All About the "F" Word! (Fats)

Shelley Gawith, Functional Nutrition

Are you making sure that you have a good quality source of fat at every single meal?

When talking at Z Energy during the week, some of the questions around this topic reminded me that we all need to know what we want - good sources of fats. Also, who still holds the old thoughts of "if you eat good quality fats, you will get fat"? All of you who see us in clinic now know that this isn’t true at all. Instead, you end up eating less when eating good quality fats.

Marlies reminds us of some of the reasons why we need good quality sources of dietary fats:

1. Every single cell in our bodies is made from fat.The surrounding of the cell is made up of cholesterol. Where do we get cholesterol from? Yes, our bodies naturally make it, but we also need good quality fats for it.
2. It’s the best source of energy.Our bodies run off fat. As I shared at Z Energy this week, the fastest way to getting better energy is eating good quality sources of fats.
3. Dietary sources of fats bring down inflammation in our bodies.
4. Our hormones run off good quality fats.Do you want easier periods? Eat more good quality sources of fats. All steroid hormones are made up from cholesterol, specifically LDL cholesterol (aka “bad” cholesterol). Pregnenolone, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, DHEA are all steroid hormones! Pretty important, right?
5. Remember, our brains are also 70% fat!!!We need good quality sources of fats to feed our brains.

In the online course Finding the Fully Functional You we have gone deeper and started talking about the quality of fats that we are using to cook in. This is really important. The best fats to cook in are ghee and coconut oil.Who cooks in butter? Especially when making sweeter things right? Well Marlies has clearly explained why you don’t want to cook in butter.

So butter has a low cooking point, then it turns brown so the structure changes because butter has milk solids and sugar so it turns toxic. Have you heard that Avocado oil is great for cooking in? However, it is an omega 9 and monounsaturated, so also an unstable source for cooking. It will turn toxic. If you want to cook in olive oil then, the Danes Sautéing is preferable.

Also, just something for you to ponder: it’s actually really hard to get enough fish into your diet. How many servings of fish do you have a week?
This could be something to focus on as I know most people we see in clinic aren’t eating enough fish. The other problem is getting good quality fish as well. You want to make sure it’s fresh and not farmed, and not fed grains. As much as I don’t like saying, we need to supplement with things. Sometimes when nature can’t provide it the way we need it due to demand and the environment, you might need to supplement with it. I personally do supplement with fish oils, but remember, you always want to keep everything in balance. So it’s worth testing it as your body does change. You always want a balance of omega 3, 6 and 9.

Can’t wait to see your latest fish recipes and photos posted on our Facebookpage!