The 11 Best Foods With Healthy Fats That Are Proven to Protect Your Brain

Are you aware of all the different types of fats in the foods that we eat? Some of them are extremely good for you, like the “11 Best Foods With Healthy Fats” listed below. However, other types of fat may increase your risk for certain diseases. Experts at the Mayo Clinic agree that there is a distinction between healthy fats vs unhealthy fats, although it isn’t as “cut and dry” as some would like to believe. (Just check out Saturated Fats vs Unsaturated Fats to see the controversy among researchers!)

 

The 11 Best Foods With Healthy Fats: Overview

• The 11 Best Foods With Healthy Fats for Vegans and Vegetarians
• What Are the Benefits of Eating Healthy Fats?
• Cheat Sheet to Understanding the Different Types of Fats

11 of the Best Foods with Healthy Fats

1. Dark Chocolate
2. Avocado
3. Hemp Seeds
4. Coconut Oil & Raw Coconut “Meat”
5. Walnuts
6. Chia Seeds
7. Flax Seeds
8. Goat Cheese
9. Organic Mu Mu Muesli Cereal
10. Almonds
11. Plain Full Fat, Organic Yogurt (This tastes bests with a natural sweetener and some fruit. Check out these Muesli with Yogurt Parfait recipes!)

Why Are These the Best Foods With Healthy Fats and How Will They Benefit Me?

1. Alpha-Linolenic Acid heals and protects the body in multiple ways. And it’s essential for babies to have for proper growth and development!

Alpha-Linolenic Acid fatty acids do multiple things for our bodies. For example, they:

• Improve skin health
• Helps deliver vital nutrients throughout your body
• Supports a strong immune system

Dr. Karmally also explains that they’re important for babies’ vision and brain development. Fat supplies essential fatty acids (EFAs). Your body is incapable of producing the EFAs, known as linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid, so it must derive them from food.’…
Web MD, Wahida Karmally Dr PH, RD, Professor of Nutrition at Columbia University

2. Another health benefit of eating these foods with healthy fats is protection from diseases. In other words, a diet rich in these foods can help shield you from diabetes, heart disease, respiratory problems, and neurodegenerative diseases.

3. Studies show that healthy fats can actually help with weight loss! Certain fats, like goat cheese and coconut, contain medium-chain fatty acids. Since this type of fat makes you feel full longer, your body absorbs it more slowly. it can potentially help with weight loss.

What Are the Different Types of Fats?

It can get complicated, that’s for sure! However, Baylor Scott & White Health have a great video explaining good fats vs bad fats on You Tube. I found it very easy to understand, so hopefully you’ll like it as well. It’s a good starting point.

Unsaturated Fats

Let’s start with healthy fats, which include omega-3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and monounsaturated fatty acids. Your body literally cannot produce omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids alone, so you need to make sure to fuel your body with these essential nutrients.

Diets with sufficient amounts of healthy fats can actually help improve your brain’s ability to focus, help prevent heart disease and diabetes, and diminish your risk for coronary artery disease. One reason for this is that healthy fats increase the amount of HDL, or “good” cholesterol in your body.

Saturated Fats

Saturated fats often come from unhealthy animal sources like ultra-fatty dairy products or red meat. However, some health foods like coconut contain saturated fats. 

As you’ll see in Saturated Fats vs Unsaturated Fats, this category contains both healthy and unhealthy fats. It all depends on each food.

Trans Fats

Then there are trans fats, which are often the result of man-made food processing. This creates oils such as non-dairy coffee creamers or vegetable shortening. These processed foods contain “partially hydrogenated trans fats.”

Diets rich in trans fats and/or saturated fats increase the risk for cardiovascular disease later in life. This is because they increase the amount of LDL, or “bad cholesterol” in your body.

Your Turn: Time to Add Some of These Superfoods to Your Diet

Now that you know some of the best foods with healthy fats, it’s time to use that knowledge to nourish your body and mind!

• An easy way to do this is to take advantage of Mu Mu Muesli‘s free shipping! In addition to having fats, the cereal is overflowing with other vital macro-nutrients.
• I also recommend checking out the 18 Easy Vegan Smoothie Bowl Recipes because each recipe contain at least one ingredient with a high healthy fat content.
• You should also follow the “foods with healthy fats” board on the Mu Mu Pinterest page. It is always publishing new ideas, and so it will help you stay on track with your clean eating diet!

Thanks for visiting the Mu Mu Muesli Health Food Blog! Don’t forget to claim your FREE shipping on our specialty organic muesli cereal and gourmet pancakes mix.