It has been a long day filled with cleaning house (with my favorite little “cleaning helper”), doing laundry (finally finishing the last load and now the mountain of clothes is staring at me, telling me to fold and put them away!), going to CrossFit and doing snatch balances followed by a brutal 12 minute AMRAP WOD of 20 snatches, 50 toes-to-bar and a 40 yard handstand walk, as well as a mini WOD of max double unders in 6 minutes. In addition, Keenan woke up twice last night, yet again, so I didn’t get a very restful night of sleep. My in-laws said he didn’t wake up during the night at all over the weekend, so I’m not quite sure what is causing it. My husband thinks he just wants to push our buttons and exert control. But, after thinking about it, I realized the issue is probably his bottom second-year molars. His cheeks have been very rosy with a slight rash all week, he has had a runny nose since Sunday, he has been unusually irritable and his bowel movements are very sour smelling (sorry for the TMI!). After doing Keenan’s bath, I asked him to say “Ah,” while I checked his gums and sure enough, you can see white spots, as well as nice bumps on both sides, at the back of his mouth on the bottom. I’m crossing my fingers his teeth are the reason he is waking up at night and once the molars come in, Keenan will go back to sleeping soundly.
Having a “stare down” with Keenan after reading a story before bed!
Anyhow, enough venting and rambling, it is time for the fun stuff, “Thursday Tidbits!” In case you missed it, I started a weekly post featuring tidbits on anything health, fitness and wellness related. If there is something that you would like to see or have questions about, let me know!
Lately, dietary fat has been a hot topic among my friends and family members. Even with all of the new information about healthy fats, it seems that fat still gets a bad rap ever since it was scrutinized in the 70’s. I think one of the biggest reasons as to why fat gets a bad rap is so many of people consume it in the forms of processed and packaged foods like chips, donuts, fast food, etc that aren’t good for you.
Fat makes things taste good and keeps us coming back for more, but at same time, eating the right kind of fat can help keep cravings at bay, helping you feel fuller longer and more satisfied, thus helping to manage your weight (and even lower cholesterol). Fat is a necessary component for our bodies to function properly, such as assisting the brain, building cell membranes, keeping the heart beating regularly, slowing down digestion to absorb nutrients and cushioning and protecting our organs.
There are different types of fats to consider:
Saturated: Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and usually come from animal products, such as meat, butter, cheese. They commonly raise LDL (bad) cholesterol and a large consumption can increase one’s risk for heart disease, so it is important to eat them in moderation. Consuming products from grass-fed animals or choosing leaner cuts of beef is a better choice. The fat from grass-fed beef and dairy can provide more beneficial fatty acids than animals raised (or even finished) on grain.
Trans Fats: Trans fats are made when liquid vegetable oils are heated with hydrogen gas and are called hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. They include palm, soybean and even some coconut oils and can be found in several processed foods, such as cereal, crackers, cookies and margarine, as well as fast food. Trans fats are the unhealthiest type of fat, causing harm to your body by increasing LDL (bad) cholesterol, as well as triglycerides (fat in the blood), thus increasing your risk for heart disease. To make it easier, avoid trans fat at all together by eating little to no processed food and consuming whole foods.
Unsaturated: Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and come from fish, such as salmon, tuna and sardines, as well as nuts and vegetable oils. They are healthy fats that increase HDL (good) cholesterol.
Monounsaturated: Monounsaturated fats are also liquid at room temperature. Sources are plant oils, (canola oil, peanut oil and olive oil), avocados, nuts and seeds. They also increases HDL (good) cholesterol.
Polyunsaturated: Polyunsaturated are also liquid at room temperature and come from sunflower, corn, soybeans, flaxseeds, walnuts and fish. They include omega-3 fatty acids, which help to reduce inflammation in the body, increase HDL (good) and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.
You might be wondering where coconut oil fits in the mix of all of this? Coconut oil is considered a saturated fat, but a healthier one than say, butter (I’m sure some would argue that butter is just as healthy!). Recent research has found coconut oil to have many wonderful health benefits from increasing HDL (good) cholesterol, increasing your ability to fight off illness, controlling blood sugar levels and keeping your hair, skin and nails strong and healthy. Cooking with coconut oil or consuming a little bit of coconut butter on daily basis is great addition to your eating. Since I have been consuming coconut oil on a regular basis, I’ve noticed a big difference in my skin and nails.
All, in all, fat isn’t bad, and should be a vital part of your eating. It is about consuming the right ones–“healthy fats”–from whole foods (nuts, avocados, olives, olive oil, coconut oil, flaxseed, etc), and eating the not-so-healthy ones–trans and saturated fats (except for coconut oil)–in moderation. I believe that consuming grass-fed meat and dairy is a good source of fat, but again, not eating it everyday.
Questions:
– What fats do you like to eat or cook with? I love eating avocado and adding some to my lunches everyday, in addition to enjoying a big scoop of almond butter with my No Oat Oatmeal and cooking with coconut and olive oil.
– Did you go through the “fat-free” craze in the 90’s and avoided fat all together? If so, how did you feel? I went through it with my mom and consumed all things considered “non-fat” or “fat-free”. It’s funny, but when I think back to that time, I don’t think I ever felt completely satisfied.
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I eat the very same fats that you listed! The only change would be that I’ll also have a few other nuts (in moderations) like pistachios and walnuts. I definitely went through the “no fat” stage–how could you not? Everyone was saying to stay away from it, so I followed suit at the time. Good thing I researched on my own and came around!
I love to add roasted walnuts to our salads; they are so good! I wish we could eat more pistachios, but Keenan is allergic to them, which is still so strange to me. Anyhow, I love consuming a little fat on a daily basis, because it certainly makes a difference in how I feel! I couldn’t imagine going back to eating everything non-fat or fat-free!
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We’ve been cooking primarily with coconut oil and olive oil. Coconut for the higher temperature stuff since it does better than olive oil at higher temps. I also enjoy eating avocado and nuts (almond, peanut, walnut, etc). We also tend to eat fish at minimum twice a week. I completely agree that fats are good so long as you pay attention to which ones you are consuming.
By the way. I love the photo of you and Keenan.
Thank you, Tina! Also, it was good to see you today! I hope you enjoy the coffee!
We do the same with cooking with coconut oil and olive oil. One thing we are lacking is fish. We definitely need to eat more of it on a regular basis! Drew is so picky with his fish, since he is used to catching and eating it the same day, so it is hard to buy any. I need to work on that…
Cute photo! Thank you for breaking the fats into good, bad and ugly! It will help Avo too.
I am going to send it to all my aging health conscious friends.
Love,
Nonna
Thanks, mom!
Great post! My topic yesterday at Stroller Strides was the benefits of coconut oil and the time before was healthy fats. Mainly because of what a bad rap fat gets. I enjoy healthy fats daily in the same forms as you minus meat and dairy. I too went through that fat free craze and also remember never feeling satisfied but always hungry! I feel much better now!
Thank you! It’s amazing how consuming a little fat on a daily basis makes you feel so much better! I could never go back to only eating things that are non-fat or fat-free!