Healthy Fats Are Your Friends

6/3/2019

Our bodies require nutrients in order to survive, function, and thrive.

We need large amounts of some - we call these macronutrients - and smaller amounts of others - we call these micronutrients.

Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals, and macronutrients include:

Protein
Fats
Carbohydrates

The food we eat contains a combination of any/all of the above. Each of these three macros provide energy, or calories, to your body, and each affects your body in different ways.

This post looks a little closer at the basics of Healthy Fats - what they are, why you need them, and where to find them.

What Are Healthy Fats?

Fat is a major source of energy that helps you absorb vitamins and minerals.

Keep in mind, a nutritious eating plan definitely doesn't mean cutting out all fat, just focusing on healthier varieties.

Healthier fats come mainly from vegetables, nuts, seeds, and fish.

Healthy fats include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. (The kind you want to steer clear of are industrial-made trans fats, while saturated fats fall somewhere in the middle.)

There are two main types of polyunsaturated fats:

omega-3 fatty acids and
omega-6 fatty acids

These are known as “essential fats,” meaning your body needs them to function normally but is unable to make them on its own. You MUST get these fats from the food you eat.

Why Do We Need Healthy Fats?

For a lot of reasons, actually!

Healthy fats:

help the body absorb certain vitamins and minerals
give us energy (9 calories of energy vs. protein and carb’s 4)
allow blood clotting
produce important hormones production
act as messengers to help protein do its job
assist in the building of cell membranes
protect internal organs
keep up warm
allow proper brain function
give food flavor

How Much Fat Do We Need, Exactly?

This part can, admittedly, be confusing, because there isn’t really an “exactly.” Not only has popular opinion changed drastically through recent history, but your specific amount of daily intake will also depend a compilation of factors like your age, gender, activity level, physique goals, and overall health.

Essentially, you just want to make sure you are including sources of healthy fat into your meals every day in a variety of ways.

Fortunately, a rather large range of fat intake is actually considered healthy; in fact, the latest dietary guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services doesn’t even give an upper limit on healthy fat consumption.

Sources of Healthy Fat

Fatty Fish: Current dietary guidelines recommend including seafood twice per week. Fish high in omega-3 fats include salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel and lake trout.
Walnuts: Walnuts are an excellent plant-based source of omega-3. Add walnuts to cereal, salads or muffins. Try walnut oil in salad dressings or drizzled over cooked pasta.
Flaxseed: Add ground flaxseed to breakfast cereal, yogurt, baked goods including breads and muffins or mixed dishes and casseroles. Or, drizzle flaxseed oil over cooked grains or use it for salad dressing. (Your body cannot break down whole flaxseeds, so it must be ground first in order to access the omega-3 fatty acids.)
Eggs: Some chickens are given feed that is high in omega-3s so their eggs will contain more as well. When buying eggs, check the package label.
Nuts: In addition to heart-healthy fats, nuts are a good source of protein, dietary fiber and a variety of vitamins and minerals. Just keep portion control in mind. One portion of nuts is equal to 1 ounce or 2 ounce-equivalents in the MyPlate protein foods group and provides approximately 160 to 180 calories.
Oils: Use oils such as olive and avocado oil in place of saturated fat, such as butter. Use it in salad dressing or to sauté or stir-fry vegetables, seafood, poultry and meat.
Avocado: Avocados not only contain monounsaturated fat, but they are also packed with folate, vitamins E, C and B6, potassium and dietary fiber. Try adding avocado to salad, pizza, soup, salsa, eggs and sandwiches.
Peanut Butter: Nearly half the fat in peanut butter is monounsaturated fat. Resist the urge to pour off the heart-healthy oil that's separated out of natural peanut butter, and mix it in, instead.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that healthy fat is an essential nutrient that we humans need for a lot of reasons.

Fortunately, there are many sources to make consistent consumption an easily reachable goal, and understanding how your body uses fats helps prioritize choosing the right kinds.

When you include enough healthy fat into your diet, your body, mind, and health will thank you, which means so will your soul.