Good Fats and Bad Fats! My 9 Super Fats

Understanding the difference between good fats and bad fats is important for a healthy diet. Good fats, like those found in avocados, nuts, and olive oil, support heart health, reduce inflammation, and provide essential nutrients.

Bad fats, such as trans fats and excessive saturated fats, can increase the risk of heart disease, raise cholesterol levels, and promote inflammation.

In this article, we’ll delve into the types of fats, their effects on your health, and how to make smarter dietary choices. Read on to learn how to balance these fats for a healthier lifestyle.

Healthy and Unhealthy Fats

As low-fat diets gained prominence, paradoxically, rates of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic conditions surged, alongside the financial growth of pharmaceutical and multinational food industries.

Emerging research increasingly indicates that high carbohydrate intake may play a more significant role in exacerbating obesity and heart disease than previously thought.

Many find that adopting a diet rich in healthy fats and low in carbohydrates can reverse metabolic issues.

Quality fats are essential for optimal brain function, nerve health, and hormonal balance. These systems are pivotal in regulating bodily functions, and inadequate nutrition can lead to dysfunction.

Historically, traditional diets were rich in dietary fats and limited in simple carbohydrates, supporting human health and low chronic disease rates for millennia.

The drastic dietary shift over the last 40 years towards high carbohydrate and low-fat intake, coupled with decreased physical activity, has contributed significantly to the current health crisis.

Reassessing these dietary trends is crucial for improving public health outcomes.

What Fats Should I Eat and What Fats Should I Avoid

When navigating the complex landscape of dietary fats, discerning which to incorporate for health benefits and which to avoid can be simplified by considering a few key principles.

Here’s a guide to making informed choices about fats, along with some added context to enrich your understanding.

Healthy Fats to Embrace

• Monounsaturated Fats: Found in olive oil, avocados, and most nuts, these fats are champions for heart health, helping to improve cholesterol levels and stabilize heart rhythms.
• Polyunsaturated Fats: These include omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, found in fatty fish like salmon, flaxseeds, and walnuts. They are essential for brain function and cell growth.
• Saturated Fats: While once vilified, current research suggests that moderate consumption of saturated fats, found in dairy products and certain meats, can be part of a balanced diet.

Fats to Limit or Avoid

• Trans Fats: These are found in processed foods and should be avoided due to their strong link to heart disease. Look for “partially hydrogenated oils” on ingredient lists.
• Highly Processed Vegetable Oils: Such as canola, soybean, and corn oil, these oils undergo extensive processing and can contribute to inflammation.

How To Choose Healthy Fats

Historical Consistency

Would this fat have been recognized and consumed by your ancestors, such as your great-great-grandmother? Traditional fats like butter, olive oil, and animal fats have been dietary staples for generations, unlike modern processed oils.

Processing Level

Consider the amount of processing required to extract the oil. The less processed, the better. For example, extra virgin olive oil is minimally processed, retaining more of its natural nutrients compared to heavily refined oils.

Taste and Culinary Use

Reflect on the flavor and how the fat enhances your food. Natural and minimally processed fats like butter and olive oil not only improve taste but also offer health benefits.

Adding to these principles, it’s crucial to balance fat intake with other aspects of your diet, incorporating a variety of nutrient-rich foods to support overall health.

Moreover, considering the source of the fats, such as choosing grass-fed dairy or pasture-raised meats, can further optimize their nutritional value.

Integrating these considerations can lead to a more holistic approach to dietary fats, contributing to a well-rounded and healthful diet.

What are the Different Types of Fats

Understanding the types of dietary fats and their sources is crucial for maintaining a healthy diet. Here’s a breakdown of the primary fat categories and their implications for health:

Monounsaturated Fats

These beneficial fats are found in foods like avocados, olives, and certain nuts. They are best consumed in their least processed form to retain their health benefits.

For instance, opting for cold-pressed olive oil preserves its nutritional integrity, just as choosing raw or home-roasted nuts over commercially roasted ones ensures freshness and avoids potential damage from prolonged storage.

Additional sources include cold-pressed oils from avocados, walnuts, and other nuts, which can enrich your diet with their healthful properties.

Polyunsaturated Fats

This category includes essential fats like omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, found in flaxseeds, fish oil, and various seeds and their oils.

However, their stability is a concern; they can quickly become rancid when exposed to heat and light, transforming from health-promoting fats into harmful ones.

Achieving a balanced intake of omega-3 and omega-6, ideally in a ratio close to 1:1 to 1:3, is vital for reducing inflammation—a precursor to many chronic diseases.

Unfortunately, the prevalence of processed foods and the scarcity of omega-3s in typical diets have skewed this ratio, often leading to excessive omega-6 intake and subsequent inflammation.

Saturated Fats

Commonly found in animal products and tropical oils like coconut oil, saturated fats can be part of a nutritious diet when sourced responsibly.

Grass-fed animal products are preferable, as they have a healthier fatty acid profile compared to grain-fed counterparts.

For those unable to access grass-fed options, choosing lean cuts and supplementing with coconut oil or butter can be beneficial. 

Despite the negative reputation of saturated and trans fats, it’s important to differentiate between them. While trans fats are universally recognized as harmful, saturated fats can be healthful in moderation.

However, their high caloric density warrants mindful consumption to maintain energy balance and prevent weight gain.

In summary, the key to incorporating fats into your diet lies in choosing unprocessed, natural sources and maintaining a balanced intake to support overall health.

My Favourite Fats!

For your culinary adventures, my go-to oils and fats include:

Macadamia oil for its unique, buttery flavor, ideal for dressings and light sautéing.

• Coconut oil, a staple for high-heat cooking and baking, adding a hint of tropical flair.
• Butter, especially from grass-fed cows, for its rich taste in cooking and baking.
• Ghee, clarified butter, perfect for its high smoke point and nutty essence.
• Duck and other animal fats, for adding depth and flavor to dishes.
• Olive oil, my most used oil, is excellent for both cooking and drizzling over dishes.

When it comes to dressing salads, I prefer:

• The vibrant taste of olive oil.
• The nutty undertones of walnut oil.
• The smooth, mild flavor of avocado oil.
• The delicate, slightly sweet taste of flaxseed oil.

It’s crucial to opt for cold-pressed versions of these oils to ensure maximum quality and flavor.

For direct consumption, I favor:

• Grass-fed animal products for their superior nutrient profile.
• Free-range eggs, rich in vitamins and minerals.
• Seafood, particularly fatty fish like sardines, salmon, and mackerel, abundant in omega-3 fatty acids.
• High-quality nuts, avocados, and olives for their heart-healthy fats.

Fatty fish are particularly beneficial for their high omega-3 content, essential for heart health and reducing disease risk.

For those averse to fish, fish oil supplements or marine algae can provide a valuable alternative source of omega-3s, crucial for those who don’t naturally produce these essential fats and must obtain them through diet.

Fats and Heart Disease

The effectiveness of high-fat ketogenic diets in promoting weight loss has led to a broader acceptance that healthy fats are not the culprits behind weight gain.

Nevertheless, concerns regarding blood cholesterol levels and heart disease persist.

It’s noteworthy that some individuals might experience an increase in LDL cholesterol when consuming a high-fat diet, influenced by specific genetic factors and particularly when the diet is rich in saturated fats.

A more comprehensive indicator of coronary heart disease risk is the measurement of apolipoprotein B levels, offering a clearer picture than solely monitoring total cholesterol or LDL cholesterol.

For those with concerns about cholesterol, a shift towards a Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes monounsaturated fats over saturated ones, would be beneficial.

This diet, especially when enriched with fatty fish to boost polyunsaturated fat intake, has been recognized for its heart-healthy properties and potential to mitigate heart disease risk.

For a thorough assessment of heart disease risk, it is advisable to consider a broader spectrum of tests, including apolipoprotein B & A1, lipoprotein(a), fibrinogen, homocysteine, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (HSCRP), which can provide a more detailed understanding of one’s cardiovascular health.

Summary

Incorporating monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats into your diet offers numerous health benefits, supporting heart health and reducing inflammation.

Equally important is to avoid unhealthy fats found in fried foods, partially hydrogenated oils, and long-lasting packaged snacks.

To better understand how your genetics influence fat metabolism, consider a genetic test with SelfDecode. If you’ve already tested with 23andMe or AncestryDNA, you can upload your raw data to SelfDecode for detailed health insights.