Healthy Fats for Healthy Living By Janeice J Benson, NTP, CHFS, CGP

The message I would like to convey to my family, friends, clients and readers is this:

The quality of our food determines to a large degree the quality of our lives.

And the quality of what we eat is determined by each and every step involved in the production and processing of that food.

This is also the message of eminent dentist and researcher Dr. Weston A. Price, who, during the 1930’s and 1940’s, traveled the world and found groups of isolated peoples whose exceptional good health and dietary patterns had been stable for generation after generation. Identifying certain-types of animal fats as a foundational component to the remarkable health each of these isolated peoples enjoyed was his most profound discovery. Without the vital nutrients (Vitamins A, D, and K2), fat-soluble vitamins or “activators” as Price called them, found only in a select few types of animal fats, our bodies simply cannot absorb and utilize properly the minerals obtained from our diet.

If we desire for ourselves and our families the extraordinary health possessed by peoples practicing their healthy dietary patterns, proven over generations of time, then we must follow in their footsteps. We must know what they knew, and do what they did—Know what the healthy fats are, the foods in which they are found, and how to prepare and include them in our daily meals.

Since the list of foods that supply substantial amounts of these fat-soluble vitamins ( A, D, and K2) is relatively short, being found only in certain animal fats, it is therefore critical to include some from this list in each meal of your day:

 Butter, cream and whole milk products (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.) from cows on green pasture  Organ meats (liver, kidneys, heart, brain, etc.) from cows on green pasture  Lard from pigs raised outside (who then make vitamin D and store it in their fat)  Eggs from chickens and other fowl raised outside or fed insects  Shellfish (oysters, clams, mussels, crab, shrimp, lobster)  Fish eggs  Wild oily fish, such as salmon, sardines and anchovies  Fish liver oils, particularly cod liver oil

There is no need to avoid saturated animal fats, or the saturated tropical oils like coconut oil for fear of heart disease or gaining weight. The great increase in heart disease (as well as other degenerative diseases including weight gain) has paralleled the increasing use of processed vegetable oils, not animal fats.

The best and most natural way to begin transitioning healthy fats and oils into your diet is by substituting a quality dietary fat for a processed food type you may currently be using. The following food guide will help:

INSTEAD OF ··· CONSUME

 Reduced-fat commercial Whole milk and cheese from pasture-fed cows Dairy products

 Commercial low-fat yogurt Homemade yogurt and kefir made from whole milk

 Commercial luncheon meats Additive-free artisan preserved meats, such as Containing many additives salami, sausage, bacon, ham, liver pâté and liverwurst

 Lean commercial meats and Grass-fed meats, consumed with the fat; grass-fed Skinless chicken poultry consumed with the skin

 Fast food hamburgers Homemade hamburgers using full fat, grass-fed meat

 Farmed fish; skinless fish fillets Wild seafood including fish skin, shellfish and fish eggs

 Bottled sauces filled with MSG and Gravies and sauces made with homemade bone broths Other Additives

 Margarines and spreads Butter

 Cooking oils Cook in grass-fed lard, butter, ghee, duck fat and Goose fat; or coconut oil or olive oil

 Commercial salad oils Cold-pressed or extra virgin olive oil

 Commercial salad dressing Make your own with cold-pressed or extra virgin Olive oil and other natural ingredients

 Fast food French fries Potatoes sautéed in lard, butter or olive oil; baked Or mashed potatoes with plenty of butter

 Egg substitutes; egg whites Real eggs from pastured hens, mostly the yolks

 Fish oils Cod Liver Oil

 Cold breakfast cereals Oatmeal, soaked overnight and cooked, served with (Commercially Processed) Butter or cream, a natural sweetener and chopped nuts

 Potato chips, corn chips and other Plain pork cracklings, soaked/dehydrated nuts snack foods

 Commercial ice cream Homemade ice cream made with egg yolks from Grass-fed chickens, heavy cream (not ultra-pasteurized) and natural sweeteners

 Commercial cookies, sweets, Homemade cookies, custards and desserts using Highly sweetened desserts natural sweeteners, egg yolks, butter, lard, soaked Nuts and other healthy ingredients

Step by step inclusion of healthy fats into the diet will naturally lead to menus rich in nutrient dense foods and fats. A sample list of ideas adapted from “The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care” by Sally Fallon Morell and Thomas S Cowan, MD follows:

BREAKFAST: High-fat and nourishing, to get your day off to a good start.

 Pastured eggs, any style, with no-nitrate bacon, optional sourdough toast and butter, fresh fruit.  Soaked oatmeal with pastured butter, cream and/or egg yolks mixed in, natural sweetener.  Smoothie made with homemade kefir and yogurt, fresh fruit, egg yolks and coconut oil.  Homemade pancakes with butter, natural sweetener, and nitrate-free sausage or bacon.  Smoked salmon and cream cheese on sourdough bread.  Raw cheese, additive-free ham with sourdough bread and butter.

LUNCH: Keep it simple! Include healthy fats by eating nutrient-dense foods.

 Homemade soup with sourdough bread, butter and raw cheese.  Caviar or salmon roe (fish eggs) with sour cream on homemade crispy (dehydrated) pancakes.  Chicken liver pâté on sourdough bread or endive leaves.  Salad of lettuce or baby greens, chopped meat, bacon, raw cheese, tomatoes and homemade croutons.  Omelet containing extra egg yolks.  Chicken or salmon salad.

DINNER: 1. Start with homemade soup or salad.

2. Main course of:  Meat, organ meat, fish or poultry with broth-based sauce.  Fresh vegetables with plenty of butter.  Brown rice or other whole grain cooked in homemade bone broth with added butter or coconut oil.

3. Dessert of:  Fresh or stewed fruit with cream, homemade whole milk yogurt or kefir.  Homemade ice cream.  Raw cheese with sourdough bread or crackers.  Cookie, homemade with natural fats (butter, lard, egg yolks, soaked nuts), other natural ingredients.

BEVERAGES

 Whole milk, sparkling water with squeeze of lemon and a pinch of unrefined salt, mug of homemade chicken broth with pat of butter, coconut oil melted in hot water.

Transitioning to a healthier diet through the use of healthy fats and oils is a foundational way to start supporting a healthier, more peaceful and productive family environment. Nutrient-dense fats in the diet not only improve quality of life by preventing illness, but they make possible the type of rightful, clear thinking that leads to patient, focused, and loving behavior, richer, more satisfying relationships, all of which leads to a happier, more purposeful family life. There is no greater blessing and priceless legacy to leave our posterities than the cultivating of healthy minds, bodies, and emotions which translates into more spiritual, righteous living generation upon generation.