The Ultimate Guide to Fats

avocado

The Ultimate Guide to Fats

If there is one area of nutrition that causes a lot of confusion, it’s fats. Far from being unhealthy, fattening and best kept to an absolute minimum as was once believed, good fats are essential for health.

Every cell in our body has a membrane made from fats. Our brain is nearly 60% fat. Fats are needed to make hormones and to enable the absorption of fat soluble nutrients – vitamins A, D, K and E. And if you’re not sold on the health benefits, a low fat diet isn’t an effective way to lose weight either.

Some types of fat are significantly healthier than others. So which should you be embracing and which should you be avoiding at all costs? Here’s a short guide to the most common fats in our diet…

AVOCADO OIL

There are now a significant number of clinical studies showing that avocado consumption helps support cardiovascular health due to their monounsaturated fats – the fat linked to the health benefits of olive oil. Avocado oil has a high smoke point (the point at which heat damages a fat), so it’s a good choice of fat to cook with.

BUTTER

As humans we were not designed to consume cows milk products, but that’s a topic for another post. Some people can tolerate dairy, others can’t. Butter is made up of over 50% saturated fat and our individual genetic makeup dictates how well we tolerate saturated fat. While some people do ok with it in their daily diet, others are better off keeping their intake to a minimum. Whether or not eating butter regularly is good for your health is very much down to your own unique makeup. If you do choose to eat butter I would advise you to eat it in moderation and always opt for organic.

COCONUT OIL

Coconut oil has some interesting health benefits. It is particularly rich in a fatty acid called lauric acid, which can help kill harmful bacteria. Medium chain triglyceride (or MCT) fats in coconut oil have been shown to boost metabolism slightly and increase feelings of fullness compared to other fats. Coconut oil is a good oil for cooking due to it’s high smoke point – over 90% of the fatty acids in it are saturated, which makes it very resistant to heat. That said, as mentioned with butter, it’s still a good idea to moderate saturated fat intake. Just because it’s the cool fat-of-the-moment, don’t go crazy with it.

FLAXSEED OIL

Flaxseed oil is a good vegetarian / vegan source of Omega 3. If you don’t eat fish it’s the next best thing. Flaxseed oil is good to dress salads with or you can add it to smoothies. Don’t cook with flaxseed oil as it is likely to damage when heated.

MARGARINE

Margarine is hands down one of the worst types of fats you could consume. If you have any type of margarine in your fridge, go and put it in the bin right now! Most margarine is made by chemically altering vegetable fats (which are liquid at room temperature) to solidify them. This process is known as hydrogenation and it turns the fat into a hydrogenated trans fat, completely unnatural and alien to our body. They have now been banned in a number of countries and are particularly damaging to health. Some fast food and takeaway outlets use hydrogenated fats for deep fat frying with so be wary of this.

OLIVE OIL

Olive oil is well known for it’s numerous health benefits. It contains mostly oleic acid (omega 9) – a monounsaturated fat. Olive oil has been linked to lower incidence of high blood pressure, stroke and has been shown to lower the amount of oxidized LDL cholesterol circulating in your bloodstream. As with all of these fats, quality is key. Choose a cold pressed, organic, quality olive oil and don’t cook with it at high temperatures. Olive oil is delicious used as a dressing for salads and vegetables.

RAPESEED OIL

Like avocado and olive oils, rapeseed oil is primarily omega 9. There is a big difference between the cold pressed, naturally produced rapeseed oil and the highly processed and refined ones. Look out for the richly coloured golden rapeseed oil in a glass bottle and avoid the yellow ones usually found in a plastic bottle. Rapeseed oil is one of the better oils to cook with but you can also make salad dressings with it.

SUNFLOWER OIL

The ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 we consume is important in maintaining good health. Many of us consume far too much omega 6 and nowhere near enough omega 3. Sunflower oil is high in omega 6 which is pro inflammatory so it’s best avoided.

In summary it’s important to embrace a variety of healthy fats as part of a nutritious, balanced diet.

TIPS FOR HEALTHY FAT CONSUMPTION:

  • The quality of fats you choose is important – choose cold pressed, minimally processed / refined oils.
  • Avoid buying oils in plastic bottles. Always choose glass.
  • Don’t heat fats to a very high temperature – the point at which they smoke is the point at which they have become damaged and bad for your health.
  • Avoid margarine and sunflower oil wherever possible.
  • Avocado, coconut and rapeseed oils are the good fats to cook with but avoid very high temperatures.
  • Use olive oil and flaxseed oil to dress your salads.


LINDA ROBINSON

Linda is our Practice Coordinator, helping to keep the clinic running smoothly.

 

Originally from Texas, Linda completed her MBA at SDA Bocconi in Milan. Linda has worked as a Strategy Consultant across multiple industries globally in cities including Kyoto, Paris, Chicago and San Francisco. She developed an interest in nutrition whilst volunteering for an organisation that provides cooking and nutrition education to children and families.

Linda is now settled in London with her husband, two children, and her very bouncy, sociable dog.

SARAH LAW

Sarah has worked with hundreds of clients over the past decade to help them live in a healthy body that they feel confident in.


Sarah spent a large part of her teens and 20’s as a professional dancer battling with orthorexia and an unhealthy relationship with food and her body. This created a desire to understand the human body more so she could finally cut through the confusion and end the cycle of yoyo dieting. This fuelled her passion to help other women do the same.

 

Sarah specialises in supporting women who are struggling to lose weight due to underlying health issues. She’s helped many women manage their weight during and after the menopause, as well as clients with thyroid disease and immune system dysfunction. Sarah loves food and sharing healthy recipes with her clients. Her aim is to ensure that clients don’t feel deprived and instead, achieve their weight loss and health goals in a positive and sustainable way.

 

To enquire about working with Sarah, please contact us.

AILSA HICHENS

 

Ailsa is one of our most experienced practitioners. She specialises in helping clients to lose weight, develop a healthy relationship with food and finally feel comfortable in their skin. Ailsa’s mission is for everyone she works with to enjoy the journey and that working with a nutritionist should not be a punishment, but your access to a new possibility.

 

Ailsa is not only an experienced weight loss nutritionist, she is also a skilled coach. She helps our clients overcome emotional eating, destructive habits and self-sabotaging behaviours that have prevented successful weight loss in the past. Ailsa has spent years in clinic working with clients who have experienced yo-yo dieting and have discovered that long term weight loss is not just about eating less until you can stand it no longer.

 

Working with Ailsa you will be comprehensively supported, not only in improving your nutrition and lifestyle, but also your eating habits and your relationship with food. When you work on all these elements together, the results can be truly astonishing.

 

To enquire about working with Ailsa, please contact us.

Test Nikki is our Practice Manager, managing our team of practitioners and heading up the day-to-day running of the business. Nikki is involved in the strategic development of our practice, coming from a strong business background in town planning. A Florida girl, Nikki relocated to the UK in 2014 with her husband and two children.

NIKKI ANDRIANI

Nikki is our Practice Manager, managing our team and heading up the day-to-day running of our clinic.

 

Coming from a background in town planning, Nikki is involved in the strategic development of our practice, continually ensuring we are delivering the very best service to our clients.


A Florida girl, Nikki relocated to the UK in 2014 where she lives with her husband, two children, and her rescue dog Skyy.

STÉPHANIE ACHAR

Stéphanie is a skilled nutritional therapist and functional medicine practitioner with additional training in eating disorders, disordered eating and obesity. She believes that working towards both physiological and mental health is key in achieving optimum wellbeing.

 

Stéphanie’s personal experience of emotional eating and the ongoing struggle to find the right support led her to combine the science of nutrition with behavioural coaching to motivate and empower her clients. She specialises in helping people who struggle with their weight and their relationship with food. She helps them develop a healthier and more peaceful relationship with food and their bodies.

 

To enquire about working with Stéphanie, please contact us.

INNA WEARN

Inna is passionate about supporting women on their journey to improved health and wellbeing. She believes that the solution to effective weight loss does not lie in ever more restrictive diets, but a more sophisticated approach that optimises health and vitality, as well as promoting effective weight loss.

 

Working with Inna you will benefit from her in-depth knowledge of female health and hormones. She will support you in developing a healthy diet, lifestyle and mindset that ensures you reach your ideal weight and maintain it in the years to come.

 

Inna is passionate about food with a wide repertoire of delicious healthy recipes and meal ideas to ensure your weight loss journey is as enjoyable as possible!

 

To enquire about working with Inna, please contact us.

ANIA MASON

 

Ania is a firm believer that improving your health and losing weight should be a positive, empowering journey, not one centred around deprivation.

 

After being diagnosed with two autoimmune conditions in her twenties, Ania spent several years educating herself on the power of food and nutrition. She put it all into practise and changed her diet and lifestyle, reversing her endometriosis and thyroid disease. After experiencing such a significant improvement in her health, Ania had a big desire to help others. She embarked on a four year journey to study nutrition, graduating from the Institute for Optimum Nutrition with distinction.

 

Ania specialises in autoimmunity and works with clients who have underlying health issues preventing successful weight loss. Her expertise enables her to successfully support our clients with conditions such as hypothyroidsm (underactive thyroid), PCOS and diabetes. 

 

To enquire about working with Ania, please contact us.

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