“Don’t eat saturated fats…Saturated fats are fine…Margarine is much better than butter…Margarine is made of plastic…Eat low-fat….Eat lots of fat…Don’t eat fat at all…. Avocados are a good source of fat…Fat causes heart disease…Fat keeps your cells healthy…Stay away from real butter….Eat all the butter you want…Cream is for when you want to eat naughty….Never deep fat fry anything…Drink skim milk…Raw cream has many healing factors…You can’t eat fat and stay thin…Be sure to feed your kids low fat yogurt and cheeses…”

In honor of all the big fat contradictory fatty information out there, I’d like to ask us all to pause and have a moment of simultaneous screaming.

{aaahahhhahahaaahhhhhahahhahahhhhaaaaahahhhahhhhhhhaaaaahhahhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!} 

{ahahhaahah.}

{ahh.}

Thank you.

I get very weary of hearing fat information that contradicts. I used to think fat was bad. I used to feel terrible guilt anytime I ate anything with cheese or butter and heaven forbid if I ever indulged in french fries.

So, what’s the truth? IS fat bad?

Well, that depends on who you ask…and it depends on which fats you’re talking about…and it depends on which research was done to prove that the fat was good or bad…and it depends on who’s trying to make money by telling you the information and it depends on…

{aaahahhhhaaah!!}

I’m just going to share where I’ve landed on the matter and of course I am of the opinion that I am right. :)  But as we all know, I am a normal (and often scatterbrained) mom who often carries her own light saber around for protection. I’m not a fat research specialist…so you can take this information or leave it.

From what I’ve read, heart disease and obesity did NOT begin to be a big problem in the US until right about the time we began to switch out butter with margarine and our whole fat with low fat. The less saturated fat we have eaten as a nation, the unhealthier (and heavier) we have become, even though saturated fat is blamed for bad health. Most vegetable oils (those low in saturated fat) sold in the store are rancid before they even make it to our kitchens and rancid oils tend to freak out our insides. These are the  oils that most restaurants use.

Oh and also, most low fat products have quite a few artificial flavors and lots of sugar added to make up for the taste that is pulled out along with the fat. Hmm.

So are fats bad for us? Yes, some of them most certainly are. But does that mean we should all “go low fat”? Choosing the right fats for our health is important. In fact, my research often tells me that eating a nice amount of fat (the good ones) is actually necessary for good health.

So which fats are the good fats? Here are my favorites and the fats I feel best about eating and cooking with:

Butter –  I’m talking about real butter, not margarine. People interchange the names of the two, but margarine isn’t butter, it’s nasty, so just make sure you know that I’m talking about BUTTER here.

I love that butter is pure with only one or maybe two ingredients:  Cream and Salt. I’d recommend that you buy the “Unsalted Butter” but watch out because unsalted varieties usually have other additives labeled as “flavorings”. Grr, don’t add flavorings (aka MSG) to my butter!!! Give me the pure stuff!! So, if I can find an unsalted butter that is ONLY cream, I go for it, otherwise I go with salted. Butter made from raw, pastured cream is THE BEST EVER for your health if you can get your hands on some.

Butter is great for baking items such as cookies and biscuits. Plus of course, butter is also great spread on bread or waffles or pancakes or muffins…

Coconut Oil – When it comes to healthy oils, it doesn’t get much better than coconut oil. Find out here how to receive a free book about the benefits of coconut oil. There are two main varieties of coconut oil:  Unrefined and Virgin. Both are good for you, especially when you buy them from a good source like Tropical Traditions or  Mountain Rose Herbs. Unrefined Coconut Oil has a very mild taste and does not taste like coconut, which makes it good for frying (when you don’t want your chicken nuggets to taste like coconuts). Virgin Coconut oil has a fabulous coconut flavor and is great for baking!

Coconut oil does not go rancid when heated to high temps, so all that stuff you hear about “never deep fat frying anything”? It’s true…except for when you fry foods in Coconut Oil!! Or when you fry it in…

Palm Oil or Palm Shortening – I am so excited to find that Palm Shortening can be used to make a fabulous and healthy pie crust!!! I often melt some palm shortening into my electric skillet to fry donuts or french fries. There is no flavor in this shortening so your french fries taste like french fries…only better! Yeah, who doesn’t love a french fry that tastes better than a french fry!!

Olive Oil – Of all the controversial fats, Olive Oil stands up to the test on both sides of the fence. I use olive oil to stir fry my veggies, to cook chicken and to make salad dressings. I prefer organic, and always try to find it in a dark colored bottle as the sunlight does compromise it’s quality.

Full Fat Dairy – Oh yes, bring on the whole milk and rich cream. More about dairy another time, because wow, this post is getting long isn’t it?

What are your thoughts on fat? What have you learned and what has your research taught you? Do you find yourself screaming about the controversial fat information out there like I do? {aaahahha!}