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Fat is Back!

Have you ever bought low-fat cookies at the grocery store? And sincerely believed that every time you ate one you were making a healthful choice? I definitely have.

In fact, I was the QUEEN of sugar-free and fat-free fare. And I'm pretty sure my obsession with overly processed fat-free and sugar-free foods was at least partially responsible for my 15 year bout of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

But fortunately the tide is turning.

People are noticing that as diligent Americans have avoided fat in the last few decades our rates of heart disease and obesity have skyrocketed. As counterintuitive as it may be given our country's 50 year fat demonization, fat deficiency is actually one of the most common reasons for weight loss resistance today.

In fact, a European study found that the more fat women ate, the less fat they stored. Talk about a paradigm shift.

And even though this isn't earth shattering news anymore, I did want to remind you that even though fat is back, as with most things, it's all about QUALITY.

So while avoiding man-made fats like TRANS fats and poor quality veggies oils (corn, soy, safflower, canola, sunflower) is an amazing idea, avoiding healthy fats like organic coconut oil, grass-fed tallow, avocado, extra virgin olive oil, organic (soaked and sprouted) nuts and seeds could actually make reaching your health goals HARDER.

Have you ever noticed that you never have the urge to binge on a block of butter? That's because fat satisfies. In fact, high quality fat is the most satiating, brain-building and blood-sugar stabilizing macronutrient of all.

I've even noticed that when I start my day with coconut oil (like in IGNITE!) I feel less hungry for the rest of the day. Sometimes I even have to remind myself to eat.

And don't worry, I'm not going to get all extreme on you and say that everyone needs to eat TONS of fat. In fact, everyone is biochemically unique which means everyone thrives with different intakes of high quality fat. I love a little coconut oil in my morning tea, my friend Fernanda feels better without it.

It's something you'll definitely have to tinker with.

But for most people, about 20-40% of your diet should be comprised of Mother-Nature made fats! Just make sure that it's ALWAYS from healthy sources!

Here are my favorites:

For Cooking:

• Raw grass-fed ghee
• Extra-virgin, organic coconut oil
• Chicken fat - (quality sources only)
• Lard (quality sources only)
• Avocado Oil

For Eating:

• Fish Oils and oily fish
• Grass-fed meats
• Grass-fed, ghee
• Organic avocado
• Organic Nuts and Seeds (soaked and sprouted!)

For Salads:

• Extra-Virgin, cold pressed Olive Oil (in dark bottles)
• Sesame and Flax Seed oils (cold pressed)
• Avocado & pumpkin seed oil

To Strictly Avoid:

• Canola
• Cottonseed
• Corn
• Safflower
• Sunflower
• Soy oils
• Hydrogenated fat, margarine or butter substitutes and fried foods

If you're interested in learning more about the history of dietary fat in America please listen to our podcast with Jimmy Moore here. It's truly enlightening and highly entertaining!

Here's to falling in love with high quality fat!