Keto is the original high fat diet. Now, if you have been around a while you will know that when I talk about high fat for weight loss, I mean a mix of body fat AND dietary fat. It’s a vital piece of the weight loss puzzle that is missing from many mainstream keto advice out there.
The important thing about the dietary fat you do eat is that you eat healthy keto fats. I don’t often use the word bad when talking about food but seeing the impact of the most unhealthy fats, I will use it to describe the kinds of fats we should avoid.
I have put together a list of the top 10 healthy keto fats that you should use regularly not only for weight loss but they are actually really nutritionally dense. The key to successful keto is to nourish your body with plenty of healthy keto fats. Keto is simple to get started on – reduce carbs and replace those carbs with fat. Start eating and then adjust as you go.
Unhealthy Fats to avoid on Keto
All seed oils.
All trans fats.
The Problems with Seed Oils
Seed and vegetable oils are highly processed industrial foods. They are high in PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids) Numerous studies link trans fats in processed vegetable oils to inflammation and heart disease. The work of Dr. Cate Shanahan and her well titled “Hateful Eight” work go into far more detail about this.
Trans fats and PUFAs are found in:
- Margarine
- Vegan Butter
- Vegan Cheese
- Vegetable Shortening
- Ingredients that list Hydrogenated (fully or partially) Oils or Fats
Oils that are high in PUFAs can still increase inflammation and cardiovascular disease. These industrial oils are cheap to produce which means they’re everywhere. The vast majority of restaurants and . And even high-end restaurants use them. Common varieties with their PUFA content include:
- Flax oil: 66% PUFA
- Sesame oil: 42% PUFA
- Sunflower oil: 68% PUFA
- Corn oil: 54.6% PUFA
- Grapeseed oil: 70.6% PUFA
- Walnut oil: 53.9% PUFA
- Cottonseed oil: 52.4% PUFA
- Soybean oil: 51.4% PUFA
If you are on keto for weight loss then your goals should include reducing processed foods. If you do this step, you will remove 99% of these types of oils. For the quickest turn around in health and weight loss on keto, I recommend getting your fat from whole foods like tallow, lard, full fat dairy, and eggs.
Top 10 Healthy Keto Fats
These are the best, nutritionally dense, healthy keto fats that you should include as part of your well formulated keto diet. This list is not exhaustive and also, isn’t full of pure fats like lard or tallow. For example, eggs are a huge source of healthy fat but also contain these other amazing nutrients:
Healthy Keto Fats
Most of the healthiest fats on keto are saturated fats. This goes against commercial medicine guidelines but ask yourself, what pill are they trying to sell you. As of writing this, the NHS in the UK is planning to make statins, a pill to reduce cholesterol, available on demand. People are not dying from statin deficiency, they are dying from heart disease.
Yet new research methods and improved (and unbiased) analysis of the data is finally clearing up the misinformation on saturated fat consumption. Not only has saturated fat been cleared of its false accusations, other recent research shows that healthy saturated fats are truly great for human health.
For example, stearic acid activates the mitochondria (energy factories) in your cells, stimulating your metabolism and aiding in weight loss. Fats from animal sources meant for human consumption. Seed oils and other Vegetable fats provide fewer vitamins, higher PUFA content plus you have the naturally occurring plant toxins. The chemical defences that plants have because they don’t have teeth and claws.
10 healthy fats you can eat on a keto diet
Healthy Keto Fat 1: Butter
Butter is a common fat that is highly nutritious. Butter is the original keto fat along with bacon, eggs and avocado. This is because butter is super keto friendly. Butter is also rich in a wide variety of fat-soluble nutrients and healthy fats. The highlights include: Vitamins A, D, E, K2, Selenium and iodine. Not only that, butter is thought to contain up to 400 different fatty acids, including butyric acid which is essential for gut health.
PLUS IT IS DELICIOUS!!!
Healthy Keto Fat 2: Ghee
Ghee is a form of butter. It’s made when butter has been through a process called clarification. This just means that the butter is heated and the dairy proteins are congealed and removed. This makes ghee less likely to trigger allergies or intolerances because the dairy proteins are removed. The flavour is richer than butter, almost like caramel. Ghee a higher smoke point when cooking than whole butter and it’s really stable at room temperature.
Ghee is a great source of many fat-soluble nutrients that are essential for good health. This includes vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, Vitamin K2, selenium and iodine. Since ghee is free of lactose (milk sugar) it’s the perfect healthy keto fat.
Healthy Keto Fat 3: Eggs
As we talked about at the start of blog, eggs are the perfect food. They contain everything needed to form a chick, so almost everything needed to nourish a human. They only lack Vitamin C but on a ketogenic diet you don’t need a lot of vitamin C because the diet is naturally anti inflammatory. People who burn only glucose as their main fuel, need more vitamin c to help calm oxidative stress. Eggs also provide the perfect fat to protein ratio for the keto diet. They contain a nearly perfect blend of omega 3s, 6s, and 9s. Eggs are a great source of B vitamins, including folate and choline.
Healthy Keto Fat 4: Tallow
Tallow is a beef fat that has been rendered to make it more stable. Tallow is a great keto fat because it is rich in fat-soluble vitamins, healthy fats and has been shown to boost metabolism, promote healthier body composition, and increase levels of energy and help weight loss.
Healthy Keto Fat 5: Lard
Lard is pig fat that has been rendered into a more shelf-stable form. Try to make sure your lard is from higher welfare pigs. This means their feed will be better. It’s important because unlike ruminants, pigs can’t convert unhealthy fats into healthy fats.
They, like us, are what they eat. Lard provides healthy fats and trace nutrients and it has a good vitamin D content may make it great for immunity.
Healthy Keto Fat 6: Cheese
There are literally hundreds of types of cheese on the market, excluding plastic processed cheese. The vast majority of cheese is keto friendly which is good news for cheese lovers.
Most cheeses are complete proteins, pack in lots of calcium, and only trace amounts of carbs. Cheese is very high in saturated fat which may actually be protective against cardiovascular problems.
Cheese is full of K2 which along with the calcium helps to ensure your bones stay healthy and strong because K2 helps calcium absorption
Healthy Keto Fat 7: Greek Yoghurt
Greek yoghurt is an ancient way of eating fermented milk. It was produced, primarily in Greece, from goat and sheep milk. Humans have been making yoghurt for thousands of years. Greek yoghurt is incredibly nutritious. It’s high in protein and fat, low in carbs, and completely keto-friendly.
Make sure you read the label for hidden sugar. Like other dairy products, yoghurt is rich in healthy saturated fats, calcium, and a variety of fat-soluble vitamins. Greek yoghurt is also a great source of gut-friendly probiotics.
Healthy Keto Fat 8: Coconut Oil
Coconut oil has exploded in popularity over the last few years as the keto community learned of the amazing nutritional benefits of it on keto. The main health benefits of coconut oil is its abundance of saturated fat called medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs).
MCTs make up more than 50% of the fat in coconut oil and they are great for anyone on keto. MCTs tend to be transported directly to the liver where they are metabolised into ketones quickly. This is because they don’t need any complex digestion that would slow down their metabolism.
Incredibly, MCTs have also been found to support the brain function of people with milder forms of Alzheimer’s disease, likely due to their breakdown into ketones. Giving people with dementia MCT oil improves cognitive function.
Healthy Keto 9: Olive oil
Olive oil is the staple of the Mediterranean countries where olives grow in abundance. The Romans actually used to use olive oil topically and as a cooking oil . It’s also completely keto-friendly.
Olive oil is very versatile and it can even be used as a delicious garnish. Mixed with salt, pepper and lemon juice it becomes a tasty addition to salads or vegetables. The main fatty acid in olive oil is oleic acid, which is a monounsaturated fat with great health benefits. Olive oil is rich in a broad spectrum of health-promoting antioxidants, including vitamin E.
Healthy Keto Fat 10: Avocado
Avocados are a nutritional anomaly in the keto world. Avocado is actually pretty carby at 13g of carbs for a medium avocado. But those carbs are wrapped up in fibre and fat which almost completely neutralises the carbs. Avocados are jam packed full of vitamins and minerals.
They’re also a source of vitamin E and C. I think they are a great addition to many keto dishes. Bacon, eggs and avocado are a staple in my house!
Keto Fats for health and longevity
Fat is the foundation of the keto diet. Fat is the fuel that creates ketones, keeps you healthy and allows you to absorb vitamins D, E, A and K. Healthy keto fats provide a delicious and nutritious way to increase your fat intake.
REFERENCES USED FOR WRITING THE POST:
Association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease
