’ve noticed that a lot of people are confused about fats and I can understand why. We’re still learning a lot about different fats, their sources and how they affect our health. To tell you the truth, though, much of what today’s headline-grabbing studies do is validate what scientists have known about fats for a long time; the information is just becoming available to lay consumers now that enough studies have confirmed our suspicions. You should not have to be confused anymore, so I’m going to lay things out simply and focus my discussion on the benefits of eating good fats.

Most of us fixate on the quantity of fat we eat rather than the types of fat we eat, which is not the best approach when health and weight control are your main goals. We know that people can have up to 45% of their calories come from fat and still be healthy and maintain a healthy weight as long as their fat comes from healthful sources. On the other hand, a low-fat diet (or a highfat diet) that contains mostly unhealthful fats will lead to a fatty acid imbalance that can in turn increase weight and disease risk. When the ratio of good fats to bad fats gets out of balance, the risks of inflammation, weight gain, heart disease, certain cancers, cell proliferation and blood clotting all increase. The key to eating fats responsibly and reaping their health benefits is to eat less of the bad stuff and more of the good stuff.

There are only a handful of foods that contain good fats: olive oil, avocados, nuts (except peanuts), nut butters (except peanut butter), seeds, flax and fatty fish. These foods are high in monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids, each of which we want to include more of in our diets. Once you get used to cooking with olive oil, snacking on nuts and eating fish at least two times a week, it won’t take much work to keep those good fats in your diet. Olive oil and nuts are staples of the Mediterranean Diet and the types of fat that they and avocados contain have been shown to help lower LDL (bad) and raise HDL

Major sources of omega-6 fats: Soybean oil Sunflower oil Safflower oil Corn oil Sesame oil Peanut oil Margarine

(good) cholesterol production, thus lowering risk of heart disease and strokes. Olive oil has also been shown to protect against inflammation and breast, ovarian and stomach cancers. Extra virgin, first coldpressed organic olive oil is an important choice because it contains significant cardio-protective antioxidants that regular olive oil does not contain. Nuts, seeds and avocados also contain antioxidants that protect against heart disease and cancer.

Omega-3 fatty acids are found naturally in very few foods. Plant sources of omega-3s, such as walnuts and flax, contain a different type of omega- 3 than fish that is called ALA. Unfortunately, we are limited in our ability to utilize ALA optimally and it is probably impossible to get all of the omega-3s we need from plants alone. Fish, on the other hand, eat ALA in algae and are able to convert it into two highly usable types of omega-3s, EPA and DHA, each of which help us to lower triglycerides and reduce blood clots, blood pressure and inflammation. In general, omega-3s play a significant role in the prevention of heart disease, depression, aggression, suicide, cognitive decline and post-partum depression. Omega-3 fatty acids are also vital to child development. Studies have shown that babies born to mothers with the highest omega-3 intakes (mainly from fish) score the highest on verbal IQ, fine motor skills, social development and pro-social (altruistic) behavior tests. The less omega-3 fatty acid that pregnant women consume, the more likely their child will have the lowest scores in all of the aforementioned areas.

Sadly, it is the bad fat in our diet that is increasing our need for more omega-3 fatty acids. If we cut down on omega-6 fatty acids (which come mainly from processed and fried foods made with vegetable oils), we will actually need fewer omega-3 fats, since omega-6 fats interfere with the metabolism of omega-3 fats in our body. You might be surprised that I’m recommending any bad fats at all, but omega-6 fatty acids are essential to cell formation and brain function. I don’t want you to get the impression that omega-6 fats are all bad because

Fish with the highest omega-3 content ranked in descending order Anchovies packed in oil Wild Salmon Mackerel Black cod Whitefish Sardines Bluefin tuna Herring Rainbow trout Canned albacore tuna Halibut Pollock

they are not; it’s really the quantity that we are consuming that is bad. In the case of omega-6s (and many other foods), a little of a good thing is good but too much of a good thing is bad. It is estimated that the current ratio of good fats (omega-3) to bad fats (omega-6) in the American diet is 1:10 or greater. Ideally, we want to keep the ratio at 1:2, eating just twice the amount of omega- 6 as we do omega-3 fatty acids.

You probably already know that partially hydrogenated oils are to be avoided at all costs and that saturated fat should be kept to a minimum. Now you can add some positive and delicious fat facts to your knowledge of healthy eating. Moderate amounts of healthful fats in combination with small amounts of less healthful fats are what we should be focusing on (so forget about low fat diets). Aiming for 12 ounces of a variety of fish meals a week, emphasizing monounsaturated fats, and talking to your doctor about taking 1,000-2,000 milligrams of a high-quality omega-3 supplement are important measures that we can take. The idea is to replace unhealthy fats with healthier ones by reducing your intake of processed snack foods and snacking on nuts and guacamole instead. Replacing some of your meat meals with fish meals should also be a part of your plan. There is no need to be confused about fats anymore because healthy eating can be very simple when you know the facts about fats.