The appropriate proportions of
the right ‘clean’ fats are good for you.
A diet without enough fat causes dry skin, brittle nails, and weak hair. Fat deficiency also shows up as fatigue, depression, and the inability to concentrate. The beautiful brain itself is 60% fat!
Fat is absolutely necessary for the body to grow and repair. Fats build healthy cell membranes. Science class flashback: cell membranes are the walls of a cell; they control what goes in and what goes out. A healthy cell wall locks in water (Hello, wrinkle free, hydrated skin!) and naturally sweeps out toxic waste. A sick, poorly built cell wall will become confused, letting in unscrupulous characters and sending the good ones away. Think of it this way, you want a big, FAT bouncer working that cell party going on in there.
Fat soluble vitamins the skin loves, like A and E, require fats in order to be absorbed.
Fat (especially omega 3 fats) protects against the inflammation arising from sun exposure, as well as the subsequent spots and wrinkles.
How to eat fat?
Pay attention to incorporate the variety of good fats:
Saturated Fats:
coconut oil, grass fed clarified butter (ghee), sheep or goat cheese, grass fed fatty meats.
Monounsaturated Fats: avocados, olives, grape seed oil, olive oil, sesame oil, nuts, nut butters, seeds.
Polyunsaturated Fats: Polyunsaturated fats are separated into two categories, the omega 6 and omega 3 essential fatty acids (The EFAS). The body does not make these fats, yet they are necessary to cell development and growth; so they must be made an essential part of the diet, hence the name.
Omega 6 (linoleic fat): flaxseed oil, macadamia nut oil, walnut oil, safflower oil. Omega 6 fats are abundantly found in processed foods!
Omega 3 (alpha linoleic) fat: seeds (chia, flax, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower) eggs, wild salmon, sardines, sea bass, plant foods (collard greens, dandelion, kale, spinach), tahini, grass fed meats.
* All foods listed should be organic.
Pay attention to the balance of Polyunsaturated Fats (EFAS):
Fats prove to be a case of too much of a good thing when too many omega 6 EFAS are consumed in relation to omega 3 EFAS. Too many omega 6 fats and not enough omega 3 cause inflammation in the body. Without enough omega 3, the body cannot build healthy cell membranes (see above). According to Doctor Steven Pratt and Kathy Matthew, authors of SuperFoodsRx, the average western diet contains 14 to 25 more omega 6 than omega 3 EFAS. In order for the body to function perfectly, the appropriate balance of omega 6 versus 3 should be somewhere between a ratio of 1 to 1 and 4 to 1.
How to love fat?
Don’t eat processed food to avoid the overload of omega 6, and be sure to emphasize the omega 3!
