The previous Great NEWS post was dedicated to Anti-Aging Foods and this week we answer the question is Saturated Fat a Super Food? Many people are confused and frustrated over the never ending debate regarding the various stories surrounding saturated fats. Learning the answer to the question is Saturated Fat a Super Food will help you make better fat and oil choices in order to enjoy enhanced energy, health and longevity.
From a previous post on avoiding aging foods you know that eating processed unsaturated fats and eating adulterated saturated fats are aging foods and why it is essential for you to be avoid them. In another post you learned that saturated fats can be very beneficial and healthy when consumed as part of a balanced and healthy nutrition program. This post will go into specific details regarding what fats are considered superfoods and can promote anti-aging properties.
Eating the right forms of saturated fats can help turbo charge you endurance, fitness and immune system for peak performance. Therefore it is important to identify what is a saturated fat and which ones are better choices. It is important to realize that not all saturated fats are created equal and the same as another saturated fat.
As you have read many times in the Great NEWS posts “You are what you eat” therefore it is essential to eat nutritious foods and super foods with anti-aging properties for health, longevity and vitality. Before we move forward with saturated fats there are important fat facts to understand before you decide which fats to eat.
Some common questions and answers about fats include:
Q: What is a saturated fat?
A: Saturated fat consists of triglycerides containing only saturated fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids do not have double bonds between the individual carbon atoms of the fatty acid chain and is saturated with hydrogen atoms instead.
Saturated fats typically come from animals, fish and plants. Examples include bacon, butter, ghee, cheese, cream, fat, fish (anchovies, herring, mackerel, salmon and sardines), chicken, turkey, beef, pork, venison, wild game, marrow, organ meats, lard, eggs, nuts, cacao, coconut oil and palm oil.
The benefits of saturated fats include holding up better to the heat from cooking than an unsaturated fat. Butter, ghee, lard, suet, coconut and palm oil have been used for centuries as a healthier way to sauté foods at low temperatures without destroying the beneficial properties of the oil. Be sure to use the lowest temperatures possible when warming foods to protect the enzymes and amino acids in the foods. Below 118 degrees is optimal for better results.
Eating coconuts is a healthy source of saturated fats.
Q: What is an unsaturated fat?
A: Unsaturated fats are a fat or fatty acid where there is at least one double bond within the fatty acid chain. A fat with one double bond is monounsaturated and if it contains more than one double bond is polyunsaturated. The more unsaturated a fatty acid is the more vulnerable it is to lipid peroxidation which a fancy term for going rancid. Unsaturated fats come from plants and seeds. Examples include avocado, canola, corn, flax, olive oil, sesame, soy and sunflower oil. Cooking with an unsaturated fat or oil causes it to break down rapidly and be unhealthy. Cook without the oil and then adding it to the food before serving is your best option.
Most foods have a combination of saturated and unsaturated fats. Some fats may be more locally available, lower cost and native to your climate zone which would make them a better choice for you and the environment.
Q: What about eating vegetable oils that are popular in the market?
A: Avoid all oils which could contain GMO seeds like canola, corn, cottonseed, and soy which weakens the plant vitality and has been treated with herbicides and pesticides. Avoiding all GE and GMO “Frankenseeds” is a key step to avoiding exposure to experimental biotechnology which uses genetic engineering and synthetic chemical toxins which are dangerous to your health and longevity. The heating and chemical processing of vegetable oils also makes them even more harmful. After processing these oils are better suited for use as paints and plastics.
Q: How do I learn and understand the different types of fats and oils in foods?
A: Read the ingredient labels. Choose organic and locally grown. Find farmers that use natural, rotational and sustainable methods to improve the nutrient content of foods and enrich the soil. Avoid foods grown with synthetic chemicals, herbicides and pesticides. Avoid animal products from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO).
Q: How was the fat and oil grown, processed and prepared?
A: Read, research and review the fat and oil preparation, production and processing methods. Learn if the ingredients have been highly heated, processed and refined. These processes break down the nutrients and create harmful compounds in the fats and oils that are unhealthy. Avoid artificial and unnatural additives.
Eating cold pressed extra virgin olive oil is healthy
Q: What fats and oils should I avoid?
A: Trans fats which increases the risk of coronary heart disease.
Oils that are highly heated, processed and refined.
Hydrogenated fats and oils like margarine
Fried fats and oils and the foods cooked in them
Baked and broiled fats and oils
Roasted and salted nuts and seeds
Oils exposed to heat and light which causes them to be rancid
Homogenized and Pasteurized milk products
Canola, corn and soy oil due to GMO’s
Eating coconuts and cold pressed organic coconut oil is healthy.
Q: What fats and oils should I consider?
A: Avocado
Whole chia, hemp, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower seeds
Eating cold pressed organic Coconut Oil and Palm oil is healthy
Eating cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, flax seed, grape seed and sesame oil is healthy
Wild fish (anchovies, herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines and trout)
Sea foods – kelp, krill, phyto-plankton, sea weeds, squid,
Organic raw nuts (should be soaked and sprouted in water first)
Organic raw seeds (should be soaked and sprouted in water first)
Miso, natto, tempeh from organic and properly fermented sources
Free range wild game – buffalo, caribou, deer, elk, rabbit, goat
Free range, grass fed organic beef, chicken, duck, eggs, goat, lamb, turkey.
Cold processed raw and whole cheese, milk, kefir, lassi, yogurt, whey
Eating avocados is a healthy food with healthy fats.
Q: Is Eating Saturated Fat Healthy?
A: Yes! Unfortunately many companies and people care more about product shelf life and profits than they do about people and the planet. These groups create unhealthy fats and oils and try to deceive you about really healthy fats and oils like coconut, nuts, palm, seed oils and animal fats in order to sell you their product at the expense of your health and well being. They use artificial ingredients, genetic engineering and synthetic chemicals to grow and manufacture fats and oils that look, smell and taste great even though they are quite harmful.
Is it possible they are telling you coconut and palm oil are unhealthy because they are not growing them in the US and would rather sell you their unhealthy product instead by telling some big fat lies?
Q: Are Saturated fats a super food?
A: Yes. Understanding fats that heal and fats that kill is important for beauty, healthy and longevity. As you learned previously Avoiding Aging Foods is key to avoiding disease and death. The suggestions listed in this Great NEWS blog post will help you be happy, healthy and in harmony while you maximize your energy, endurance and excitement for peak performance. Remember anti-aging foods and super foods also help you be healthy, wealthy and wise.
While this avalanche of information on fats and oils may have you feeling a bit confused and overwhelmed right now, allow your common sense and innate wisdom to process this information to see what resonates with your inner instinct. When you understand the cause and effects of today’s health issues and the unhealthy consequences to you and your family the answers will become obvious. Also be sure to do your homework and research on fats and oils listed in the Mastery Action Plan.
When you decide to choose to make organic whole foods with healthy saturated and unsaturated fats and oils a daily part of your nutrition plan you will quickly discover how easily your body, mind and spirit begin to improve and respond. Even if you have not made the best choices in the past it is never too late to change your eating habits and see great results in a short period of time once you begin eating the best organic whole foods containing healthy saturated and unsaturated fats and oils.
This Great NEWS post was dedicated to answering the question is Saturated Fat a Super Food? While most people are confused and frustrated over the misleading stories surrounding saturated fats you now know the truth. Knowing what you now know will help you make better fat and oil choices and enjoy enhanced immunity, health and stamina. Unadulterated unsaturated fats and saturated fats are a super food and anti-aging food when properly grown, locally sourced, minimally processed and prepared. Enjoy
What is your current Gap?
What unhealthy fats and oils are you eating? Write them down and have a discussion with your family about the benefits of eliminating and the dangers for not eliminating these unhealthy fats and oils.
Mastery Action Plan (MAP)
Read the post on Anti-Aging foods again. Read the book Fats that Heal Fats that Kill by Udo Erasmus and Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. Check out the website of the Weston A. Price Foundation. Eliminate the unhealthy fats and oils from your home.
Call to Action
What comments, commitments or questions do you have regarding saturated fat a super foods?
Next week the Great NEWS blog will share: Coconut Craze
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