat, no-fat mentality of weight loss, weigh maintenance or health, if anything “high-fat” still sets off alarm bells and raises concerns about packing on the pounds then it’s time to reassess and re-evaluate those notions and beliefs and readjust your mindset. It’s time to get real about fat. Fat is excellent FUEL for your brain and for your body. But not all fats are the same so in this post I have outlined the best sources of these life-giving vital nutrients. I would strongly encourage you to increase your intake of these wonderful, healthy and essential fats in your diet.
To your best health,
Agathe
To an abundant, passionate and FUELLED life!!
