Okay, so remember about a week ago how I talked about getting my blood tested for different things to see if there was something noteworthy there and how I found out my cholesterol was ridiculously high? Remember I said it didn't matter since I was eating healthy and since I thought the ratio of triglycerides to HDL was more important an indicator of hearth/brain/cardiovascular health than total cholesterol alone? Remember I said I wasn't going to change my diet because of that silly number?
Guess what I did. I changed my diet.
A friend of a friend of a friend of a friend who was studying to become a doctor told a friend it's risky to gamble with something that has such a strong stand in current medicine - even if the current medicine itself cannot prove a link between high cholesterol and hearth attacks. So I figured I'd drop the egg yolks and butter from my diet for a while, just to see if I'd feel more alive or something else positive. I would totally bring them back if I started feeling lower levels or energy or declined brain functions or general lack of love for life.
So, I spent last 7 days replacing butter and egg yolks with olive oil, walnuts, and avocados - things I don't normally eat. Those three are all considered healthy fats because they contain lots of polyunsaturated fat, which lowers LDL cholesterol and raises HDL, thus clearing your blood vessels from fat clogs (to simplify a bit). Having both saturared (coconut oil) and unsaturated fat in my diet sounded like a robust idea.
Well guess what. I've been miserable all week. I've felt like doing nothing. The taste of an egg white omelet has all but made me cry. I've eaten enough of protein (egg whites, chicken, tuna), yet I'd felt like something was missing after the meal, tried eating more, to no avail.
You could point out that a week is too short a period to make any conclusions, that I should give it two to three months for my body to adapt. But do I even want to? Butter satisfies me and keeps me full for hours. Egg yolks contain (apart from cholesterol) so many essential vitamins, minerals, and proteins that leaving it out just doesn't make any sense.
Meaning, how could saturated fat be "unhealthy" if it makes me feel so alive?
Personally since started eating keto I've actively viewed saturated fat as healthy fat, as well as those nuts and olive oil and avocados. The only unhealthy fats, in my opinion, are fats that are overly processed and not natural, like trans fats (unsaturated vegetable fats in for example margarine and snacks and frying oil). Olive oil is made of olives. Coconut oil is made of coconut. Avocados occur naturally in nature, like eggs. Red meat has fat in it just like your muscles do. It all makes sense. (I admit butter doesn't fit into the group as easily - after all, you have to take it out of a cow by force and then churn it - and I'm trying to find a substitute for it as we speak.)
Disregarding any official health recommendations, I reckon healthy fats are fats that make you feel good in your body after consuming them. You can pick your own healthy fats. If trans fats make you feel good (afterwards as well), then go for it.
RK
