On my travels, I sometimes run into someone that is willing to learn more about what I preach with so much passion. The following article was written by one such person who felt healthier as she dropped the old paradigms and moved on in a new way.
Erin Romero is a former two-sport college athlete with a B.S. in Physical Education and a minor in Sports Medicine. As she learned more about an alternative lifestyle, Erin thrived from the feeling of helping others achieve better health. She wanted to continue that feeling so she earned her certification of C.H.E.K. Holistic Lifestyle Coach. She is currently in the process of creating TotalLifestyle.com and is looking forward to helping others live a healthy and happy lifestyle.
~Dio Miranda
“I Love Fat!”
If you would have told me ten years ago that I needed to eat more fat,
I would have first asked if you were seeing a psychiatrist. Then, I would
ask if you were going to buy me a whole new wardrobe because of those future
love handles I was going to have. It’s a shame that society and politically
correct nutrition has made consumers think that “if we eat fat, we’ll be
fat”. You know something, I think the opposite is true. Here are some
facts I think you ought to know:
- Sixty percent of the brain is composed of fat.
- Every cell membrane is ideally made up of about 50 percent saturated fat.
- For calcium to be effectively incorporated into the skeletal structure, at least 50 percent of dietary fats should be saturated. Got Osteoporosis?
- Saturated fats protect the liver from toxins like alcohol and Tylenol.
- Saturated fat provides energy to the heart in times of stress.
- The lungs cannot work without adequate saturated fats in the diet. The fatty acids in our lung surfactant are normally 100 percent saturated. Got Asthma?
- Saturated fats play a role in maintaining normal kidney function, which helps manage blood pressure and filters toxins from the body.
- Hormones require the right kinds of fats for proper functioning.
- Your body cannot make stress and sex hormones without Vitamin A, which can only be provided by saturated fatty animal foods. Got Libido?
With all of this being said, your fat sources need to be high quality
for your body to effectively use them. Toxins and chemicals store
themselves in fat cells so it is very important you know the source and to
make sure its clean, organic and unrefined if possible. Meats and butter
should be from pastured animals. This is when animals feed on grass as
their primary source of nutrition and are allowed to roam freely.
Some fats that you should avoid are trans-fatty acids, margarines and
vegetable oils. TFA’s are structurally closer to that of plastic than fat
so forget BPA and avoid trans fats at all costs! Margarine in some
households is classified as a healthy alternative to butter. Those that
use it should know that some ingredients found in margarines include trans
fats, hydrogenated oils, free radicals, synthetic vitamins, emulsifiers,
preservatives, hexane, bleach, and artificial flavors and colors.
Polyunsaturated vegetable oils used in cooking, frying and baking can
include refined corn oil, safflower, sunflower, soybean, cottonseed and
canola. These oils are delicate and become damaged at high heat making them
rancid and carcinogenic, especially when used repeatedly. Think: free
radicals which can lead to disease or at the least, wrinkles. This is why
our beloved french fries have a bad rep. A long time ago before the
confusion with fats came about, McDonald’s used to deep fry their fries
using beef fat which was far superior than the method used now and many
remember the brillant taste that came along with those fried beef fat
fries!! Yum! Doesn’t that sound good!!! Here at our house, we deep fry,
YES, deep fry our organic sliced potatoes in coconut oil. I highly suggest
you try this, you won’t ever turn back!!! You can also use the beef tallow
if you can find it.
Here are some “super fats” that are a must!
* Butter, REAL butter. For whatever you do, do NOT shy away from this
perfect super food! My daughter eats it with a spoon! Pastured butter
(coming from cows who grazed on grass) contains vitamins, minerals, fatty
acids, CLA (which helps the body build muscle instead of fat),
glycospingolipids (protects against intestinal problems), and cholesterol.
The best quality butter should be deep yellow or slightly orange in color.
If your butter is pale yellow, check the source.
* Coconut oil: One of my favorite, most versatile super foods! My
family recently started back with a daily supplementation of 1-3
tablespoons. It is also very stable at high heat so its easy to use for
every type of cooking. I also get to make my husbands favorite homemade
french fries with it and without guilt! Coconut oil can be used as
moisturizer for your face and body (but that can get expensive) and is
excellent as an overnight treatment for your hair!! This miracle fat also
has antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties!!! Enough said.
* EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil): Use this to make your own salad
dressing! Try your best not to use any highly processed vegetable oils
which I mentioned above. Most of them are also Genetically Engineered which
I will get into at another time. EVOO should only be used for cooking at
low temps.
* Animal Fats: from pastured animals only. All of that good animal
fat helps raise your sex drive and keep your stress levels down. This is
only true if those animals are being raised properly and they are in fact
happy and healthy, primarily eating grass. Start researching farmers that
raise grass-fed beef and pastured chicken. The taste and benefits are
amazing!
* Full Fat dairy: go ahead and throw away that non-fat, low-fat fake
‘stuff’. Just kidding, don’t throw it away but just don’t purchase it again.
Thanks to Kelly the Kitchen Kop (http://www.kellythekitchenkop.com/) for contacting
Ellen Ussary to find this fact out:
§ the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Volume 6, Chapter 1,
Subchapter E, Part 501. Item (3) states: Skim milk, concentrated skim milk,
reconstituted skim milk and nonfat dry milk may be declared as “skim milk”
or “nonfat milk. ” Item (4) states: Milk, concentrated milk, reconstituted
milk and dry whole milk may be declared as “milk.”
I don’t know about you but I don’t want to drink processed, powdered, reconstituted milk, cream or yogurt. Better yet, they only have to label it only as “milk”. So once
again, the higher the fat content, the purer the product needs to be.
Therefore, preferable from a raw and organic source that preserves the
quality and nutrients.
* Cod Liver Oil: Contains the omega 3 essential fatty acids that most
of us are deficient in. Without proper supplementation of this oil, we
could be facing inflammation in the body, which could lead to numerous
problems. It also contains Vitamins A and D which work synergistically to
improve the function of every system of the body. By taking fish oil, you
can see improvements with brain function. The brain is made up of 60% fat.
Half is DHA which is only found in fish! Be very careful of your source
though because fish oil can contain high levels of mercury and other
contaminants.
“Politically Correct Nutrition” is based on the assumption that we should
reduce our intake of fats, particularly saturated fats from animal sources.
Fats from these animal sources contain cholesterol, something else we have
been taught to fear. The Food Processing Industry has done a phenomenal job
at making Americans afraid of cholesterol. I bet the first thing that came
to your head when you saw the word was heart disease. Did you know that
cholesterol is a potent antioxidant weapon against free radicals?? Think
again about protection of those wrinkles! Cholesterol is produced in the
body and naturally occurs in foods. It can also help heal arterial damage.
However, heat and oxygen can damage cholesterol just as they do fats.
Oxidized cholesterol can injure arterial walls and lead to a plaque buildup
in the arteries which can turn into your heart disease scare. Damaged
cholesterol can include powdered eggs and milk. When you purchase these
reduced fat products to avoid heart disease, you consume the very form of
cholesterol that can cause heart disease!
Let’s do a little recap. By avoiding butter substitutes, reduced fat
products and incorporate the good saturated fats in your diet, you just
might see these positive changes in your body: increased sex drive, a
decrease in sugar cravings, weight loss, better looking skin and hair,
increased energy, blood sugar regulation helping with adrenal stress, relief
of depression, improvements of thyroid function, infections, digestive
issues, liver support, etc.
I hope by making this change in your diet you will be able to join with me
in saying I LOVE FAT!!!
~Erin
Sources:
Enig, Mary and Fallon, Sally. Eat Fat, Lose Fat. 2005
Chek, Paul. Eat, Move and Be Healthy. 2004
http://www.kellythekitchenkop.com/
http://www.westonaprice.org/
Planck, Nina. Real Food: What To Eat and Why.
