The Fat Truth
The old saying, "results first, beliefs second" really resonants with me. As a health practitioner it's something I try to teach but I have to say at times it's not easy to get across. In our modern world we are bombarded with so many beliefs that are disguised as truths that have no results to back them up, something that the internet has made even worse. Being that everyone is now an expert we can easily get swayed by their beliefs and end up following many different ideas all at the same time. We tend to lose ourselves in social proof, or the idea that if enough people believe it, it must be true.
I wanted to share some of my personal r&r (research and results) in the area of health, food and fitness that were once dictated in my life by broken and/or misaligned beliefs. I've decided to pick on fats first as there are many beliefs that are not validated scientifically.
The Belief: Fat is bad, particularly if it's from an animal source (aka. saturated fat).
The Truth: Studies done associating fat and heart disease have been done mainly on processed saturated fats... aka trans fat and partially hydrogenated oils or on animals raised on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO's). What that means is that the source of the fat studied was never taken into account or mentioned when presenting the final result. Why would we expect anything healthy to come from sick animals? Aside from that studies show hydrogenated fats to increase tissue inflammation and contribute to coronary disease throughout the body while increasing total cholesterol. Unfortunately other saturated fats even those coming from quality sources have wrongly been lumped into this category.
A Deeper Look
We have eaten fat of all kinds as far back as we have record with little to no heart disease. Research actually points to the fast development of the human brain being made possible because of the access to greater amounts of fatty acids (energy) in our diet. Fat is in every cell of the human body. Wouldn't that mean it's likely very important?
-Saturated fatty acids make up at least 50% of the cell membrane which gives them integrity and suppleness.
-They protect the liver from alcohol and other toxins. (which is why you have most likely heard that toxins are stored in the fat of animals)
-They enhance the immune system.
-They have antimicrobial effects in the digestive tract.
-They are needed for the production of certain hormones, like testosterone.
And these are just a few of the many wonderful things that are associated with fat consumption. The key is to consume quality sources of fats from animals raised on their traditional diets (likely pasture).
For me personally, after years of buying into the no fat hype, I realized I do much better on higher amounts of fats than what's often recommended. I've had improvements in energy, digestion, skin and overall health. Current fats/foods that I consume and or cook with regularly;
local pastured lard (saturated)
organic coconut oil (saturated)
organic soaked nuts/seeds
organic nut butters
pastured chicken fat
organic olive oil
organic sesame oil
organic flax oil
avocado
grass fed raw butter (saturated)
grass fed raw cream (saturated)
I recommend you test switching up fat sources for yourself as we all need different things in different amounts.
Would love to hear your thoughts. What types of fats do you consume?