Good Fats vs. Bad Fats: Making the right choices for healthy kids

by Dr. Jim Sears
(Adapted from The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood: Ten Ways to Get Your Family on the Right Nutritional Track by William Sears, M.D., Martha Sears, R.N., James Sears, M.D., and Robert Sears, M.D.)

We all know that Americans eat too much fat. So it may surprise you to hear that you and your children need to eat more fat—that is, more of certain kinds of fat. It is true. Fats are a component of many important parts of the body and of the substances that make the body work well. But not all fats are created equal: Most American families eat excessive amounts of fats that come from animals and food factories and not enough fats from plants and fish.

Fish fats are some of the healthiest around. Known as omega-3 fatty acids, they play an important role in the maintaining the health of the cardiovascular system and the brain. Eating more fish, especially omega-3 rich wild salmon, lowers your children’s risk of just about every disease—diabetes, stroke, heart attack, cancer, and high blood pressure.

The best fats for your family are:

• Avocado
• Flaxseed oil
• Nut butters, e.g. peanut butter, almond butter
• Nuts, especially walnuts and almonds
• Olive oil
• Seafood, especially wild salmon
• Seeds, e.g., flax, sesame sunflower, pumpkin.

Here’s why children need healthy fats:

• Good fats build the brain: The brain is 60 percent fat, which creates the insulation necessary for messages to travel efficiently throughout the brain and the body.
• Good fats help make hormones: Fats are structural components of some of the most important hormones, those that regulate many functions in the body.
• Good fats build healthy skin: Fat under the skin keeps you from getting cold. It also gives the skin a smooth, nice-looking texture.
• Good fats help the body use important vitamins: These include vitamins A, D, E, and K.
• Good fats protect and cushion the organs: Fat protects the kidneys, heart, and intestines from injury.
• Good fats provide energy: Body fat stores energy. When the body runs out of fuel from a meal, it dips into its fat reserves to keep you going.
• Good fats add to the pleasure of eating: Fats carry more flavor than carbs and protein. Vegetables sautéed in a bit of olive oil have a more intense flavor and a silkier texture than steamed vegetables.
• Good fats are filling: Fats trigger the release of a hormone, called cholecystokinin or CCK, which tells the brain you’ve eaten enough. Fats in a meal or snack also slow the entry of carbs into the bloodstream. So food is digested slowly, and you feel full longer.