Have you been told to eat low fat or no fat for your health? Here’s why…
Since the 1950’s we have been told to eat low fat or no fat. Ancel Keys did a study called the Lipid Hypothesis.
It was funded by the vegetable oil and food processing companies. This hypothesis had many errors but this is the hypothesis they decided to go with.
The fats they tested with were hydrogenated, processed fats known to be unhealthy especially to the circulatory system.
Unfortunately, they lumped all fats including the healthy ones into the “bad” fats.
Food companies started telling people that their homemade foods were not as healthy, as convenient or as safe as their processed foods.
The consumption of unhealthy fats, such as margarine and refined oils has increased over 400% in the last 100+ years.
Healthy fats don’t make you fat but unhealthy fats will!
Let’s take a look at what makes fats healthy or unhealthy.
Listen in or read on below.
Benefits of healthy fats
There are many benefits of healthy fats and you should not be afraid to eat them!
But fats have been deemed as the root of all health issues probably most or all of your life.
Your body needs healthy fats to thrive.
The benefits of healthy fats:
Help you feel full and satisfied after eating.
Aid in healthy hormone production in your body.
Greatly enhance mineral absorption in your diet.
Allow you to heal quickly and effectively.
Provide you with a long burning source of energy.
What are the unhealthy fats and why?
Ready for the opposite of what you may have been told, possibly your whole life?
The oils that sound like they should be super healthy aren’t.
They are unhealthy because:
They are unstable at room temperature.
They are highly processed, bleached and deodorized all to make them look clear and pretty.
Easily damaged by heat, light, moisture and oxygen exposure.
Require refrigeration. (many are on store shelves unrefrigerated)
Turn rancid quickly and easily.
The ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 is out of balance. Omega 6 is too high. This creates inflammation in your body.
Bad fats include (doesn’t even matter if it is organic):
Vegetable oil
Soybean oil
Corn oil
Safflower oil
Sunflower oil
Canola oil
Cottonseed oil
Bad fats should never be cooked with and most restaurants use these oils to cook with or in their salad dressings because olive oil is more expensive.
What are the healthy fats?
The good or healthy fats may be the ones you have heard villainized over the years.
Characteristics of Healthy fats:
Highly stable in nature.
Do not turn rancid easily – even in high temperatures.
They are often solid or semi-solid at room temperature.
Good fats include (organic is always better):
Coconut Oil
Avocado Oil
Macadamia Nut Oil
Butter and Ghee
Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil or EVOO
Whenever cooking, make sure that the oil is not smoking. This will turn even a good healthy fat rancid.
Check the labels of your oils to verify the heat point. Don’t use an oil with too low of a heat point if you are going to fry, cook or bake at a higher temperature.
Avocado and Macadamia nut oils can take a higher heat point. 500 and 400 degrees respectively. Coconut oil is great for baking and medium temperatures. Food tastes great when you cook with it!
Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil is very healthy but don’t cook with it. It has a low heat point. Use it on salads or poured over food that is already cooked.
When you change the oils that you cook with and eat you can change the way you feel! By not eating the bad fats you will potentially lose weight and inflammation.
Bad fats cause inflammation in your body which can lead to weight gain.
Inflammation can also show up differently in each person. Maybe your stomach hurts, your skin has new blemishes or even your body or joints can ache.
When you know better you can do better and most importantly feel better!
Fats are neither BAD or GOOD. It is the way they are processed that affects how the body is able to use it.
Have you been eating unhealthy fats? What healthy fat will you start using instead?
Let me know in the comments below or shoot me an
email - sheri@empoweredhealthcoaching.com I would love to hear.
Live life empowered!
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Sheri Johnson is a certified Transformational Holistic Health and Life Coach in the Central Florida area. She believes everyone deserves an amazing healthy, balanced life, full of energy and feeling fantastic! When you get back on track in life and feel like yourself again then you can easily step into who you truly want to be, living out your purpose, passion and what you were called here to do.
If you are ready to decrease stress and overwhelm while creating balance in your body, mind and spirit then please check out her website and book a free strategy session with her below.