Good Fat – Bad Fat; 5 Fats I Consistently Have In My Diet & Fats I Avoid

Content by: Guy Lawrence

Good Fat - Bad Fat

Eat your good fats. How often do you hear that? The fear of fat is certainly changing, but how often does someone say I can’t eat that as it contains too much fat! I think the fat free consumer is still very much here but things are slowly changing.

The purpose of this post is to help with the confusion around fat. What is good fat and which fats are just plain ugly. I’ve found over time I generally have certain fats in my daily diet and there are a whole host that I do my best to avoid. I don’t worry about the calories, I only worry about the type of fats. I wrote a post here if you want to delve into fats more. And why is there a fat 1970’s cowboy dancing? Not sure but we liked the picture!

The Good Fats I Eat

The fats I eat daily are all listed below with no particular preference. There are plenty of other fats out there too which are beneficial. If they are not listed it just means I’m not using them as much. In saying that, I am a lover of cold pressed olive oil, butter, ghee, nuts and animal fats from locally farmed sources.

Coconut oil

Spiral organic coconut oilNot quite sure what I’d do without it! Coconut oil  is a saturated fat that I have in my daily diet. It is the only fat I cook with, as it’s very stable under high temperatures.

I also love it raw and will use it when I make raw high protein snacks, and I’ll often add it to my smoothies. Type ’10  uses for coconut oil’ into Google to see how great this fat really is.

Avocados

Avocado

I generally eat 1/2 to a whole avocado most days. It’s become a staple in my post workout protein smoothies, and I like it fresh with my omelettes at breakfast. I’m not worried about the calories and I eat more avocados than I do bananas.

There are countless studies and research showing the health benefits of avocados. This is a bonus as I eat them because they taste delicious!

Fish Oil

omega-3 supplement

I wrote a post on fish oil supplementation recently and you can read about it here. But in a nutshell, I think this supplement is liquid gold and is highly underestimated. If I stop taking it for a week or so I start to notice the difference.

I take up to 5oo0mg a day of fish/krill oil along with a dessertspoon of cod liver oil. As far as I’m concerned, these essential fatty acids are yes… truly essential!

Apricot Kernel Oil

apricot kernel oil

I encourage you to do your research on this one. It’s controversial because it’s high in vitamin B17. Interestingly, B17 was banned in the 1970’s due to its controversies with its reactions within the body and cancer.

Personally I use it daily on my skin and face after a shower as I feel it’s food for the skin. I also use it because of B17.

Eggs

egg yolkAnother fat that seems to cop bad press is egg yolk. I eat plenty of eggs daily and I have no problem with it. What I am concerned about though is the quality of the egg as I feel this is important. I always shop for organic free-range eggs.

What about cholesterol? I feel cholesterol is essential for our bodies and overall health and I eat it daily… But that’s just me.

So these are the fats I have daily. There are other fats that I eat too but not necessarily all the time. I try to eat fats from grass fed animals like beef so I get CLA.  I have cream and would love to get my hands on raw butter. There are also plant-based fats like flaxseed, olive oil and nut oils. If I have these I have them raw and do not cook with them under high temperatures.

The Ugly: Fats I don’t eat

I do my best to avoid the fats listed below as much as possible. My belief is that they are detrimental to ones health if eaten over time. DO NOT get these confused with the fats that I have mentioned above, no matter what they are claiming on the packet.

Hydrogenated fats

trans fatsThink margarine, spreads, potato chips, ice cream, pizza, low grade cooking oil, fast food, biscuits and sauces… The list goes on and on. I read somewhere that up to 40% of your supermarket products will contain hydrogenated fats.

Start to do your research, there’s a whole host of reasons why manufacturers use hydrogenated fats. It’s one that is worth exploring. (You can read an in-depth article on fats here.)

Homogenised Fats

homogenised fatsI’m not a fan of homogenised fats. If you don’t know what it is, think milk and think of the cream that used to be on top (which we don’t really see these days). That process is homogenisation. I wrote an article on it here if you want to read more on the topic.

Over the years I’ve cut back on my milk consumption for this reason alone. I may have the odd flat white, but I generally have a long black with cream. And I use fresh coconut water in my protein smoothies instead of milk.

Heating The Wrong Fats

frying panIt’s hard enough simply avoiding the fats I’ve mentioned, so why compound it? Personally I don’t have a problem with frying, but I generally fry under a low to moderate heat and only use certain fats. Use fats and oils with a high heat threshold. I only cook with coconut oil and I feel ghee is another good option along with red palm oil.

I don’t cook with olive oil, any nut oils or plant based oils as I feel they are no good under heat. I feel these fats aren’t as robust and are subject to rancidity under high heat. And I certainly won’t use processed vegetable oils!

So there you have it. The good fats I eat and the fats I avoid. Did you find this helpful? What do you generally eat? Are you fearful of fats? Would love to hear from you…

Big Fat Lies David GillespieWant to learn more? A great resource and read is David Gillespie’s book – Big Fat Lies

Ps. I’ll leave you with this video. Very humorous but with an interesting message…

On a side note: I truly enjoy writing these posts, hence our frequent blog posts. At the end of the day though, these are just my thoughts and feelings around a topic I’m passionate about. I encourage everyone to do their own research and check out the facts for themselves.

If you did enjoy the post and got something from it or have something to share on the topic, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. If you feel others would benefit from this then it would be great if you could share it using one of the icons below (Facebook etc). Cheers, Guy…

 
 

Guy Lawrence

This article is brought to you by Guy Lawrence. Guy is a qualified fitness trainer with over 10 years of experience in the health industry. Guy worked at the UTS Fitness Centre in Sydney Australia where he specialised in exercise nutrition and obtained his Certificate in Exercise Nutrition and Certified... Read More
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17 Replies to “Good Fat – Bad Fat; 5 Fats I Consistently Have In My Diet & Fats I Avoid”
Tora says:

I recommend Macadamia Oil too. In fact, about to write a blog post about it!

Rachel says:

Glad you mentioned flax oil. I put a tablespoon in my 180 shake each day – it adds a lovely creaminess to the shake/smoothie.

Lou Lou says:

Another thought provoking post Guy. I just wish we didn’t have to get our fish oils out of a bottle/capsule. How to integrate he balance of modern living with sustainable responsible happy healthy food. It’s a mission.

180nps says:

Thanks Lou Lou. Yes integrating everything can be tricky! But well worth it 🙂

Jacqui Lamont says:

I get really bad reflux whenever I take fish oil capsules. When I stop taking them the reflux stops but when I try again it’s back. Any suggestions for alternatives.

180nps says:

Hi Jacqui… Are you taking capsules or oil?

Sunshine says:

Hi Guy, what about somebody with very HIGH cholesterol, can they still eat the yellow of the eggs??? Thanks in advance!!!

180nps says:

Personally I don’t feel that eating natural forms of cholesterol causes high cholesterol, as high cholesterol is formed within the body. If I had high cholesterol I personally would cut out all sugars and processed carbohydrates as I feel they would be the main culprit… Not natural fat. But this is just my opinion. If you would like to speak to someone in this field of expertise, drop me an email here info@180nutrition.com.au and I can pass you on their details. Hope that helps, Guy

Very helpful and health oriented post. Pretty sure a lot of people will find this very interesting because we are not usually paying attention to what types of fat we consume and put inside our mouth.

Dan says:

With coconut oil I thought saturated fats were bad?

180nps says:

Hey Dan… Check out David Gillespie‘s new book called ‘Toxic Oil‘, fantastic read & should clear a few things up for you. Cheers, Guy

Chris Lock says:

Apricot Kernel Oil I havent heard of this before. Where would you get it from?

How does it help your skin?

180nps says:

Hey Chris, most good local wholefood shops sell it. I use it for it’s vitamin B17 content, but that’s just me 😉 Worth researching… Cheers, Guy

Casey says:

Hi Guy, what about butter? I notice Sarah Wilson seems to be a fan in her IQS plan. Also Christine Cronue of The Fat Revolution book swears by butter. Do you consider it a good one?

180nps says:

Yep big fan of grass-fed butter too 🙂 Guy

Lydia says:

Hi Guy, I have ethical issues about taking fish/krill oil. What is an ethical alternative which will still give the high omega 3’s? In regards to B17, I eat apricot kernel seeds for their anticarcinogenic benefits on a random basis, how does using apricot kernel oil on your skin provide similar benefits? Many thanks.

180nps says:

Hi Lydia… From what I can find quality omega 3’s are best from quality animal sources. We spoke a lot about fat in this video interview here. As for application of apricot kernel oil on my skin? Skin is an organ and I treat it like one as I avoid moisturisers etc that contain chemicals. All I can say is try it for a week or two and see how it feels.

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