Remember the 80’s where everyone was told fats were the devil and to avoid at all costs…. Even the healthy ones!

Around the 1950’s research came out that linked saturated fat and cholesterol with heart disease, everything was suddenly ‘low-fat’ but also, the sugar content of products went up. The great news is that the original research has now been proven to be incorrect.

 It turns out that saturated fat is not the main cause of heart disease. If that was the case, some high-fat eating populations around the world would have been wiped out (many cultures around the world eat high amounts of saturated animal fats, and have very low levels of heart disease, diabetes and obesity).

 During this time fats were replaced by sugar to make the bland products taste good. Peoples diets increased in carbs which cause blood sugar levels to spike and crash hours later. Meaning more over eating and fat storing. Terrible for everyone but especially for women who are more blood sugar sensitive than men.

 ·       Women’s hormones (oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone) are made up of fats which is why it is so essential for us not to skip on these.

·       Your brain is 60%

·       The membranes of your cells are fat so that hormones can pass through them

·       You also need fats to absorb many vitamins (A, D, E, K)

Fats are generally also important for reducing inflammation, improving mental health, great for your skin, support a healthy heart and your immune system to name a few.

Now, there are many different types of fats which is important to know, without getting too technical:

Good fats: oily fish, animal meats, avocados, olives, nuts, seeds.

Bad fats, when we start to mess with food by heating, processing, turning it into something convenient and increasing it’s shelf life, that’s when the fat content can be problematic. Think: ready meals, sauces, salad dressings, margarine & spreads, crisps & chips, cookies, pastries, cakes, biscuits, friend foods, vegetable oils – eg soy, sunflower, canola, corn, grapeseed

These foods are made with vegetable oils. Why? Because they are very cheap! But they are also very fragile, which means they can easily oxidise when heated or processed. To you and me, that means they go RANCID. And rancid oil promotes inflammation, cell damage and will do nothing for your waistline!

Summary

Eat; Grass-fed meat, free range poultry, oily fish, organic full fat dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds, avocadoes, olives, virgin olive oil, cold pressed seed/nut oils.

Cook with; Lard, butter, coconut oil, goose/duck fat.

Avoid; Processed foods, ready meals, fast foods, take-aways, margarine, ‘low fat’ foods, heated vegetable oils.

So if you've been on low-fat diets before that haven't worked for you, go ahead and enjoy some healthy fats; eat the crispy chicken skin, cook your roasties in goose fat, and savour your full fat organic creamy natural yoghurt.

Eating MORE fat might just help you LOSE fat.