S3 Habit 5: Eat Healthy Fats Daily

I suppose the words “Healthy” and “Fats” are not used together all that often, because we have been led to believe that FAT is a four letter word.

But you can’t fool me, I can count better than that! 🙂

There are actually 4 primary types of fat.

3 healthy, 1 seriously unhealthy.

I will remind you again of what our friend Ryan Andrews over at Precision Nutrition has to say about fat.

Why are healthy fats so important?

Fats exert powerful effects within the body and healthy fats have been shown to offer the following benefits.

Strong evidence
Cardiovascular protection (though there is less evidence for protecting against heart failure)
Improve body composition
Alleviate depression

Average evidence
Prevent cancers
Preserve memory
Preserve eye health
Reduce incidence of aggressive behaviour
Reduce ADHD and ADD symptoms

When it comes to healthy fat, intake amount is important. People are often concerned about excess dietary fat, but not getting enough fat may also cause health problems.

We need adequate fat to support metabolism, cell signaling, the health of various body tissues, immunity, hormone production, and the absorption of many nutrients (such as vitamins A and D). Having enough fat will also help keep you feeling full between meals.

In other words, you NEED healthy fats if you want to be, well, healthy!

(Read Ryan’s Complete Article – “All About Healthy Fats”)

The first kind of fat is saturated fat, and if you eat animal protein, you usually have no problem getting that one in, maybe even a bit too much.

The other two are unsaturated fats – poly and mono. These include the Omega-3s which are found in fish such as salmon, as well as nuts, seeds and vegetable oils. Far from being unhealthy, all of these types of fats are crucial for optimal health.

It is also important to balance out the ratio of the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. The reason Omega-3 supplements are necessary for most people is that the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids has been dumped on it’s head by the way our food is raised and processed. What used to be a 1:1 ratio of 6 to 3 is now more like 16:1, and this does not allow proper cell functioning and integrity. That’s why we recommend a good Omega-3 supplement for everybody. 3-6 grams of EPA/DHA per day is the recommendation. Find more about Super Omega-3 here: Fish Oil and Why You Are Getting Ripped Off

Want to know for sure if you are getting enough Omega-3? Do what Nancy and I had done and get your blood tested. We just sent our Index Assay kit in and we will let you know the results when we get them. You can find out more about that here (we can get you the kits at a better price): http://www.sfh.com/products/omega_3-oil/omega-3_index_assay

So let’s get the bottom line

Starting next week we want you to consciously add healthy fats to your diet. Mix it up by eating nuts, seeds, fish, grass fed animals/eggs, olives, avocado, and coconut.

Supplement with 3-6 grams of quality fish oil a day.

That sound pretty good, eh? 🙂

Caution: If you are taking blood thinners, have heart issues, or have a bleeding disorder you absolutely need to check with your physician before supplementing with Omega-3 fatty acids (Fish/Algae Oils).  Just do it!

S3 Habit 5: Eat Healthy Fats Daily

To earn your daily point starting Monday May 13th:

1. Eat 4-5 meals daily
2. Eat complete lean protein every time you eat
3. Eat veggies every time you eat
4. Eat “other carbs” only immediately after training
5. Eat healty fats daily

Questions? Let’s here them!

P.S. – Who can tell me what kind of fats we should avoid at all costs? Share your answer below.