Since the 1950’s, people have been told that fatty products can cause high cholesterol, heart disease and early death. This is so widespread, that it is
now hard to turn and inform people about the truth. But why have we been told lies?
It all has to do with the nutritional war in the food industry. What it comes down to is that sugar ‘won’.
Sugar, however, turns into fat when consumed in large amounts: If you eat more sugary products
(this also includes bread, pasta etc) than your body can either use this as fuel, or your body can store it as glycogen. If it decides to go with the latter, the excess will be converted to fat and deposited into tissue. This process is called lipogenesis.
We need fat to live! Fat is our main source of energy and we need it for many functions in our body. Fats can help us absorb vitamins and other nutrients, keep us feeling full and are important for our brain functions.
How do we know which fats are healthy?
The best and easiest way to eat good fat is by eating plant-based foods that are high in healthy fats.
These include nuts, seeds, avocado, olives, olive oil, coconut oil, hempseed oil and tahini.
You have probably heard about the Mediterranean diet; which includes many healthy fats.
Try to limit or avoid the TRANS-FATS. Trans fat can be found in commercial foods, like hard margarine and baked goods. They’re created when your food is processed. And yes, these trans fats are the ones that can actually cause heart diseases, high cholesterol and early death.
If your diet consists of whole food that has not been processed by the industry, however, you’re ok.
When eating at The Farm Kitchen, you can be sure that you get your dose of healthy fats.
Saturated fats can be found in dairy products, red meat and poultry as well as in coconut oil and
palm oil. Try to limit these products and enjoy them in moderation.
Trans fats can be found in processed foods such as baked goods and fried foods. Usually they are
added for purposes like taste, texture and preservation. Try to avoid or limit these unhealthy fats as much as possible.
Unsaturated fats are the fats we need. The ‘omega 3, 6 and 9 fats’. In our daily diet we usually get
enough Omega 6 and 9, but Omega 3, however, can easily be missed in our Western supermarket diet.
Omega 3 is found in fat fish (take note that fish get their omega 3 out of algae; so if they are
‘cultured’ they usually don’t contain the Omega 3!), algae oils, green vegetables, nuts, walnut oil and olive oil.
