Yes. I'm for real.
For a long time I thought low-fat diets were the healthy way to go. I was misguided and WRONG. The people that still preach this just don't know any better.
Any product that says "low-fat, no fat, fat-free, etc." is NOT good for you. (Most likely its processed anyway so STEP AWAY!) Since a product has stripped the fat to lower calories, it also took all the flavor so guess what they had to do to make it taste good? That's right... load it up with sugar and other junk you cant pronounce to make it a 'yummy food-like substance'. Just keep this in mind...
So... no, that does not mean you can go binge on everything high in fat. Not all fats are created equal. (Same goes for calories!!) So, what's good? I'll tell you...
- Coconut oil (Best. Stuff. Ever. for a bajillion reasons)
- REAL butter from a grass-fed cow (I know Paleo says no dairy but for those who aren't intolerant, this is super good for you.)
- Avocados
- Olive Oil
That's pretty much it. These fats are THE only ones I cook with. I use coconut oil in everything - no canola, no vegetable, no Crisco, no Pam, no soybean. I put butter on my sweet potatoes and a few other things. Avocados are versatile in all sorts of things like egg salad/chicken salad/tuna salad instead of mayo (which has yucky soybean oil!) and are fabulous in salads, on meats, and of course... fresh, homemade guac.
Fats help with a lot of things one major one being nutrient absorption. Vitamins and minerals are either water-soluble or fat-soluble meaning some are better absorbed with water and others with fat. If you are eating no fat in your diet, you are not absorbing vital fat-soluble nutrients well or at all!
Another important fact about fat is that fat controls satiety. Its incredibly hard to binge on anything with a high fat content. If your meals are balance with protein and fat, you will not get hungry in an hour or need a bunch of snacks. Kind of throws the theory of portion control out the window, doesn't it? Counting calories doesn't work long-term (it's not a lifestyle so its a temporary "diet") but we'll talk about that another day!
BTW - I know coconut oil is high in saturated fat which they say is bad for your heart... First off, that is a MYTH (ONE study that was blown way out of proportion) and second, the saturated fat in coconut oil is medium chain fatty acids, which are very diff. Wanna know more about the science? Check out Robb Wolf. I LOVE the nerdy talk, but I'll let the pro biochemist explain.
Food Sources!
Grass-fed Butter - sold at US Wellness Meats
