If you grew up, like I did…
…in the 70’s and 80’s you will have been indoctrinated into the (false) theory that fats make you fat and that saturated fat is bad!
If that’s the case, then you’re probably a statistic for heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, Alzheimers, autoimmune disease, mood disorders and obesity, among many other conditions that have their roots in the low fat, high carbohydrate diet.
“What the fridge!”, You say.
“You mean everything I’ve been told for the past 50 years is wrong?”
Yes, I’m here to tell you that the absence of adequate fat from your diet will make you fat, nutrient deficient, miserable and prone to disease.
Let me tell you a story…
I have, for a very long time, been addicted to my little piece of chocolate after dinner every night. It’s gone from 1-2 squares of dark chocolate more recently to whole packets of double-chocolate-layered biscuits way back in my 20s. I have tried a lot of things to unhook myself from this seemingly innocuous habit, but I have failed a gazillion times!
Now I know why….
I grew up on the SAD diet (Standard Australian Diet) and let me tell you it is pretty sad. It’s the standard cereal and processed milk for breakfast and white bread sandwiches for lunch. To my mother’s credit we had a diverse range of healthy dinners during my childhood, but in my early teens I started to stray and scoff down the junk food, especially sugar! I remember sitting down to a glass of Milo that had more milo in it than milk! By then the addiction to sweet food had got its claws into me.
I started dieting when I was about 15! I did crazy things like follow a super restrictive diet I found in Dolly magazine and lost 5 kilos in one week. I did the Beverley Hills Diet and got a terribly raw tongue that I swear still exists today! I tried other things like being vegetarian, following the Pritikin diet and skipping meals that left me starving and incredibly irritable but which never really worked, not to mention devastating my self-esteem.
Now I know differently! All of this sets up nutrient depletion, poor gut health, susceptibility to mental health issues and a complete and utter obsession with food! It’s a recipe for misery which pretty much sums up my late teens and early 20s!
So, let me tell you about fats and why you should increase them in your diet.
Fat are co-factors
My extensive research into fats and fat soluble vitamins has lead to the realisation that many of the diseases common today are simply the result of the low fat diet. Healthy fats (and in relation to vitamins A, D & K I’m mainly talking about healthy animal fats such as butter, lard and tallow but you can also include olive oil and others) help us absorb the nutrients out of our food. They work collaboratively. For example a salad without a dressing is way less nutritious for us!
Fats increase satiety and help quell sugar cravings
This has been the biggie for me. I started taking some herbs that support pancreatic function, had some acupuncture, took starchy carbs out of my diet and increased my fat consumption and bingo!, my sugar cravings have entirely disappeared, along with some extra fluid and “pudginess”, to my great relief! I have not had chocolate after dinner since September and I lost the 3 kilos I’d put on with Covid. That’s the first time in 30 years I’ve been able to make that happen!
Vitamins A, D & K support bone and adrenal health
My mum has osteoporosis and so I’m at risk. I’m small-boned and a perimenopausal female so I’m at risk. It intrigues me greatly to find out more about how to protect myself from terrible fractures later in life so I’ve been researching it.
Here is some of my findings:
- Synthetic vitamin D and calcium supplements do not resolve osteopenia satisfactorily
- Excessive calcium and vitamin D cause other problems in the body and put you at risk of possible cardiovascular or kidney problems.
- Only small amounts of the natural vitamins are required but they do need to be in balance
- Nature provides the correct balance of vitamin A and D (10:1 ratio). Taking vitamin D without vitamin A mimics vitamin A deficiency
- Cod liver oil and consuming liver are excellent ways to increase your fat soluble vitamin intake. Butter is also wonderful and should be consumed liberally.
- Emu oil provides the Vit K that is often destroyed in cooking or missing from foods and supplements (email me if you’re interested in getting this).
- Eating adequate greens will balance out the acidity of the animal foods you consume and allow the body to maintain blood pH without “stealing” alkaline minerals from the bones. Ca & Mg are alkaline minerals.
- Nature is always best when it comes to prevention.
So, to come back to our original question… how much fat should I eat, the answer is probably, more! You should probably eat more fat than you are currently eating especially if you are overweight, have problems with blood sugar, have low energy or erratic moods or you have that “not sick but not well” syndrome.
Fats in consider are:
High fat foods – liver, cream, olives, avocadoes, nuts, seeds
Cooking fats – butter, ghee, lard, tallow.
Other oils – olive oil, avocado oil
Do you want to learn more?
Of course, being guided on making your diet more biologically appropriate to your body is easier if you work with someone. I’d be happy to be that someone!
If you’d like to know more please email me to book your complimentary 1/2 hour Path to Healing Session where we can discover what the source of your particular issue is, I can give you a resource to take away and we can work out if we’d like to work together to help you achieve your desire to be the best version of yourself that you can be.
Click here and scroll down to arrange your time with me! Or email me directly at brenda@qwomen.com.au.
