25 Foods that Provide Healthy Fats

25 Foods that Provide Healthy Fats

Forget "Low Fat." Let's talk Healthy Fats!

What ARE healthy fats exactly? Well, healthy fats are fats that our bodies need and thrive on. Healthy fats help lower LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) and help raise HDL cholesterol (the good kind.) Healthy fats, such as Omega-3s, can also help reduce inflammation, protect blood vessels, aid in weight loss, and provide protection against heart disease and stroke. What else can healthy fats do? Well, they can help cleanse the body of toxins, keep you fuller longer, and fuel the body for a top notch workout!

Healthy fats are mostly known as monosaturated fats, plant sterol or stanol esters, polyunsaturated fats, and Omega-3 fats, fatty acids, or oils. 

So, how do we get these healthy fats in us on a daily basis without overdoing it? We eat the healthy fats that give us the best results. With that in mind, I give you 25 of the best foods to eat in order to get those essential, beneficial, healthy fats into your life!

25 Foods that Provide Healthy Fats

1. Pistachios

2. Avocados

3. Almonds

4. Olive Oil

5. Sunflower Seeds

6. Pecans

7. Salmon

8. Flaxseed Oil

9. Olives

10. Tuna

11. Sardines

12. Soybean Oil

13. Peanut Butter

14. Trout

15. Eggs

16. Cashews

17. Almond Butter

18. Spinach

19. Chia Seeds

20. Mackerel

21. Dark Chocolate

22. Cheese (full fat)

23. Sour Cream (full fat)

24. Pumpkin Seeds

25. Coconut Oil

RUNNER UP: Butter

Though butter is not the healthiest fat around, when combined with cooked vegetables, butter can actually help the body to absorb more vital nutrients from the veggies as opposed to eating the vegetables alone. 

I hope you enjoyed my list of healthy fats. Before I go, I want to warn you a bit about the "not so healthy fats." These fats are mostly known as saturated fats, trans fats, and partially hydrogenated oils.  They do appear in some of the foods on this list (most notably in sour cream and coconut oil) but they are combined with the other, healthier fats, so it isn't a big deal. In fact, one may eat some saturated fat and trans fat daily and still be healthy; it's when we get far too much of these unhealthy fats that we run into problems and put ourselves at higher risk for heart disease and stroke.

So where are all these unhealthy fats hiding? 

In snack foods, dips, margarine, processed food, fried food, fast food, bacon, shortening, red meat, whole milk products, lard, palm oil, and cake to name a few...

So make sure to read labels, avoid too much food that's full of the "unhealthy fats," and make use of this list of healthy fats I've written here. Do that, and you should be doing great!

As always, be sure to talk with a doctor before making any serious alterations to your daily diet.

Peace and Love,

Meagan