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Five healthy must-have fats to stock in your kitchen that with regular use facilitate the path to optimal vitality and wellness as exemplified by traditional cultures.
When folks ask me for advice on how to change their diet for the better, I tell them that the quickest way to improve their health and just feel amazingly better in general (like, feel better tomorrow – that’s how fast this works) is to get the right healthy fats into their diet and the wrong (factory) fats out.
Eating organic fruits/vegetables and grinding their own flour/making their own bread are usually the two changes that people want to do first, but the truth is, while important, these two things will have the least impact on your health in the immediate term.
I am very much a results-oriented kind of gal, so I try to tell folks what will give them the most bang for the buck right away.
Making significant changes to your diet with minimal impact on how you feel every day is very discouraging. That is why I tell people to get the fats right from the get-go.
The sad truth is that most folks have the fats totally wrong, even if they claim to eat healthily. Another eye-opening truth is that you have absolutely no chance at health if you don’t have the fats right! This is the critical first step toward your best health.
Get the healthy fats right and even if you continue to eat conventional produce and meats (I don’t necessarily advocate this – I am just trying to make a point), your health will blow away anyone who eats everything organic and has the fats wrong!
I know this from personal experience. Getting the fats right was the single change that I made almost ten years ago that finally made me feel terrific after years of eating organic fruits/veggies and meats and still feeling pretty lousy much of the time.
Surprised? Well, consider this. The cell wall of every single cell in the human body is made up of fat. Our very brain is made up of approximately 60% fat.
Don’t those two factoids right there indicate in flashing neon lights the incredible importance of getting the right fats into our diet and how devastating eating the wrong ones can be? I hope anyone reading this blog isn’t still under the incredibly dangerous notion that eating a low-fat diet is a healthy thing to do.
If you are new to the idea that fats can be healthy, check out my article on the scam of skim milk.
Also note that every single healthy ancestral culture on the planet revered fats as the secret for keeping them healthy, fertile and resistant to infectious and chronic diseases. This startling anthropological discovery that conventional health authorities misguidedly gloss over was discovered by Dr. Weston A. Price early in the last century. (1)
With that, I will now reveal the Five Healthy Fats that you MUST have in your kitchen – assuming vibrant health is your goal, of course.
Butter
Ah, what can I say about grass-fed butter? It is one of the most perfect foods on this planet.
Like Julia Child, I have discovered over the years that you simply can’t eat too much butter. And, if you think you’re eating too much, you can always substitute cream, as Ms. Child is rumored to have said!
I like to joke with people that the more butter I eat, the slimmer I get! Butter was my secret weapon for staying trim even after having my third child in my forties.
If you are a butter lover too, you know from experience that there’s quite a bit of truth to that statement!
Deep yellow/orange butter from cows eating rapidly growing spring grass was considered a sacred food by the Traditional Swiss culture, a culture with young men so perfect and pleasing in physique, strength, and character that the Vatican favored these young men over all others to serve as the Papal Guard at the Vatican.
Want your children to have strong, robust physiques and healthy bone structure? Eat lots of butter when you are pregnant and load up their food with it while they are in their growing years. Ignore the low-fat nonsense and see and feel the results for yourself. Eating lots of butter stabilizes the blood sugar and significantly reduces or even eliminates sugar cravings.
Overconsumption of all things sweet and starchy and factory fats are the real villains for those with ill health, NOT whole, healthy fats like butter (2).
The cell wall of every cell in the human body is supposed to be composed of saturated fat, the wonderful fat that is so abundant in butter. Replace the real thing with margarine and the body will incorporate these inferior fats into the cell walls instead.
With the wrong type of fat making up the cell wall, intercellular communication breaks down and the cell itself is weakened.
Skin cells whose cell walls are composed of the fats from polyunsaturated vegetable oils (the main fat in the Western diet) instead of the much stronger saturated fats are more prone to damage from the sun and unsightly brown spots (or melasma if pregnant).
If, for no other reason than vanity, switch to butter and throw out those nasty vegetable oils.
Allergic to dairy and wondering what are good substitutes for butter? The linked article will help you navigate the maze of products on the market for a healthy alternative.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is loaded with medium-chain saturated fats which are utilized by the body for immediate energy! Want to feel better and have more energy and maybe even lose weight?
Incorporate this wonderful, healthy fat into your diet in generous amounts. Coconut oil is a highly stable oil, so much so, that you can keep it unrefrigerated in your pantry for years and it will not go rancid (I have a large bucket in my garage…it stays perfect through the long, hot, humid Florida summers!). It remains stable even at very high heat, so it is the ideal cooking oil.
I use coconut oil anytime a recipe calls for cooking oil or shortening. Coconut oil used in your baked goods will result in cookies, cakes, and pastries so moist – you and your family will be delighted.
Tip: I recommend expeller-pressed coconut oil if you don’t care for the mild coconut flavor of virgin coconut oil.
Physiologically, coconut oil stimulates the thyroid gland, so it is a fantastic addition to the diet for those that tend toward hypothyroidism. By some estimates, about 80% of Westerners over the age of 25 falls under this category.
Lauric acid, a very important medium-chain saturated fatty acid, is found in abundance in coconut oil (but not MCT oil also called “liquid” coconut oil). Lauric acid is highly antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal.
And guess what? The human mammary gland produces lauric acid and it is contained in breastmilk! Anyone with candida issues of any kind should be regularly consuming coconut oil in their diet. Rubbing coconut oil into the scalp and then shampooing out is a wonderful home remedy for dandruff, a fungal infection of the skin.
If you have trouble stomaching the oil straight up, you can also take it as coconut oil capsules. If you have an allergy to coconut, try palm oil, red palm oil, or palm kernel oil, two other healthy tropical oils.
One word of warning, some folks experience skin or digestive issues from coconut oil. This article explains when to avoid coconut oil due to allergies or sensitivities.
Please see my resources page for where to buy quality coconut oil products.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Without a doubt, extra virgin olive oil is the best of the healthy fats to use for salad dressings. Why don’t all salad dressings at the store contain this wonderful Mediterranean oil?
What’s up with Annie’s brand of organic salad dressing at the health food store using canola or soybean oil? Update: now there is sunflower oil in there too. Has this company lost its mind? No, it is just more beholden to stockholders than customers. Canola, sunflower and soybean oil are all cheap oils that increase the profit margin.
Bottom line: Annie’s is too cheap to just use extra virgin olive oil. In case you haven’t noticed, extra virgin olive oil is rather expensive in comparison. You trade a lower price on industrialized oils with your health, so make sure you buy only extra virgin olive oil and not cheap, highly processed vegetable oil or products that contain them.
If, by chance, you are one of the folks who have trouble with olive oil and tend to put on weight quickly when you consume it, then try another traditional oil such as sesame or peanut oil with a tsp or two of added flax oil for your salad dressings instead.
Please see my shopping list for where to source vetted, 100% pure, unblended extra virgin olive oil.
Animal Fat
Animal fats such as schmaltz, goose, duck, tallow, and lard have nourished Traditional Cultures for centuries. And don’t forget about the rich yolks from pastured chicken, duck, and goose eggs!
Most people don’t even realize that McDonald’s used beef tallow to fry it’s french fries until the sea change in the restaurant industry some 30 years ago in favor of partially hydrogenated fats caused the unfortunate switch to these very unhealthy Factory Fats!
When I make homemade chicken, beef, or duck stock, I freeze in one-quart containers and then easily peel off the fat that freezes on top to use for cooking. Animal fat imparts valuable nutrition and wonderful flavor to roast vegetables.
The reason many kids won’t eat veggies is that they are so tasteless! Roasting organic vegetables in a bit of chicken fat makes them absolutely delicious. My kids frequently ask why the veggies in restaurants are so tasteless and why the ones cooked at home are so yummy. Now you know the secret that Traditional Cultures always practiced!
Beef tallow can’t be beaten for making healthy homemade french fries! Whoever thought that healthy eating could taste so fantastic! Liberal use of traditional animal fats in the kitchen makes this possible.
For more on healthy fats from animals, refer to the articles on how to render tallow and how to render lard.
High Vitamin Cod Liver Oil
Rounding out the Five Fats you must have in your kitchen is Granny’s favorite, cod liver oil. Cod liver oil contains omega 3, essential fatty acids that most Westerners are severely deficient in. Deficiency in these delicate omega 3 fats invites inflammation in the body which leads to innumerable conditions and illnesses. This vetted brand is high quality and no heat processed.
Unlike plain fish oil or krill oil, cod liver oil also contains vitamins A and D in their natural state.
Vitamins A and D, when taken together in whole food like cod liver oil, work synergistically to improve the function of every system in the human body!
The importance of Vitamin D in cod liver oil cannot be underestimated with regard to its positive effects on health. Vitamin D deficiency is even said to be the reason many people get the flu.
Well, there you have it. The Five Fats that when incorporated into your diet will most certainly improve your health and vitality. Once you throw out the Factory Fats you are currently using such as butter substitutes and vegetable oils and replace them with the Five Healthy Fats described in this blog, you will very likely begin to feel improved energy right away.
The most striking change that occurred immediately for me when I got my fats right was a rapid reduction in sugar cravings!
Getting the fats right is the only way I have ever found for people to reduce and eventually eliminate their sugar addiction. Any other approach is temporary at best and relies solely on will power rather than the body being nourished and not needing the sugar (remember that the body converts sugar to saturated fat, so if your diet is low in saturated fat, you will be plagued with sugar cravings that cannot be controlled).
If this is your experience as well, I would love to hear about it as well as any other improvements you’ve noticed in your health once the fats get fixed.
References
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
Study Fails to Link Saturated Fat and Heart Disease
Do you consume mayonnaise? I use mayo to make my own ranch dressing and usually make a homemade mayo. I make it with organic safflower oil. What would you recommend?
I’ve been reading that the recommended dose for coconut oil is 3 tablespoons a day. Is this correct even if I were consuming all the other fats in my diet too?
could you clarify more what would constitute as carbs? I know that includes pasta, bread, crackers…anything with wheat, but does that include potatoes too? I’d like to try cutting out the sugars/carbs, but I don’t know where to draw that line at really. I don’t buy processed crackers for my kids (like goldfish) or anything, but we do eat pasta, potatoes, rice, and bread. Bad, I’m sure.
It’s true! REAL, NATURAL fats do NOT make you fat – SUGAR DOES!
I’m a 5’9 35 year-old female and I weight 117-123 pounds (my weight literally changes that much from when I wake up until night). I am a vegetarian since the age of 12, but have always eaten eggs and butter. The only oil in our house is Extra-Virgin Olive, and we cook with that and butter. However, I did live on a pasta-based diet until the beginning of this year. I have avoided white “bread” since forever (YUCK), and rarely eat sugar or sweets. I am a coffee addict though, drinking over 8 cups a day, very strong with lots of Half-and-half (5-6 quarts a WEEK), with NO SUGAR added (YUCK!).
I have always had low cholesterol levels, but I have a family history of extreme autoimmune disease, and I’ve had Arthritis since age 2 (cause by a tick / Lyme Disease). I also have Neuro-Cardio Syncope and the Cardiologist told me to increase my water and salt intake (and I was ALREADY drinking more than 8 glasses a day, and I’m of Euro-descent, so I eat a TON of salt, REAL pickles and sauerkraut). I have bad Varicose Veins in one leg, caused by poor lower-body circulation since childhood and exacerbated by a botched foot surgery during which I contracted Staph and the doctor refused to treat me for 3 whole MONTHS – even when my entire leg from the knee down turned purple and swelled to twice the size! I also have Excema and VERY sensitive skin. So, while I’m not the “healthiest” person on the planet, most of my problems are auto-immune / genetic (VERY BAD ear infections = deaf in one ear). I’ve never been overweight or diabetic, and NEVER had heart / cholesterol problems even though I always ate traditional fatty / salty European foods (my grandparents only ate homeade meat and full-fat dairy).
The only time I ever gained weight was over 3 years of living at college – vegetarian options were limited, so I basically lived on Taco Bell, BK Whoppers without the meat, Pizza and orange soda – I was 125 pounds when I moved in and 3 years later I weighed over 150 pounds! I’ve always been “skinny,” and all my weight naturally goes to my belly – I have no butt and no boobs, but after those 3 years I had a big butt and was a full cup-size larger. Needless to say, after moving back home, over a few years I lost all that weight (without even trying) and then some, and I stopped drinking soda completely even before I left school. At home we ate mostly pasta, but outside of my college days I’ve only ever eaten fast-food maybe 10 times in my entire life.
This year I started to wonder if I could add on some “good” weight by eating more natural fats. So I started reading a lot of W.A.P. and I decided to eat a LOT more butter and eggs, switched to WHOLE milk (was drinking 2%; Skim milk was invented when I was a kid and I spit it out back then and it was never allowed in our house since), and reduced my reliance on pasta and potatoes. This was back in February 2011. So far instead of eating pasta 2-3 times a week we now eat it about once every 2-3 weeks. I started adding a half-stick of butter to my porridge (either Irish oatmeal, millet or quinoa) (with only a pinch of sugar – never had a “sweet tooth”) and using whole milk or half-and-half in it. Otherwise I would eat 3 eggs fried in a bit of olive oil and a half stick of butter with one slice of WHOLE GRAIN or Rye toast smothered in salted whipped butter. Since May I’ve upped to 4 eggs a day. I’m also drinking a glass (8 oz) of Coconut Milk a day. I have yet to buy Coconut or Palm Oil, but I plan to.
The result? I have not gained a single pound! NOT ONE POUND! I eat the same amount of food as before, just replaced the pasta (carbs) with eggs and butter. I still consume 1-2 pounds of cheese a week (I’m a cheddar / Brie addict). I STILL weight 117-118 pounds in the morning and 122-123 pounds at night. Go figure!
It’s funny – about a week ago someone said that I had to stay for breakfast (my usual when eating out is an omlette with tomatoes, peppers and cheese with Rye toast and “real” butter) because I am “too skinny.” HA! I said – “I eat 4 eggs and a half-stick (4 TBS) of butter every day! Fat doesn’t make you fat – all that sugar in your coffee is what makes you fat!”
Fat might not make you fat externally, but I would recommend you go have your arteries checked for dangerous clots. Do you know nothing about basic nutrition? I’m not going to discuss intricacies of metabolism with someone who types “I weight” instead of “weigh”, but just know that a half stick of butter ever day is not good for you.
I just want to support what Sarah is saying in this post about fats. If you want to lose weight and keep a stable blood sugar level, this is the key. After I had my twins, I was still carrying an extra 55 pounds around, even after 1 year. My chiropractor advised me to stop eating all grains/starches and up my intake of good healthy fats (like the ones Sarah is talking about). I was shocked at what happened. I lost those 55 pounds and it was unbelievable how easy it was. I honestly didn’t even exercise AT ALL. I had twin toddlers, so there was no time for exercise. The pounds just fell off and I was actually wondering if I was going to get “too skinny”? The best part was that I was satisfied for long periods in between meals and I often had to remind myself that it was time to eat. Cutting out the grains and starches really kept my blood sugar levels stable and I wasn’t experiencing those hunger swings. Eating enough healthy fat was keeping me satiated between meals and helping my metabolism to function properly. There is a fabulous chapter in the book “The Cholesterol Myth” about eating a high fat diet and how it stabilizes your blood sugar. The book was talking about a study that they did where they fed hogs a high fat diet vs. a high grain/starch diet. Hogs are NEVER satisfied and will eat and eat and eat and they will grow to be pretty big/fat. When these hogs were fed a high fat diet, they actually were satisfied and didn’t return to the trough as often. These hogs also stopped putting on weight (which is what hogs do). Anyway, I thought that was a super interesting story and actually described how I was feeling on a high fat diet. I also recently heard about a study where Alzheimer’s patients were being given medicinal doses (like 3 tablespoons a day) of coconut oil and it was actually reversing the Alzheimer’s symptoms in many of the patients. Coconut oil is pretty amazing stuff!
My family likes to occasionally have a fondue night. I was told by a chef once to use Spectrum’s shortening that is made from palm oil for prolonged heating in this situation. I have been doing this but have two questions (1) is quickly cooking meat in hot oil healthy? and (2) if the answer to this question is “yes” than what kind of fat is best for this? I normally do use butter and coconut oil for most of my cooking and olive oil in salad dressings since I have heard it is not good to heat olive oil. (I see conflicting information on the heating olive oil.)
Also I just starting taking the Green Pastures cod liver oil. A friend ordered a variety and I ended up with some emulsified and some regular to try. I don’t understand what the emulsified is and how it compares to the regular. I wrote the company and they gave a vague answer, something about cellulose fiber and improving taste. I don’t understand why someone would want fiber in their cod liver oil?
Thanks for your blog,
Brenda W.
Sarah,
Is it ok to use refined organic coconut oil for cooking( for instance, Spectrum organic) instead of virgin coconut oil? I have tried cooking with virgin coconut oil and I just cannot stand the taste of coconuts in my food. Its wonderful to bake with, but it doesn’t go well with foods such as eggs. I need a little help making an informed choice.
Thank you,
Daphney
Yes, I used expeller pressed coconut oil myself for cooking as we don’t like the coconut flavor of virgin coconut oil.
Hi Sarah! LOVE your blog so much! It is my favorite place to spend any extra time to learn all the info you share! Thank you!
I did have a question, I have been using Nutiva’s organic extra-virgin coconut oil for years in cooking, baking, smoothies, etc…and just read where you said you only use the expeller-expressed kind for cooking and baking? So basically if I switch to the same kind we are still getting all the wonderful attributes of CO without paying twice as much? I am needing to order more and before I do, wanted to see what you say. I didn’t realize I could be saving money and still getting the benfits of CO in my family’s diet! What are the situations that the more expensive oil are best for? I got so confused as what to order from the Tropical Traditions site that I thought I might better ask you first…we have been buying gallons of Nutiva, but I think the 5 gallon TT brand would be more economical. They have so many kind to choose from there…would love to hear what you think is best to purchase…THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Again, can’t tell you how grateful I am to have found your site- amazing! thanks!
How do you feel about hempseed oil? (organic, cold-processed) I’ve been using it in combination with olive oil for salad dressing, and put the hulled seeds on the salads too.
I’m a bit uncomfortable with it Kelly because historically hemp was only ever used for a food during times of starvation from what I understand hence I feel that there must be a good reason for that and a better alternative would be sesame oil or something like that that is a traditional fat.
Thank you Sarah! I need to research it more, I didnt know that about it being used when people were starving! Maybe it’s because it’s so easy to grow and has a quick harvest. Who knows, but I will try to find out!