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If you follow me on Instagram @inspirednutritionandhealth or have seen a few of my past blog posts, you will notice that I certainly do not shy away from fat and that I actually try to incorporate it into each meal or snack that I have. If this is first time you are visiting my site, hi! My name is Katie and I love to eat yummy, fat filled foods that nourish my body and give me plenty of energy to do what I love.
Back in the 90's, dietary fat got a bad rep for being attributed to heart disease. We can attribute this to the American Physiologist Ancel Keys. He made a hypothesis that saturated fat caused and increased cardiovascular disease. His hypothesis was based on his Seven Countries Study which compared the diet of Europe versus the US post war. He noticed Europeans has a lower cardiovascular disease but it was also during a time that Europe had a reduced food supply post war. Naturally, Europeans weren't eating as much as Americans so their overall risk of disease was lower from food intake. On the other hand, Americans were eating more foods in general and had a higher risk for disease. His hypothesis was flawed but the American Heart Association took his word and announced to the American government that we need to avoid all saturated fats and adopt a low fat diet and from then on, the American diet has become so much worse and unhealthy because we have eliminated and avoided essential fats that our body was designed to eat and burn for fuel. A lot of people are surprised to hear that fat does NOT make us fat! It is the over eating of processed foods we eat and the high carbohydrate diet that makes up the standard american diet.
A study conducted in 2015 by Cardoso D., Moreira A., M. de Olivera G. et al titled, "A coconut extra virgin oil-rich diet increases HDL cholesterol and decreaseswaist circumference and body mass in coronary artery disease patients" resulted in patients with coronary artery disease increase their good cholesterol by consuming extra virgin coconut oil. The good cholesterol is known as HDL and works as a cholesterol removing particle that pulls the bad cholesterol out of the blood stream and processes it through the liver and excretes it as waste. So, the patients with coronary artery disease actually improved their health by consuming more healthy fat!
Certain types of fats are better than others due to their processing. Highly processed fats can cause inflammation because they are further removed from their natural state. Highly processed fats include canola oil, vegetable oil, corn oil, soybean oil or regular olive oil. The cleanest types of fats are extra virgin because they have been touched "the least". Other clean fats include extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin coconut oil, avocado oil, butter and ghee. If you haven't heard of ghee, it is clarified butter. It is essentially butter without the lactose so people who are sensitive to dairy and whey tolerate ghee more than butter. These clean fats have been through the least amount of processing so are closest to their natural form and hold more health benefits. We need fat in our diet because our brain is a fatty organ and will use fat to function and to grow. If you start to incorporate more healthy fats and less processed foods, you will instantly start to feel better and increase mental clarity, energy and improve sleep quality!
Our body needs essential fatty acids to function and carry out a lot of critical daily processes. Saturated fats and Unsaturated fats are both healthy for us. Saturated fats have also had a bad rep in the past for increasing the risk of heart disease but as you can see in the article I shared above, coconut oil is a saturated fat and it increases healthy cholesterol levels. Plant fats help to break down the bad cholesterol that can build up in our arteries so eat more plant fats such as coconuts (saturated fat) and avocados (monounsaturated fat).
I eat healthy fats every day and pretty much at every meal. If I don't have any time to make food or if I'm not super hungry but need some fuel, I'll grab a fat bomb for some quick, efficient energy! I make my fat bombs ahead of time so that way I can simply just grab them and head out the door. My favorite flavor of anything is chocolate so I made some peppermint chocolate coconut oil fat bombs. YUM. Not to mention, this recipe is made with peppermint essential oil which has so many health benefits that I actually could write another blog about. To sum it up quickly, peppermint eases the stomach, helps to relax and unwind and relieves headaches. The recipe is so simple and will only take about 5 minutes to prep and about an hour to let them sit and solidify.
Ingredients
1 cup almond butter
1 cup coconut oil , melted
1 cup cacao powder
2-3 drops of organic peppermint essential oil
Method
Melt coconut oil until liquid (30-60 seconds in microwave)
Combine coconut oil, almond butter, cacao powder and peppermint oil to mixing bowl
Blend together until smooth
Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups
Pour mixture into muffin cups
Place in freezer for 1 hour
Remove and enjoy!! Keep fat bombs refrigerated or frozen until ready to eat
So, bust your fat fear and try these fat bombs as a quick pick-me-up snack during your day! If you make these, let me know how you like them by commenting below! If you make these fat bombs with another flavor instead of peppermint or even no flavoring at all, let me know! I’m always curious to see what different types of flavor combinations people enjoy!
Happy Friday guys!
Katie