Obviously you want to add more of the right fats to your diet. To do this, you need to know which ones to eat and which ones to avoid. Most people (and diets) lump all fats together and tell you to avoid them at all costs.

But not all fats are created equal!!

If you eat the wrong fat, it’s like using cheap building materials for your body.

Most processed foods on supermarket shelves are made with poor-quality omega-6 fats from refined, processed vegetable oils. They are abundant, very cheap, taste good and improve texture. The next time you’re in the supermarket, take a close look at the ingredient list of your favourite packaged food. 

If the list includes oils from corn, soy, cottonseed or safflower, you are getting a poor-quality fat.

If you eat substandard fats, you are building sub-standard cell walls!!

They become stiff and rigid, cell function slows down and become prone to inflammation.

You want to ensure your body has the fats it needs to construct high-quality cell walls. 

That means eating more omega-3 fats. Cell walls made from omega-3 fats are more flexible, which allows cells to respond more quickly to messages.

These “good” fats also help your body produce prostaglandins otherwise known as the hormones that cool off inflammation.

Optimal sources of omega-3 fats include small cold-water fish like wild-caught salmon, sardines and herring, organic flax and hemp seed oils, walnuts and brazil nuts.

Scientists think that early humans ate equal quantities of Omega 3 and Omega 6 (Omega 6 from seeds and nuts and Omega 3 from wild game, fish and plants.)

Over time, this ration became unbalanced, with us eating more Omega 6 and leading to a vulnerability to cancer and heart disease. When the human diet was balanced, heart disease was virtually unheard of!!

The more omega-3 fats you eat, the easier your body can cool off, which means less inflammation that forms the root of nearly every chronic disease, especially those impacting the brain and the heart.

I've told you this before but it's worth repeating:
The brain is completely dependent on these high-quality fats. In fact, it is made up of 60 percent fat. 

High-quality fat boosts cognition, happiness, learning and memory. In contrast, studies link a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids to depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and even violence. 

Your heart will also thank you for eating more omega-3s, which help lower levels of bad fats (triglycerides) and raise levels of good fats (HDL). Omega-3 fats make blood more slippery, reducing the likelihood of artery disease.

As weird as it may sound… eating fat helps you lose fat!!!!!

That’s because healthy cell walls made from high-quality fats lowers blood sugar and insulin levels, meaning you’re more likely to burn than store fat. 

Consuming healthy fats also helps us absorb the important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.

So as well as eating plenty of wild fatty fish, supplement your diet with nuts, seeds, grass fed butter and ghee, coconut oil, avocados, grass fed meat, olive oil and olives. I really hope this helps you understand a little about good fats as the information out there can seem so confusing.

Have a good day. 

 

Paula xx