Know thy fat

We all know fat gets a bad rap. But high quality are actually good for us. Benefits include hormone production, the building healthy cells, improved skin quality, energy, and help us to absorb the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. My favorite being they provide satiety. Satiety means how full and satisfied you feel after eating. The key is getting the right ones and using them properly. I've created this chart to help you with your fat needs.

Avoid vegetable oils like the plague:
If there is anything you take away from this post, I hope it's avoiding vegetable seed oils like canola oil and soybean oil. Traditional animals fat were used until cheap oil we're introduced to the US in the 1960s. However, we are now seeing the health repercussions. One of the main problems with vegetable oils such as soybean, cottonseed, and canola oil is their high amount of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids or PUFAs. Not only that, PUFA’s are also highly unstable thus creating trans-fat.

A note about restaurants:
Most cook with the cheapest oils which are vegetable oil aka trans fat. It's hard to avoid but you can always order a salad and make sure the dressing has olive oil. Also opt for steamed and baked foods.

P.S. Roasted potatoes in lard - oh so lovely!