Close

The 5 Best Healthy Fats You Should Be Eating

Date: Aug 31, 2017    By: Genesis Fitness

Healthy fats are an important part of any well-rounded healthy diet. They’re essential for a proper hormonal balance, and are used by your body in creating healthy hair, skin, nails, and much more.

Not all fats are made equal and we tend to have more of some fats than others in the typical modern diet.

There are 3 types of fatty acids that the body needs to be healthy, these are saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats.

Saturated fats are typically found in animal products, monounsaturated fats are in nuts, olive oil, etc. and polyunsaturated fats come in fish. We need all 3 in our diet to maintain good health, though we often are in need of more omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, because they’re less common in the typical diet.

Here are 5 foods you should be eating to get a balanced fatty acid profile:
1. Fresh water fish like salmon which are high in omega 3 fatty acids, one of the healthiest foods you can eat.

2. Olive oil – used as a dressing (not fried) is a great source of monounsaturated fats. Just be careful not to heat it too high, it denatures the fat. Use olive oil for salad dressing.

3. Coconut oil is a better choice for cooking at high temperatures. It is a saturated fat, which is the most stable type of fat and best suited to high temperatures. It’s a great source of energy.

4. Eggs, especially the yolk, contain a balanced ratio of fats that are full of the fat-soluble vitamins A, E, D, and K. These vitamins are only present and absorbed when accompanied by fats, and therefore we need to eat healthy fat sources to get sufficient amount of these nutrients in our diet.

5. Game meat, grass fed beef, and free-range animals have the best fatty acid profiles. They’re high in polyunsaturated fats including omega 3, which are lacking in factory farmed animals. Try to get locally sourced, naturally reared animal products wherever possible, to get a healthy balance of fats in your diet, and not load too high on omega 6 polyunsaturates, which dominate in factory farmed animals.


Add these foods in to your diet and you will have your bases covered when it comes to a healthy fatty acid profile in your diet.

Tag List

Tag Cloud