Twenty years ago, low fat diets were the craze. Fat made you fat said conventional wisdom, and we all avoided it like crazy.
Fats, however, support us in so many ways. including keeping us from feeling hungry all the time. Of course, like anything, there are healthy fats and unhealthy fats. Here are some we should be eating every day.
Oil and the gut
Healthy oils heal and protect our guts. When we’re dealing with inflammation or gut issues, healthy oils can actually soothe and promote natural healing of gut related issues. Vitamin D is particularly healing for intestinal issues. As well, many healthy oils are antimicrobial and will help rid the gut of candida, viruses, parasites, and other undesirable gut inhabitants.
Eating the right oils can help alleviate a number of modern day health maladies. Here are a few to consider.
Healthy Oils
Avocado oil. Avocados have exemplary health benefits.
The fruit itself contains excellent dietary fiber and are loaded with vitamin E, folic acid, chlorophyll and monounsaturated fats. Avocado oil has a high smoke temperature, so it is ideal for frying and cooking. Eating the whole fruit is even better for you. Coconut oil. I’ve written before about the benefits of coconut oil. In short, it’s easily digestible, provides great energy without being stored as fat.
Olive oil is one of the most stable oils, due in part to its
high vitamin E content. It supports liver and gall bladder function and reduces the LDL cholesterol in the body. It should not be heated over 325 degrees. Seek outorganic extra virgin olive oil, which is the most health promoting and best tasting olive oil. Oil that is not extra virgin is often chemically treated, and is less desirable for health.
Macademia oil. This oil comes from a fat-laden nut, so it
makes sense that extracting oil from the macademia would be easy and not require much in terms of chemical processing. Macademia nut oils are a source of squalene, a naturally occuring antioxidant that protects from sun- induced oxidation. It helps synthesize both cholesterol and vitamin D. It is highly shelf stable and resistant to heat oxidation. Of all the seed nut oils, macademia oil performed best when exposed to heat. It is also low in omega-6 fatty acid, helping us to maintain our polyunsaturated fat balance.
Grass fed butter. Butter from cows that eat grass is one of
the healthiest of the fats. The fat soluble vitamins in butter protect against heart disease, atheroclerosis, osteoperosis, and degenerative disease. It contains Vitamin D, Vitamin A, and Vitamin K2, a vital nutrient to assist with the uptake of Vitamin D and calcium. Butter contains butyrate, a short chain fatty acid that is anti-inflammatory and has shown to reduce the negative effects of type 1 diabetes in laboratory studies. Grass fed butter is high in omega 3s, CLA, beta carotene. Sweet butter is unsalted and has a more delicate flavor, but also a shorter shelf life. Buy it wrapped in foil to preserve its freshness. Cultured butter comes from milk that sits out for a day before churning and has an exquisite flavor.
Clarified butter, is butter fat that has had milk solids and
water removed. With whey and casein removed, clarified butter can be stored for many months without becoming rancid.
Ghee is similar to clarified butter, different because the
butter is cooked longer allowing the milk solids to brown before being strained out. This gives ghee a nutty flavor. It is an anti carcinogen, makes food easier to digest, enhances the medicinal values of food, and gives food an outstanding flavor.
Flax oil. Flax oil is a great way to get more Omega 3 into
your diet. Omega 3 fatty acid helps promote healing and reduces inflammation all over the body. For those of us with leaky guts, autoimmune disorders, and other inflammatory illnesses, flax oil is health promoting in a number of ways. It supports proper thyroid, adrenal and hormone activity. It strengthens the immune system, helps maintain healthy blood, nerves, arteries, skin and hair. It also helps to transport fat soluble vitamins and helps to break down cholesterol in the body. It should not be
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heated. If it tastes bitter, it is rancid and should be discarded.
Sunflower oil is a sweet, nutty oil pressed from sunflower
seeds. When unrefined and fresh, it is a great source of omega 3. Sunflower oil should not be heated, but is great for salads.
Walnut oil. Buy walnut oil in small quantities with a
manufacture date on the label. Keep it refrigerated and don’t heat it. Instead use it on salads Walnut oil is rich in omega 3 and omega 9 which help to keep arteries flexible, reduces inflammation, and helps with skin issues like eczema. It is rich in phytonutrients like selenium, phosphorous, magnesium, zinc, iron, and calcium as well as many B vitamins, vitamin E and niacin.
Tips for Using Healthy Oils
Don’t overheat oils. When you overheat oil past its smoke
point, the oil breaks down and oxidizes and toxic compounds are formed. Every oil has it’s own smoke point dependent upon how it was refined and the chemical make up of the oil.
Store oil in a cool, dark place. Oils break down more
rapidly in light and when heated.
Buy smaller amounts and replenish often.
Smell your oils. If they smell bad, toss them. Rancid oils
have broken down into unhealthy compounds and should not be used. If you can’t tell by smell, taste your oils before using them. Any acrid, bitter, moldy, or musty or any other unpleasant flavor means you should not use it. Oils should taste and smell lightly sweet, or like the food they came from (e.g., olive oil).
Oils to avoid
Vegetable oils must go through extensive chemical processing to make them usable and palatable. These fats are highly undesirable and unhealthy. Vegetable oils contain very high levels of polyunsaturated fats, and these oils have replaced many of the saturated fats in our diets since the 1950s. The problem is that polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable and oxidize easily in the body. These oxidized fats are rancid and cause inflammation and mutation in cells.
These fats also contain a higher ratio of omega-6 fatty acids, where we need to consume a higher ratio of omega 3 for health. Our bodies need a balance of omega-3 and omega-6. Modern diets provide ample omega 6, whacking our balance. Omega-3s have been shown to reduce
inflammation and be protective against cancer, while too much Omega-6 fats cause inflammation and increase cancer risk.
Avoid these oils, and the processed foods that contain them, as much as possible.
Corn oil. A byproduct of the corn industry, this oil
requires all sorts of intense processing to extract the very small amount of oil from corn. It is an inferior oil, yet it is used in almost all of the fried foods in restaurants.
Cottonseed oil. Another of the chemically treated plants,
cottonseed oil is some of the most chemically tainted oils on the market. Avoid.
Canola oil, which comes from the rape plant, is highly
refined by chemical means. The omega 3 in canola oil is quite fragile and does not last long. Rape seed oil has been used for a long time, however, in historic use the oil was pressed fresh daily using simple presses that did not break down fatty acids.
Vegetable oil is mostly corn oil. Avoid.
Margarine. I can’t believe it’s not butter! I can’t believe
you’re eating this! Go find yourself some real grass fed butter and live! Margarine is highly processed, chemically flavored, and inflammation producing crap. Avoid.
Grape seed oil. Grapes are some of the most chemically
treated fruits. Toxins concentrate in fatty acids, so the seeds of grapes and the oil coming from it are not health promoting.
Packaged foods to avoid
Because so many of our packaged foods contain unhealthy oils, avoid the following commercial products that contain vegetable oils (amongst other health destructive elements):
Salad Dressings
Condiments
Mayonnaise
Chips
Artificial Cheeses
Store bought nuts and snacks
Cookies, crackers, snacks
Sauces
If you’re buying packaged foods, read the labels! It will tell you what ingredients are in there, and you’d be surprised. Commercial food in the modern world is not health promoting.