The Best Food Choices for Adding Healthy Fats to Your Diet
Adding healthy fats to your diet has so many health benefits. Healthy fats can help provide energy, are essential for growth, regulates hormones, metabolism, provides cushioning for organs to keep us warm and can reduce inflammation. Signs of not getting enough fats could include symptoms such as brittle hair and nails, dry skin, dry eyes, feeling spacey or forgetful, always feeling tired or thirsty.
Essential Fatty Acids
Essential fatty acids are the building blocks for hormones that control immune function, blood clotting and cell growth. These are fats that we cannot make on our own and therefore have to get from eating. Essential fatty acids are the healthiest type of fat for us to eat as they support our immune and cardiovascular system. The two types of forms of these are Omega 6’s and Omega 3’s.
Best Sources of Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids
- Cold water high-fat fish such as wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, anchovies, mackerel, shad, herring and trout
- Flaxseed oil, flaxseeds, flaxseed meal, hempseed oil, hempseeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, brazil nuts, sesame seeds
- Avocados
- Certain dark green leafy vegetables including kale, spinach, mustard greens and collards.
Best sources for Omega-6 Essential Fatty Acids
- Flaxseed oil, seeds, and meal
- Hempseed oil and seeds
- Grapeseed oil
- Pumpkin seeds
- Raw sunflower seeds
- Nuts including pine and pistachios
- Acai
Although omega-6 and omega-3 are considered to be the "healthiest" fats out there, it is important to balance each of the fats so that there is a 1:1 ratio because Omega-6 fatty acids tend to increase inflammation, while those from omega-3 fatty acids decrease inflammation. The consumption of processed foods which are higher in Omega 3 versus 6 may explain the rise of disease such as asthma, autoimmunity and neurodegenerative diseases and many forms of cancer which stems from inflammation in the body.