Do You Need Saturated Fats for Healthy Brain Function?

The fat phobia diets of the 1980s and 1990s may have created more potential health problems than they were supposed to prevent. Our ancestral diet was very high in saturated fats and virtually void of sugar and non-vegetable carbohydrates. Today, not only do most of us eat excessive amounts of carbohydrates, these carbs are refined and highly processed. Refined sugar is converted to fat that can create more problems than eating fat itself.

In the last decade, we've also shifted over to genetically engineered (GMO) grains and sugar (GE sugar beets and corn), the long-term health effects of which have never been established.

This mistaken fat phobia has undoubtedly played a significant role in the dramatic rise in dementia and other neurological disorders, because your brain cannot function properly without fats. In fact, most people benefit from up to 50-85 percent of their daily calories in the form of fats for optimal health (for listing of healthy fats, see end of blog) while they are seeking to resolve their insulin resistance.

For comparison, the American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat to between five to six percent of total calories! There's no doubt in my mind that this grossly sub-optimal recommendation level is contributing to the poor health of Americans, and promoting both heart disease and dementia.

While trans-fat consumption decreased by about one-third between 1980-2009, many are still getting far too much trans-fat in their diet. The problem is that it's oftentimes hidden. Even products boasting a "zero trans-fat" label can contain trans-fat, because food manufacturers are not required to list trans-fat if it falls below a certain amount per serving. Using ridiculously tiny serving portion is a legal loophole that permits food manufacturers to mislead you about the trans-fat in their products.

As a general rule, to avoid trans fats, you need to avoid any and all foods containing or cooked in partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, so be sure to check the list of ingredients.

BEST sources of healthy fats:

·         Avocados       

·         Butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk          

·         Raw dairy       

·         Organic pastured egg yolks

·         Coconuts and coconut oil      

·         Unheated organic nut oils      

·         Raw nuts, such as almonds, pecans, macadamia, and seeds

·         Wild salmon