If you’ve been scared to eat much fat because you think it’s unhealthy, it’s time to get your head around which fats are healthy for you, and which fats are bad for you.

It’s true that some fats are definitely best to avoid at all costs (trans fats and hydrogenated fats are a big culprit here!) but there are others that are really important to include in your diet and support your body in staying healthy.

These good fats can play lots of roles in your body, including keeping your heart and brain healthy, boosting your immunity, balancing hormones, stabilizing your metabolism and keeping inflammation to a minimum.

So now you know how important certain fats are for your body, let’s talk about how you can get more of these healthy fats in your diet.

Stock up on these foods to make sure you get plenty of healthy fats!

Fatty Fish

Eating fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines two to three times per week helps you to get a good boost of omega 3 fatty acids. Make sure all fish are wild caught vs. farmed so as to maximize the nutritional value. If you go for tuna, just be aware of the mercury content. We tend to stay clear of tuna for this reason.

We have fish at least 3-4 times a week. Our go to favourite is wild salmon, which we eat at least twice a week for dinner and we also use canned wild salmon a couple of times during the week in our lunch salads.  My hubby also like mackerel and uses this in his lunch salads as well.

Eggs

Eggs are hugely nutritious and are great for keeping you feeling full thanks to their protein content. For years, we were told that eating eggs would raise “bad” LDL cholesterol levels but we know now that this isn’t true. It’s actually the opposite: people who eat plenty of eggs often have lower cholesterol. As an added bonus, it also helps to keep your heart healthy. Wherever possible, try to make sure that you’re eating eggs that are pasture raised and that are particularly rich in omega 3 so that you get the most benefits.

We love eggs and use them as protein in our lunch salads, we love having bacon and eggs or omelettes on the weekend, or making mini egg cups as well. If we are making Danish Meat Balls, as an example, I also include an egg in the ground beef mixture.

Avocado & Avocado Oil

Avocado is a great way to get more monounsaturated fats into your diet. These are a double whammy for heart health as they’re known to raise levels of “good” HDL cholesterol and at the same time, they also help to lower your “bad” LDL cholesterol. Healthy fats aren’t the only thing you’ll get from them though; they’re incredibly nutritious and give you a good range of vitamins and minerals.

Guacamole is a delicious way to get more avocado in your life. We also love adding to our green smoothies and lunch salads.  Another fav is having avocado on a slice of our healthy seed bread, drizzled with olive oil salt & pepper, YUM!

Not a fan? You can also drizzle avocado oil on your salad or vegetables or even cook with it.

Olive oil

There’s a big reason why olive oil is such a staple of the Mediterranean diet and this is mostly down to the healthy fats. It is another fantastic source of the same kind of monounsaturated fats that you’ll find in avocado. Studies have shown that it can make you less likely to get heart disease or have a heart attack, especially when it’s used as part of the Mediterranean diet.

It’s a bit more expensive but extra virgin olive oil is the best bet as other types of olive oil won’t bring quite the same health benefits.

We drizzle it on salads, avocado, vegetables to mention just a few of the easy ways to incorporate olive oil.

As a side note, you should not cook with olive oil, if you are cooking with fats, avocado oil, coconut oil, butter or ghee are the best options.

Coconut Oil

A lot of people don’t feel comfortable using coconut oil because of its saturated fat content but it’s actually super healthy and increases levels of “good” cholesterol. Plus, it’s packed full of antioxidants. You can use it in cooking or baking but the fairly strong taste can take some getting used to at first! Use a bit less if you find it overpowering, and build up gradually.

I use coconut oil all the time for cooking, frying, and my favourite is using it in fat bomb chocolates.

Nuts and seeds

The good fats found in nuts and seeds can help to lower LDL cholesterol so they’re a great choice for super healthy snacks. Stick to a small handful though - these fats may be of the good variety but you still don’t want to go overboard with them! They’re also a good source of other nutrients such as vitamin E, magnesium and selenium. The best nuts are almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachio & macadamia nuts.  Seeds that are best include sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seed, flaxseed and hemp seeds. Stay clear of others, like cashews for example, as they are high in carbs.

If you don’t want to snack on them, we also use in our healthy seed bread, you can also add a sprinkle to your green salads and I personally also love adding nut butter to my  green smoothies.

Beef

You probably won’t want to eat red meat like beef too many times in the average week but the grass fed varieties are another good source of omega 3. An added bonus with meat from grass fed animals is the much lower risk of consuming hormones and antibiotics compared to their grain fed counterparts.

We enjoy beef, on average once a week. We normally have a nice grass-fed steak or grass-fed ground beef which we use to make burgers or chilli.

Full Fat Dairy

If you tend to stick solely to low fat dairy, you’re missing a trick when it comes to healthy fats. Full fat dairy, from grass-fed cows, is full of fats that you won’t find in lower fat versions and this can have some surprising benefits for your health. Full fat dairy can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity - much more than low fat!

We don't eat much dairy, but we occasionally have a nice full-fat grass-fed yogurt with berries or use full-fat dairy fed sour cream. We do also use grass-fed butter.

Dark Chocolate

Here is a source of healthy fat that you’re sure to love! Dark chocolate ticks two big boxes from a health perspective: antioxidants and healthy fats. You don’t want just any type of dark chocolate though - go for something with at least 70% cacao. If you can find it, 85% cacao is even better. The more cacao, the more benefits you’ll get.  That said, watch the ingredients as not all chocolates are created equal and many of the bars we have found are riddled with other ingredients that I don't recommend.

Oh, and note it is cacao (with letter "a"), not cocoa (with letter "o"). Cacao is in it's natural unprocessed state, cocoa is processed and does not provide the most nutrients.

Since we have not found a dark chocolate without added sugars or other ingredients, we instead use powdered cacao, which is in its purest form. We make fat bomb chocolates ourselves, which are super easy to make. I especially love our Almond Butter Chocolates Balls, they melt in your mouth!

That's is for healthy fats, I hope this article has given you some ideas on how you can incorporate more healthy fats into your diet.

As always, be sure to eat a balanced diet so that you can ensure you are eating the rainbow and getting the right amount of nutrients each day.

What is your fav healthy fat?