Ways to Eat More Healthy Fats (and Why You Should Bother)

If you’re trying to eat healthily or improve your diet, chances are you’re steering clear of fats. Sadly, there are plenty of misconceptions surrounding dietary fats and the impact they have on your health (and your waistline).

While trans fats can cause your cholesterol levels to increase, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can actually help to lower your cholesterol and reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. While everyone should aim to have a healthy level of good fats in their diet, it can be particularly important for people on a low-carb or keto diet to up their intake of good fats.

Fortunately, there are plenty of delicious ways to incorporate more good fats into your diet. To learn more, take a look at these six ways you can eat more healthy fats now:

1. Use Full-Fat Ingredients

One of the easiest ways to increase your fat intake is to simply use full-fat ingredients, rather than low-fat alternatives. Although they may contain more fat than the low-fat or fat-free version, these products can also contain far fewer chemicals. What’s more – low-fat and fat-free products tend to have high levels of sugar, as sugar is used to create flavor when fat is removed. By choosing full-fat products, you can actually decrease your sugar intake too.

2. Cook with Oil

If you have given up cooking with oil because you assumed it was bad for you, you’re missing out on some great tasting meals, as well as essential nutrients. Choosing an oil that consists of healthy fats can be a great way to enhance your health (and improve your cooking!). Remember – the oil you cook with can greatly impact the flavor of a dish, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

Olive, avocado, peanut, sesame, almond, safflower, and walnut oils are all great for cooking with and can be used in several dishes. In fact, even butter, ghee or coconut oil can be used to create some fabulous healthy dishes, which often surprises people. Add some butter and garlic to roasted or steamed veggies for an easy-to-make side dish or lunch, for example.

3. Snack on Nuts

Nuts can be a great source of healthy fat, so be sure to incorporate them into your diet, if you can. If possible, choose non-salted versions as too much salt in your diet can be unhealthy. Fortunately, there are some exciting ways you can keep your snacking habits varied.

Chopped nuts are a great addition to your morning oatmeal or your lunchtime salad, for example. Alternatively, learn how to roast pecans for a fabulous winter snack. Similarly, adding peanuts or cashew nuts to stir-fries can really enhance their flavor. Of course, if you’re short on time, unsalted nut butter is a great option for toast and sandwiches.

4. Add Fats to Dressings

If you’re regularly eating salad as part of your healthy eating regime, you can incorporate fats into your diet by using them in dressings. Simply drizzling a little olive oil over your salad is enough to add a good dollop of healthy fat to your meal, or you can choose to prepare your own dressing if you want to make it from scratch. Here is a simple and healthy dressing recipe that I like to make. Similarly, adding oil to sauces is a good way to increase your fat intake when you’re eating virtually any dish.

5. Eat High Fat Foods

Some foods naturally contain higher levels of healthy fats than others, so these are good to include in your diet. Cheese, salmon, avocado, white or light tuna, organic soybeans, tofu, and olives are all delicious foods that offer generous levels of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. By including them in your diet in moderation, you can ensure that you’re getting your recommended daily amount of healthy fats.

6. Add Fat to Hot Drinks

If you really want to boost your intake of fat, try adding butter to your coffee. Alternatively, heavy cream or even MCT oil can work well too. Sometimes known as ‘Bulletproof Coffee’, this can be an effective way to consume more fats but it’s not something you want to do with every drink. Instead, save it for occasions when you need a quick way to reach your daily intake goal. Here is a great recipe for a Bulletproof Coffee that I like.

Make Healthy Fats an Integral Part of Your Diet

Although we’ve shied away from eating fats for years, the secret is finally out of the bag: consuming fat can be good for you! By learning more about the different types of fats and the effects they have on your body, you can determine which foods are best to include in your diet in order to achieve your health and fitness goals.