I’ve been trying to eat low fat my whole life.  That’s what they told us to do to lose weight and have a healthy heart.  Fat was BAD.  But it seems, THEY have changed their mind. Let me explain what THEY say now. Now there are GOOD fats.  THEY started realizing this when they noticed that people who lived in the countries around the Mediterranean Sea had less heart disease than us Western types, and they ate a @#% load of olive oil (I can’t say that; I’m a professional).  Well now THEY know.  Olive oil has a lot of monounsaturated fat, more specifically monounsaturated fatty acids.  Fatty acids; What a disgusting phrase.  Fatty (what you used to call the shy, hungry kid next door- yeah you did- don’t deny it) acids (stuff that could dissolve your face if you got into a strong one).  They are the stuff that packs on the baggage.  But they are not all bad.

First let me explain that there are different kinds of fatty acids.  The afore mentioned monounsaturated acids are good.  They help lower bad cholesterol  (LDL) levels without lowering the good (HDL).  Olives, avocado and canola oil have a lot.  Eat them, but don’t eat too much or you’ll end up like the kid next door, because they have more than twice the calories per gram than carbs or proteins.  A little is good because it helps slow the digestion of everything you eat with it.  And that’s good because you won’t get hungry again so fast and pig out on chips and candy bars about 4pm. There’s another “good” one (in quotes because everything is relative).  That is, omega-3  fatty acids.  It has something to do with where the double bonds are— you wouldn’t understand, so forget it. They help lower triglyceride levels and combat inflammation among other things.   Fatty fish have a lot, but you’ve got to watch out for those that are contaminated with mercury and other bad stuff. I don’t have time to talk about that now, so educate yourself.  There are some omega-3’s in some plant foods, especially flax seed and walnuts, but they contain a precursor to the active form, which isn’t converted to the active form very efficiently.  The reason I referred to relativity is, you need a higher proportion of omega-3s to omega-6s than you are probably getting. Omega-6 fatty acids are also polyunsaturated fatty acids, which used to be GOOD. They are in vegetable oils such as soybean oil and safflower oil.  You still need them. Linoleic acid, an omega-6 fat, is an essential fatty acid.  You need it to live.  You just shouldn’t get too much relative to omega-3’s.  Are you thoroughly confused?  I rest my case.

Love ya,

Mamaday