Fats have become something of a pet topic for me. They’re the macronutrient that everyone loves to hate, unfairly persecuted by myths still perpetuated by the marketing of commercial food products and the diet industry. I suppose I’ve made it a bit of a personal mission to get the word out there about beautifully nourishing, natural fats. But of course, not all fats are created equal. Here’s a brief run down on four main types of fat that we consume.

Here in the southern hemisphere we’re currently in the heat of summer, and I can’t think of anything much more satisfying than basking in the sun and then cooling off with a creamy, dripping ice cream. 

This is for those of you who choose nonfat yoghurt, drink skinny lattes, substitute butter with margarine, and deny yourselves the great pleasure of cheese. I used to be one of you. But, around a year and a half ago, I did a complete nutritional 180 and started enjoying delicious full-cream yoghurt, real butter, rich cream, and quality cheese (not to mention lots of egg yolks, fatty cuts of meat, coconut cream, bacon, sausage, lard…). I feel fantastic – healthy, energetic, lean, well nourished, satiated – I’ve never looked back. And I’m now pretty outspoken when it comes to promoting full-fat over skimmed foods (in case you missed it). Here’s why…

“The diet-heart hypothesis has been repeatedly shown to be wrong, and yet, for complicated reasons of pride, profit and prejudice, the hypothesis continues to be exploited by scientists, fund-raising enterprises, food companies and even governmental agencies. The public is being deceived by the greatest health scam of the century.” – George Mann, ScD, MD, Former Co-Director, The Framingham Study

There’s a certain dietary arrogance about the way we eat today. We turn up our noses at the traditional cultures and customs long associated with food, in favour of fast-paced, easy-come nutrition, personal vanity, cutting-edge advertising, extreme dieting dictums and modern convenience. Yet the dramatic and steady incline in the prevalence of contemporary lifestyle diseases (heart disease, obesity, stroke, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, many forms of cancer, various mental imbalances etc) would suggest that we’re more disillusioned about what and how to eat than ever before.