Eat More Fat....Get Healthy

Good Morning Everyone!

         So what is the deal with fats?  What's good and what's bad?  What should we cook with?  Well.... Here are the quick answers:  Good fat is essential omega-3 oil (source: fish oil, olive oil (uncooked),  flax seed oil, wheat germ oil, sesame seed oil, black current seed oil).  Bad fat is saturated (such as butter and vegetable oils) and trans-fat (hydrogenated oil).  Tip:  even if the label says "0 grams trans-fat," it still can have trans-fat (you have to check the ingredients for any type of hydrogenated oil).  Here is the why: 

This is a cut-out of the membrane of a human cell (which we are entirely made of).  Trans-fat and saturated fats make this membrane stiff and unhealthy....Therefor the cell itself cannot function to the best of its ability. (Result:  you will not function as well as you can and you are less able to fight of disease)  Omega-3 fats make this membrane loose and healthy so that the cells can "eat" and discard waste (just like we do).

So with good omega-3 fats, we know that we are giving our cells better function.  Therefor our bodies can fight off disease and dysfunction. 

So for the last answer to the question above:  We should cook with the most stable of oils which would be coconut oil and or butter.  WHAT!!! you just said that saturated fat (i.e. butter) is bad.  Yes, but it is the lesser of the two evils.  Dr. Jeff...Why don't we just cook with olive oil or one of the other good ones?  We can't use those to cook because they will turn to Trans-fat when heated in a pan (which is much worse that saturated fat...i.e. butter).  Tip:  A healthy butter substitute to use with half the amount of saturated fat is called "GHEE."  This is a product that you can find at Wegmans or Wholefoods and it is a byproduct of heated butter. 

So Eat More GOOD FAT!

Yours in Health,

Dr. Jeff

Please make sure that before you try any new foods as a result of this blog to check and see if you are allergic to any of the products.

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