Why You Need to Eat More Fat + The Ultimate Green Smoothie Recipe
Fat- the other bad “F Word”. Society has driven people so far away from the word “Fat” that it is doing more harm than good.
Products that claim to be “low fat” end up having some sort of chemical substitute or chemical intervention to remove the fat, neither of these are ideal.
When you limit the fat in your diet for fear of gaining fat, you are inviting a host of other complications including increasing your risk for heart disease.
Why we need fat:
Dietary fat provides energy, protects organs, maintains cell membranes, and helps the body absorb and process nutrients and regulate hormones, help white blood cells to recognize and destroy invading viruses and bacteria.
Eating more fat also leads to weight loss, how?
By increasing your fat you can decrease your carbohydrates.
Your body releases insulin in response to the amount of carbohydrates you eat. Lower overall insulin levels—achieved by reducing carbohydrates—allow your body to more readily access fat stores for energy while also allowing fat to enter and fuel your muscles.
Reduce inflammation:
Carbohydrates break down into sugar in the body and while our body needs glucose, it likely does not need as much as it is getting. Excess sugar leads to inflammation and also feeds cancer cells. In an effort to reduce the likelihood of both, I am on board with a higher amount of fat in my diet, compared to carbohydrates.
What kind of fat should we be eating?:
Yes fat is high in calories, but when you are getting the healthy kinds of fat in, and reduce your refined carbohydrate consumption you will actually see a turn around in your health and weight.
Here is a list of foods with the best kinds of fats:
- Avocados
- Olives & olive oil (uncooked)
- Coconut oil
- Nuts (almonds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews)
- Natural nut butters
- Walnuts
- Sunflower, sesame, and pumpkin seeds
Omega 3 fats are also especially important and most people are getting way more Omega 6 than Omega 3. Here are just a few reasons to make sure you are getting enough Omega 3 in your diet:
- Protect against memory loss and dementia
- Reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer
- Ease arthritis, joint pain, and inflammatory skin conditions
- Support a healthy pregnancy
- Help you battle fatigue, sharpen your memory, and balance your mood
Foods higher in Omega 3 fats:
Flax Seed – I buy it whole and grind it as I need it. You can add this to smoothies, oatmeal, yogurts etc.
Chia Seeds – Add a few tablespoons to 500ML of water with som lemon & lime or berries – for flavour, shake up and drink. You can also make a chia seed pudding with some coconut or almond milk and maple syrup.
Hemp Seeds ( do you see a trend here?) – You can add these to pretty much any meal, I love them in my oatmeal, or when making energy bites.
Seaweed – one of the only vegan foods which also have EPA and DHEA. I consume Spirulina daily in my smoothies or in my water. Wakame is also a good source. I also take Afa-Gen by Seroyal.
Fats to avoid:
Trans fats.
How can you get more fats in? Add the above mentioned foods into each balanced meal and snack throughout the day and you should have no trouble achieving an optimal amount.
Yes you can eat Too much fat, fat is higher in calories than protein and carbs and by not adjusting your carbohydrate intake to meet your fat intake and not spending the energy you’re taking in, you can bet you will see weight gain. It is all relative to a healthy balanced lifestyle of nutrition and exercise 🙂
Below is my fat jacked smoothie recipe full of all the essentials for a good morning boost (or any time of the day!)
Love you & all your Fat <3
Janine <3
[gmc_recipe 577]
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