Get Your Fats Right

by Caroline Stewart

Who else has been confused about what it means to eat healthy fats? 🙋‍♀️. Ermm yep.  Me too.  And this confusion has nothing to do with how smart you are or your ability to follow the cues of your body.

It has to do with marketing.  Mmm hmm.  Not joking here.  We have been sold a whole lotta misinformation when it comes to dietary fat and it's making us...well, fat!

But not just fat.  That's only a byproduct of all of the crap anti-foods such as refined sugars and grains we are eating and the confusion over what it means to eat nourishing foods.

All the confusion around fats is also making us sick.

The Wrong Fats Are Making Us Sick

Let's talk about that for a second because I have personal experience with it.  I've shared before that I used to be a Vegetarian.  For a loooong time.  Pretty much since I was a teenager.

And a large part of it was that I thought being a vegetarian would help me stay thin.  If this story is still playing in the back of your head, I promise you're not alone.

We have been given so much misinformation about fats, animal products and cholesterol that I'm surprised we aren't struggling more.

As a Vegetarian with very limited animal fats in my diet I struggled. I had dizzy spells daily, constant gut issues, migraines with intense auras and loss of vision, and anxiety.

I thought that I was taking care of my body by cutting out animal products. But this couldn't be further from the truth.

The Truth About Saturated Fats

Here's the truth...saturated fats are good for you.  G-O-O-D.  Animal fats are amazing for you as long as they come from healthy, pasture-raised animals and are not denatured or made rancid through processing.

They will not make you fat. In fact, focusing on nutrient-dense foods have been found to support maintenance of a healthy weight and is amazing for sustained energy throughout the day. No more afternoon sugar crashes and constant snacking throughout the day (I've experienced this shift personally).

And cholesterol?  Oh my goodness, don't even get me started there.  Cholesterol is ESSENTIAL to health and supports the integrity of every cell in your body.  Yes, even the heart.  Especially the heart.  The idea that consuming cholesterol through animal foods causes heart disease is an absolute myth.

Vegetable Oils Need to Go

Want to hear what the real culprits of heart disease?  Industrial fats and oils. And you better believe that sugar and other refined and denatured products have a role to play here too.

So-called vegetable oils (they aren't vegetables - they typically come from nuts or seeds) are causing massive widespread health issues. Think canola, soybean, rapeseed, sunflower, safflower etc. Also, margarine! Definitely drop the margarine if it's still in your fridge.

All of these oils have been heavily processed, and in the processing, largely denatured. Then, we heat these denatured oils and create oxidative breakdown products (aka toxins such as aldehyde and formaldehyde).

This is a pretty deep topic so I'll just leave it there and point you in the direction of the Weston A. Price Foundation for more info and links to studies. Also, anything that Zach Bush MD has to say on the topic is helpful.

Ok, so we've seen what isn't working. All of the vegetable oils, which includes margarine. My suggestion? Get rid of all of them. They are doing nothing to support your health and a heck of a lot to compromise it. The oils you can keep around are olive oil and sesame oil. This is because they are cold pressed with minimal processing.

Healthy Choices for Nourishing Fats

Now, what will work? When in doubt, use butter. I think that should be my new tagline 😀.

Let's divide it out a bit more so that you can see what nutrient-rich fats have been supportive in traditional diets for thousands of years (ps. these are the real 'good' fats).

For cooking:

• Butter

• Lard from pigs

• Tallow and suet from beef and lamb

• Coconut and palm oils

• Chicken, goose and duck fat

For salads:

• Extra virgin olive oil (ok for cooking at moderate temps)

• Expeller-expressed sesame and peanut oils

• Expeller-expressed flax oils (in small amounts)

Really, that's all the info you need in order to get your fats right. Drop the 'vegetable' oils and embrace the animal fats! Your body and mind will thank you.

But if you're a keener like me then you might want to know a bit more about why animal fats are so good for you. If so, then keep reading.

The Benefits of Saturated Fats

First off, the way you know that you've got a saturated fat is that it is typically solid at room temperature. This is a good thing. It is the exact structure that our body needs to support our cell membranes and tissues.

So, that's a benefit right off the hop. A few more benefits of saturated fats include:

• strengthening immune function

• protective against heart disease

• support communication between and within cells (protect against cancer and diabetes)

• support proper lung function and reduce inflammation (asthma)

• support kidney function and hormone production

• nervous system and brain require saturated fats

• suppress inflammation in the body

• carrier for fat-soluble vitamins A, D and K2 (only food source of these)

Fat-Soluble Activators

On top of the benefits of saturated fats alone are all of the "fat-soluble activators" that Dr. Weston A. Price termed the vitamins found in "fats and organ meats of grass-fed animals and in certain seafoods, such as fish eggs, shellfish, oil fish and fish liver oil." (Source - https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/know-your-fats/know-your-fats-introduction/)

The 3 fat-soluble activators are vitamin A, vitamin D and a nutrient that Dr. Price called Activator X (now called vitamin K2). These activators are essential for mineral absorption.

Start Cooking with Butter

The number 1 recommendation I can make is to add butter to your diet. And a good source of butter. Ideally, make it yourself! It's surprisingly easy and I do it whenever I have a lot of extra cream from my weekly milk purchase.

Or, at the very least, definitely get organic butter. Cultured butter is an extra bonus. Personally, I buy the unsalted variety and add my own sea salt whenever needed.

And let me just say that if you've been taught that butter is bad for you, it may take a bit for you to be really comfortable with this. You might feel like you're doing something wrong. Especially because it tastes soooo good 😊.

Where to Go Next?

To your local farmer or Farmer's Market. Really. Go see how many incredible options there are for healthy fats (you know what this means now 😉) near to you.

And then, if you don't already have the Nourishing Traditions cookbook by Sally Fallon Morell (check out Amazon or your local bookstore), I highly recommend you get this. It will really support your journey of re-discovering healthy through nourishment.

Another great option is to become a member of the Weston A. Price Foundation and find your local chapter of the organization.

Much love and happy eating ❤️

References + Resources

Weston A. Price Foundation - https://www.westonaprice.org/

Zach Bush MD - https://zachbushmd.com/

Resource library on fats shared by the Weston A. Price Foundation:

https://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/