Is Fat Healthy?
I will try a find a link to the news story but at the moment I can’t find one. Basically the gist of it was this. The original study done in the 1970s that blackened the name of fats, especially saturated fats found a correlation between consumption of saturated fat and heart disease though it was never proven. Since then several studies have seemed to suggest that fat is not as harmful as it was once thought. So this is great can all eat fat and be more healthy? Well sort of.
What is Fat Good For?
· Brain development and growth in children
· Healthy skin and hair
· Brain health- it can help prevent dementia and other related illness
· It keeps you fuller for longer so eating more fat can actually reduce your overall calories
· If you don’t eat enough fat your body will cling onto your fat stores for dear life- so if you want to lose fat you need to be eating it
· It makes food taste a lot nicer- really a lot nicer
Eating Clean Healthy Fats
As long as you eat within the recommended calorie limit and eat REAL, unprocessed foods then you don’t need to worry about saturated fat. This means you can eat full fat dairy, red meats, coconut milk and oil and other real, natural sources of saturated fat. Indeed we should be very wary of foods packaged and touted to us as being low-fat. The foods that are low- fat are not natural- they are processed to have the fat removed from them. More worryingly they are often pumped with sugar and artificial sweetners and additives to compensate from the natural fat that has been taken away.
The message is clear- eat clean, healthy natural food and you really do not need to be worrying about your fat consumption. Indeed your real concern should be whether you are getting enough.
Is There Any Link Between Fat and Heart Disease?
Avoid trans-fats at all costs. The simplest way to do this is to eat whole-food and make all your own food from scratch. I know this is not always possible so when you do buy processed food be sure to check the labels for potentially harmful ingredients.
A Review:
So in brief these are the guidelines you should try to follow most of the time when feeding your family:
- avoid processed foods
- avoid foods high in refined sugar
- avoid trans fats
- eat whole foods
- eat full fat dairy rather than low-fat dairy
- use butter, olive oil or coconut oil rather than processed low fat spreads
- eat a healthy balanced diet with plenty of fruit and veg
- eat protein from natural sources
- eat carbohydrates from natural;, non- refined sources- fruit, vegetables, whole-grains, legumes etc
Most of all enjoy eating fresh, healthy food- and ditching the fat-free rubbish will certainly help!
BLW Mama