Sources of Dietary Fat

Oils- Back in the day, Canola oil was king, or at least it was what I remember making many cakes and brownies mixes with in Junior High. The standard, add water, an egg and some oil recipe are still on the back of these boxes, the difference is I do not make them. Canola oil is genetically modified amongst many other problematic aspects of this once popular oil, so I STRONGLY recommend avoiding.

I use Coconut Oil, Butter and Olive oil at home depending on the situation. Coconut oil to fry and sautee, butter to bake and to add to vegetables and olive oil for salad dressing or as a finishing oil.

Nuts- I love almonds, macadamia, and pistachios. Nuts are easy to overeat as they are very nutritionally dense ounce for ounce and they are naturally the size of many packaged snack food.

I love them but weigh and measure them if I am at home. If I am out I make sure I have a handle on how many I am eating, for example not mindlessly eating trail mix. The bag can read 3 servings, but let’s face it unless we make a point of taking out a bowl or setting a 1/3 of the bag on a napkin the bag is the size.

Seeds- Sunflower, chia, avocado, and hemp are my favorite. They have tons of protein and fat. Chia seed pudding is a mainstay of my diet any time of the year. Chia has a lot of fiber and chia seeds can absorb their weigh-in water or coconut milk in my case so they can really fill you up. It is rare I do not have at least 3 avocados in my kitchen in various stages of ripeness in my kitchen. I love them!!

Animal protein- I eat meat. I know many people do not and that I will address in a few weeks. For the purposes of dietary fat, know there are many types of quality animal products to be found, but we must be selective. Stay away from processed meat as the nitrates and preservatives create a ton of other problems.

Having quality animal protein from a source you trust does not have to mean you have to eat live a caveman, but have a reason for example 2-4 ounces of animal protein at a time.

Remember skinless chicken breasts have next to no dietary fat, while a marbled steak will have significantly more. Do not be afraid to ask your local grocery store where the meat or chicken comes from, the same with restaurants. You do not need to eat meat at every meal, or even every day. You do need protein and fat, which is not always the same thing.

Dairy- many people love Dairy. I am lactose intolerant, so it does not get along with my system. I avoid it as such as possible, but I ate it for many years, but have come to the conclusion, lactic pills do not make me a “regular” person. They just take the edge off if the server at restaurant forgets the fish is cooked in butter.

I will go over the pros of cons of Dairy in a few days even you do not get sick because there are some interesting health studies.

For those of you who can happily eat Dairy, cream, milk, and yogurt all are great sources of dietary fat. I recommend full-fat versions as fat-free will not balance your blood sugar. Be wary of yogurt as so many versions have sugar and artificial flavorings and colors. Stick to the real versions of much as possible.

Tomorrow- how much Fat do we really need??