Confused About Cooking Fats? Here's What You Need to Know
With all the conflicting information out there about fats and nutrition, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But if you take away one thing from this blog, let it be this: Simplify. Turn to the wisdom of our ancestors who relied on whole, real foods—foods in their most natural state—before they were refined, processed, and complicated.
Fats Have Been Misunderstood
For years, fats were vilified, blamed for the rise in heart disease in the 1980s. This led to the belief that fats are bad for you, that they make you fat and harm your health, while carbs were the better choice. This couldn’t be further from the truth. During this time, we also began to heavily process and refine oils in an attempt to make them "healthier."
Healthy Fats Play a Crucial Role in Your Health
Fats are essential for maintaining a healthy body and mind. Some of the ways they support your health include:
- Providing Sustained Energy: Fats are a slow-burning source of energy, helping you feel fuller longer.
- Supporting Cell Structure & Function: They provide essential fatty acids, crucial for the structure and function of your cells, tissues, and organs.
- Aiding Nutrient Absorption: Fats help your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, each of which have widespread roles of their own.
- Help Make & Regulate Hormones: Fats are key to hormone production, influencing everything from mood to metabolism and reproductive health.
We Have Been Misled...
Some of the first government dietary guidelines we’re created at the time when we we’re led to believe dietary fats would make us fat and sick. Taking this at face value, we freaked out about dietary fats, added and consumed more sugar and salt than ever before and introduced industrial seed oils. This created a flawed foundation for modern nutrition.
Also, with an energy/calories in, energy/calories out approach fats will forever be feared as 1g fat = 9 calories, whereas 1g protein or carbohydrates = 4 calories. To keep to short and sweet. Not all calories are created equal. Count nutrients, not calories!
The Problem with Processed Fats
The truth is, our grocery isles are laden with fats and oils that are neither nourishing nor natural. And these same cheap, highly-processed and refined oils are used throughout convenience foods that our modern lifestyles steer us towards: packet foods and pastries, chips and crackers, baked goods and biscuits. Basically anything with a long shelf life! These trans fats are known to promote inflammation and interfere with many critical processes in the body.
The oil industry played a major role in pushing trans fats, and when that became widely known to be harmful, they shifted to promoting highly refined vegetable oils like canola and soybean oil. These oils are rich in omega-6 fatty acids, which, when consumed in excess, can trigger inflammation in the body. This imbalance of omega-6 to omega-3 fats is now known to contribute to a variety of chronic conditions, including:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Obesity and pre-diabetes
- IBS, arthritis, and asthma
- Autoimmune diseases and even cancer
Excess omega-6 also interferes with the body's ability to use omega-3s, reducing their anti-inflammatory effects by as much as 40%.
Practical Pantry Tips
Many cooking oils are susceptible to oxidation at high temperatures. This means they form free-radicals that are harmful to our cells, tissues, and organs.
Free radicals cause oxidative stress & promote inflammation, which damage your cells and DNA. This oxidative stress accelerates aging and can lead to chronic diseases.
Choose the Right Fats for the Right Purposes:
Oils with higher smoke points are appropriate for cooking, while oils with lower smoke points are better used in dressings or for drizzling
- Beef Tallow & Avocado Oil: high-heat cooking, roasting, and frying
- Coconut Oil: great for most baking and medium-heat sauteeing
- Olive Oil, Hemp Seed & Flaxseed Oil: drizzling on salads and using in sauces and sides
Storage & Shelf Life
- Store oils in a cool, dark place, away from heat and light.
- Never store oils next to the stove or on the kitchen counter.
- Always close the lid tightly and store oils immediately after use to prevent rancidity from exposure to oxygen.
- Buy oils in smaller quantities that you’ll use within 1-2 months for the best freshness.
By simplifying your approach to fats and choosing the right ones for your cooking, you're mind and body will benefit. Remember, real, whole foods—like the fats our ancestors used—are always best!