NUTRITION PRINCIPLE 4: Fats as 30-80% of your calories for vibrant health.
The appropriate amount of fat to eat depends on climate, metabolic needs, individual and seasonal variation. You will have to experiment and listen to your body. But for sure you should not be afraid of fat, as it does NOT make you fat.
Animal fats provide the critical fat soluble vitamins (vitamin A, D, E, and K2), and are the healthiest fats to consume. Use butter, ghee, tallow and lard. Meat contains fat, as do full-fat dairy products.
The healthy ratio is 50% saturated fat, 46% monounsaturated, and 4% polyunsaturated fat. Butter, beef and lamb are closest to this ratio. Foods contain a combination of these fats in different proportions.
Polyunsaturated fats should only be a small part of your diet, and come from unprocessed real foods. Omega 3 and 6 fats are polyunsaturated fats. The proper ratio of these is 1 (omega 3) : 1 (omega 6). When you eat processed foods you are consuming high amounts of omega 6 from the vegetable oils and typically unbalancing this ratio to 1:20. This may be the most dangerous aspect of modern diets. These vegetable oils are made using damaging high heat and toxic chemicals. They are implicated in obesity, depression, asthma, cancer, autoimmune diseases, digestive problems, ADD/ADHD, learning and behavioral problems, and more.
Chickens (meat and eggs) and pigs that are confined and fed unnatural diets have higher amounts of omega 6 fat. Vegetables raised with chemical fertilizers are higher in omega 6. And eating too many nuts and seeds (which are naturally high in omega 6), including nut “milks”, can unbalance this important omega 3:6 ratio (which should be 1:1).
In 1865 vegetable oils made up ZERO part of our diet. People ate meat, eggs and dairy and were much healthier. We now know the information we were told since the 1950’s to consume less cholesterol and less saturated fat was simply wrong. The foods that contain these, and the nutrients they come with, are critical for our health. Your brain cannot function properly and you cannot make hormones without cholesterol.
Get most of your fats from animal sources for optimal nutrition, just as your ancestors did. Avoid vegetable oils (canola, corn, peanut, soy, safflower, sunflower, cottonseed, and hydrogenated oils such as Crisco). Eat only small quantities of unheated olive oil and avocado oil. These oils are damaged when heated and are often cut with cheaper vegetable oils (it will not be on the label). Coconut oil is stable for cooking, and this saturated fat contains beneficial medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), but no fat soluble vitamins.
Read last week’s article here: “Nutrition Principle 3: Animal foods are important for vibrant health, https://sierranewsonline.com/focus-on-vibrant-health-nutrition-principle-3/
Dr. Veronica Tilden can be your ally in regaining vibrant health and feeling the divine in the moment. She uses traditional hands-on osteopathy to diagnose and treat. She helps you take responsibility for your health and guides you in making better choices in your life. Her office is in North Fork. You can find out more and schedule an appointment at DrVeronicaTilden.com.
