Let’s talk about fat

Let’s Talk About Fat

As a society, we are recovering from a generation of targeted marketing. Marketing that told us that fat makes us fat, fat gives us heart disease, fat is unhealthy. Even patients who know that fat isn’t unhealthy, still have hesitation about consuming adequate amounts of dietary fat.

So, let’s talk about fat.

Fat and chronic disease:
Fat causes heart disease, right? Nope! In fact, diets high in polyunsaturated fatty acids have been shown time and again to help prevent both cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

Adding fat into our diets is especially important for women. Hormones are made from fats, in fact, cholesterol is an important building block of many sex hormones. Studies have shown that women with more polyunsaturated fats in their diet have a lower risk of anovulation. So, healthy dietary fats play a key role in fertility too.

Fat makes you fat:
Again, nope! In long term studies, patients who consume polyunsaturated fats regularly had better weight loss and less smaller waist circumferences over time.

The type of fat matters:
This is the key point. You can’t just start eating french fries all the time and call it a healthy diet. The type of fat matters a lot. Healthy fats include:
– nuts and seeds
– fish
– avocado
– eggs
– olive oil and coconut oil

The bonus to all of this is that fat is tasty. It makes things taste richer and more satisfying. If you’re like me, and you can make any dietary changes that don’t involve chocolate, here is a super tasty, high fat, chocolatey recipe to get you started.

Avocado Almond Butter Pudding:
Serves 6
1 ripe avocado
1 banana
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup almond butter
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup sweetener of choice (maple syrup, honey, etc) or 1/2 tsp liquid stevia

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and enjoy. Store extras in the fridge.