Fat, What To Eat 

Healthy Fat

What does healthy fat even mean? ‘Healthy fat’, a term that gets thrown around a lot these days, even by me. Telling someone to enjoy ‘healthy fats’ is like a doctor saying you have IBS, just words with little meaning or information about how to proceed. I tend to talk at length with my clients about ‘healthy fats’ BUT I also give them a list of different fats and outline the ones they should be using to support healthy body function.

This post is basically a lot of the same information I cover with clients. It’s not as in depth but I think it gets the point across. You also have an option at the end of the post to receive a couple of the hand outs that I give to every client.

In this post:

• Different types of fat, saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. How each impacts health
• Which fats to eat and which to avoid

Types of Fat

To understand what a healthy fat is you have to first understand the three types of fats that combine to make up all the dietary fat we eat. All fats are a combination of Saturated Fat, Monounsaturated Fat and Polyunsaturated Fat. A fat is categorized as one of these types of fat based on the ratio of these fats. Whichever of these fats has the highest ratio between the three is how that fat is categorized. Coconut oil is anywhere from 80%-90% saturated fat (depending on who you ask) so coconut oil is considered a saturated fat.

Fats are chains of carbon molecules. When a fat is saturated that means that each carbon molecule in the fatty acid chain is saturated with a hydrogen molecule. Think of the carbon holding hands with a hydrogen. A monounsaturated fat is a chain of carbons but one carbon doesn’t have a hydrogen friend. This would be a kink in the carbon chain, a ‘fragile’ spot. Polyunsaturated fat is a carbon chain with more than one hydrogen missing so, lots of ‘fragile’ spots. The more unsaturated a fat the more easily the fat can become damaged, turn rancid and contain free radicals which when ingested cause cellular damage and inflammation in the body.

I’m a fan of saturated fats. They are typically minimally processed and natural (think animal products). Saturated fats are fats that the body recognizes, it knows how to use these fats. These are the fats that helped the human species evolve with big, smart brains.

Saturated Fat

Butter, dairy, animal proteins, coconut oil and palm oil are common saturated fats found in the American diet. Saturated fats, have no kinks or ‘fragile’ spots in their carbon chain. These fats are very stable and not easily damaged by light or heat. They will be solid at room temperature.

This type of fat has historically been vilified as the culprit behind modern disease. Newer, more contemporary evidence has shown that the this is not necessarily the case and that saturated fat and cholesterol tend to be harmless in relationship to heart disease and actually have many health promoting properties. Please read my last post, Stop Fearing Fat for more information about the vilification of saturated fat.

Saturated fats are an important component of a healthy body. Saturated fats are a necessary part of cell and tissue structure. They make the immune system stronger, and help with cellular communication. Saturated fats are necessary for proper lung and nervous system function. The human brain is made up of more than 50% saturated fat. We get the important fat soluble vitamins, A, D, E and K2 from saturated fat. (1)

Of all the health benefits listed in the previous paragraph I hope the statement that your brain is made up of more than 50% saturated fat grabbed your attention. I often harp on cognitive function as an important part of healthy aging, you know, avoiding Alzheimer’s and dementia. You NEED fat for brain health.

“In the journal of Alzheimer’s Disease., Mayo Clinic researchers showed that individuals favoring carbohydrates in their diets had a remarkable 89% increased risk for developing dementia as contrasted to those whose diets contained the most fat. Having the highest levels of fat consumption was actually found to be associated with an incredible 44% reduction in risk of developing dementia.” (2)

The idea of a diet high in carbs contributing to dementia is due to the fact that the amount of carbs eaten push out opportunities to eat fat. More carbs = less fat.

To learn more about fat and the associated brain health benefits please read Grain Brain by Dr. David Perlmutter, MD

Monounsaturated Fat

The most commonly discussed healthy monounsaturated fat in the American diet is olive oil. As a predominantly monounsaturated fat, only 1 hydrogen bond missing, olive oil is considered structurally stable so not easily damaged. I often see talk about olive oil only being safe for cold uses or very low-heat cooking. This has always seemed odd to me since olive oil has been around FOREVER and it surely has been heated FOREVER. I was really pleased when I found an article on Chris Kresser’s website talking about this very thing.

“There are two reasons why olive oil outperforms other vegetable oils when it’s heated.  First, it contains polyphenols and tocopherols which act to protect the oil from oxidation. Second, it’s made up of mostly monounsaturated fat – remember, that’s the one with only one double bond, which makes it more stable in heat than fats with high amounts of polyunsaturated fats which have more double bonds. Between these two properties, olive oil can fry with the best of them.

It is thought that the phenolic compounds in olive oil – polyphenols and tocopherols – may influence olive oil’s stability in heat even more than its monounsaturated fat content. The phenolic compounds donate a radical hydrogen to alkylperoxyl radicals to form a stabilized radical.”(3) (4)

Just to be clear, they weren’t talking about sautéing, they were talking about heating olive oil to 350 degrees for 36 hours and then checking the oil for break down and loss of nutrients. It held up. So, enjoy cooking with olive oil, I do.

Lard, canola oil, peanut oil and rapeseed oil are also high in monounsaturated fats. Of these I would only use olive oil and perhaps lard. Lard just isn’t as available to me as olive oil so olive oil wins in my house. Next week I’ll post two videos, one on how olive oil is made and one on how canola oil is made. I suspect after watching the videos you’ll be on team olive oil if you aren’t already ; )

Health benefits of olive oil and other foods high in monounsaturated fats like avocados, peanut butter, olives, some fish, pecans, cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds:

• high in vitamin E and other antioxidants.
• There appear to be benefits when it comes to reducing diabetes risks, breast cancer risk and pain reduction in people with rheumatoid arthritis with the most well known benefits to the heart and circulatory system. (1)

Tip: if you put your olive oil in the refrigerator and it doesn’t solidify, it’s probably not pure olive oil. It’s more likely a mix of olive oil and a polyunsaturated vegetable oil. You can learn more about ensuring you are buying the best olive oil here. 

Polyunsaturated Fats

This type of fat tends to be liquid even when refrigerated. Unlike saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, have many missing hydrogen bonds (kinks in the chain) and are therefore very unstable (fragile). Instability of the fat means that it’s more reactive to air and heat causing it to be easily damaged and potentially full of free radicals.

Some of the more common polyunsaturated oils are soybean oil, canola oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, flax oil and fish oil. Foods high in polyunsaturated fatty acids are walnuts, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and fish. It’s a good idea to keep these oils and foods in the refrigerator to help keep the polyunsaturated fatty acids from becoming damaged.

Of the polyunsaturated fats, fish oil is the most important. Both essential omega 3 and omega 6 fats are found in fish oil. These fats are considered ‘essential’ because they can’t be made by the body. We must get these fats from our diet. If you supplement with fish oil please make sure and keep it in your refrigerator to help protect it from damage.

The processed, polyunsaturated seed oils like soybean oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, canola oil, safflower oil and others are very high in omega 6 fats which tend to be inflammatory. The human body needs both omega 3s and omega 6s but in a precise ratio. Ancestrally, it is believed that the human omega 6 : omega 3 ratio was around 4:1, today that ratio is closer to 16:1. (5) Signaling molecules made from omega 6 fatty acids tend to be pro-inflammatory whereas those from omega 3s tend to be anti-inflammatory. (6)

Another problem with polyunsaturated seed oils is trans fats. The soybean oil and canola oil sold in American grocery stores can contain large amounts of trans fats which are known to be highly toxic and associated with diseases of lifestyle. (7)

What to Eat

If you are cutting sugar and living a low-carb lifestyle please, embrace the fat. You need it for fuel. Sugar and fat are fuel sources. If you are cutting your sugars, you will need to make sure you are eating fat. How much fat? Well, that depends on your health, weight and goals. This is an area where I can help and love to help but only on an individual client basis because it really depends on so many dietary and lifestyle factors. Please do your own research and if you feel that you still need support and guidance please contact me for a free 30-minute strategy session, amy@thesimplicityofwellness.com

Healthy Fats:

• Olive Oil
• Coconut Oil
• Butter
• Ghee
• Bacon Fat
• Lard
• Avocado Oil
• Red Palm Oil
• Avocado
• Raw Nuts & Seeds
• Olives
• Animal Protein including Bacon.

Fats to Avoid:

• Canola Oil
• Soybean Oil
• Corn Oil
• Safflower Oil
• Sunflower Oil
• Rapeseed Oil
• Peanut Oil
• Cottonseed Oil
• Margarine
• Spreadable Butter.

Tips:

If you like spreadable butter mix olive oil with your butter in a food processor. This will create a nice creamy, ‘healthy’ spreadable butter that doesn’t get rock hard in the refrigerator.

When buying nuts, try to buy packages that say ‘raw’ nuts. If the nuts are roasted, you want ‘dry’ roasted. Read the ingredient list and be on the look out for any seed oils.

If you’re interested in a printed Healthy Fats guide that includes: a list of health fats vs. unhealthy fats, information about saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, and a chart of some common foods with the ratios of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat content please enter your name and email below to receive an email with a PDF document download.

Eat fat and be well!

• https://www.eatfatgetthin.com/dist/pdf/Fat_Bible_ebook_final.pdf
• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-optimalist/201310/your-healthy-diet-could-be-quietly-killing-your-brain
• https://chriskresser.com/is-it-safe-to-cook-with-olive-oil/
• https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/1438-9312%28200210%29104%3A9/10%3C661%3A%3AAID-EJLT661%3E3.0.CO%3B2-D
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0753332206002435
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16841861
• https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-4522.1994.tb00244.x

Amy White, Functional Nutritionist

I’m Amy a board certified holistic nutritionist, certified functional nutritionist and lifestyle practitioner and certified Life Coach. I help women in midlife understand the changing needs of their body so that they can stop dieting and lose weight permanently. At 56 I live what I teach. Don’t believe the story that your best years are behind you. They are not. Your best years are just starting!