After a brief hiatus of consistent blog posts, I am here to work towards one of my new year resolutions which is to blog more often and slightly more seriously. While it seems that my sarcastic and satirical posts are the clear faves, the goal of my blog is not only to work on sharpening my (non-existent) comedic online presence, but to address topics that people are actually interested in learning about.
I want to talk about fat….such a confusing topic and so many opposing opinions. If you are from the world of Paleo, Whole 30, primal or even low carb than you are probably comfortable with the concept of consuming adequate quantities of fat in your diet. However, there is still a pretty large camp out there who think fat is bad news bears and continue to eat low-fat diets, purchase low-fat products and have no idea the differences between saturated, unsaturated and trans fats!
While I find fat super interesting, not everyone does…so here is a really quick and dirty lesson on fat and why it’s da bomb!
Fat makes you smart – This is the single most important reason to eat fat! Our brains are made up of 60% fat, and our brain function and nervous system are completely dependent on saturated and mono saturated fat, cholesterol, omega 3 (EPA & DHA) and omega 6. Mental, PHYSICAL and emotional intelligence is reliant on fats – a lack of healthy dietary fat can lead to depression, dyslexia, ADHD, memory problems, fatigue, epilepsy, alzheimer’s and schizophrenia. EPA and DHA (omega 3’s) are among the most important which is why taking a fish oil supplement is essential.
Fat will not in fact make you fat – Well ok, don’t take this too literally, you will gain weight if you eat too many calories of any macro-nutrient, protein and fat included. BUT, it’s not going to do the same kind of damage to your blood sugar, metabolism, hormones or cause inflammation the same way that sugar does. Fat contains 9kcal/gram while protein and carb’s only contain 4kcal/gram, therefore, your fat calories add up a lot quicker which is partially where this ‘fat makes you fat’ myth got started.
Fat gives you energy – When our bodies are depleted of glucose, it turns to fat as the primary source of energy. To be used as energy fat must first be broken down into glycerol and fatty acids = ATP, which takes slightly longer than utilizing glucose as energy. Fat is a very valuable and sustained source of energy and our bodies can adapt to using this source of energy as fuel.
Fat makes you full – Fats are digested slower than carbs and protein, therefore they activate satiety hormones that tell the brain you are no longer hungry. By adding healthy fats to your meal you will feel full longer and have less of an urge to binge later. Just be mindful not to face cram an entire bag of trail mix or you will soon find yourself on the fast track to obesity.
Fat protects your organs – It’s important to have some fat on our bodies to protect our precious organs. Fat plays an important role on our skin (largest organ) by preventing it from wrinkles and dehydration. Want to look forever young…eat some fat.
Fat reduces inflammation – Omega 3’s have anti-inflammatory properties – which is essential for disease prevention. From these fats, our bodies make ‘prostaglandins’ which are very important hormone-like substances that lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, control blood sugar, boost immunity, maintain water balance and help insulin work. For athletes who are constantly inflamed, damaged and exhausted – this supplement is a must.
Fat is anti-microbial – Lauric acid and caprice acid which are found in fats such as coconut oil, protect us from parasites, bacteria and viruses and keep us healthy year round.
Fat is tasty as fuck – Fat makes everything taste better, am I right. Add some grass fed butter to your veggies or a scoop of nut butter to your shake…damn guurrll. Fat is easy to consume, don’t over do it, but don’t be scared of it either!
Best sources of FAT!!!??? Grass fed and organic butter, ghee, coconut oil, flax oil, avocado oil, MCT oil, nuts, nut butter, seeds, grass fed meat, fish, avocado, hemp hearts, organic dairy and egg yolks. Watch out for fats found in processed foods, fried foods or artificially created such as trans fat…once fat is transformed, heated and/or fermented it’s gone to the dark side – stay away.
I could go on and on about the benefits of fat, but I think you get the picture. Just like everything else, eat fat in moderation. A healthy ratio would be a 30-40-30 breakdown of fat, protein and carbs or even a 20-40-40 breakdown of fat, protein and carbs depending on your lifestyle, preferences and genetic make-up.
This blog post has been brought to you by Kpups is no longer funny but a total nerd and I am sorry to have bored you with this un-witty page of factual information.