Still think fat makes you fat and causes heart disease?  We’ve been told to think of fats and oils as a the devil— nothing could be further from the truth. The right fats are ESSENTIAL for health and longevity. ⠀

There are good and bad fats. Eating the right fats burns body fat, boosts your metabolism, improves your HDL, lowers your triglycerides, and is associated with a significantly lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. We need fats for healthy cell membranes, to make hormones (like testosterone and estrogen) immune cells, and to regulate inflammation. If you have PMS symptoms and/or constipation, it’s all related. Incorporating healthy fats in your diet can tremendously help with this. Do you have brain fog? Well, fats can help with this also - 60% of our brains are made of fat!

These are just some of the reasons you should not live in fear of fats and oils. So what are the bad fats? It's the refined, processed fats and oils that are added to our food by the food industry. Instead of eating delicious and healthy fats, we've been told to eat inflammatory trans fats and vegetable oils. Vegetable oils are high in omega-6 fats, which can increase inflammation. These include: canola oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, and safflower oil.

It’s really quite simple: eat quality fat at every meal. Where do these healthy fats come from and where do you get them? They come from meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, avocados, nuts, extra virgin olive oil, virgin coconut oil, and grass-fed butter. Bring on the bulletproof coffee baby!  Remember - quality over quantity. For meat, always buy organic, hormone free, and grass fed. Your local farmers market or natural food store (like Whole Foods) is a great place to purchase from.

Remember, the type of fat you eat is more important than the portion size. As always, focus on eating a diet of whole, colorful foods and avoid packaged processed foods. Whenever you’re hesitant about a product, ask yourself: was this made by nature or humans? If the answer is humans, it’s not a nutrient dense food...no matter how good the label is marketed as a “natural” food. I’m always here to help if you have any questions!