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Poor fats. They get such a bad reputation. In my opinion, they are the unsung heros of the nutrition world.

To give you an idea, human mother's milk is about 90% saturated fat. That says something doesn't it? Babies' brains' and overall growth and development depends on getting the right amount of healthy fats. And our brains and continued well-being depends on the right fats too.

The right fats will:

• support good mood
• balance out hormones, including your sex and stress hormones
• provide energy stores and resilience
• reduce inflammation
• help your brain perform optimally
• assist with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K
• normalize your blood sugar levels
• quell cravings and satiate hunger faster than you can say "Chocolate!"

• cause inflammation, contributing to pain, diabetes, and chronic illnesses
• not be metabolized well by your body, contributing to stubborn weight gain
• have toxic by-products that can overwhelm your immune system
• contribute to cravings

Are you getting your phat... ehem, good... fats and consciously reducing your intake of "bad" fats?

To help you, here's the skinny on fats, how much you should have, and which you should stock in your pantry.

Serving sizes

1 tsp - 1 TBS is plenty for one serving size. Keep that in mind when cooking or using salad dressings and similar.

The Good

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: use daily; may cook with at medium heat; store in cool pantry
• Flax Seed Oil: use daily; never use for cooking but great as salad dressing; store in fridge
• Coconut Oil: use weekly; may cook with at medium/medium-high heat; store in pantry
• Coconut Butter: use weekly; fold into prepared foods but not for cooking (great in cooked rice or cereal!); store in pantry
• Organic Ghee (clarified butter): use weekly; cooking at medium-high heat ok; store in fridge
• Organic Butter - IF you are not reactive to dairy; use weekly; cooking at medium heat ok; store in fridge
• Omega 3 fats: Aim for 4-6 grams daily; get from avocados, nuts and seeds, smaller fatty fish (e.g. anchovies, sardines, wild salmon), or high quality supplements.

The Bad

• NEVER cook with any oil past its "smoke point". Honor the appropriate heat level for cooking with each type of oil. Some high-quality brands will note the appropriate temperature right on the label.
• A little fat goes a long way: don't overdo a good thing. 1 TBS of fat has 120 calories! You need 1 tsp - 1/2 TBS worth at each meal or snack to derive benefits. No need to overindulge.

The Ugly

• Stay far, far away from hydrogenated oils. Regulations allow for foods to contain up to 0.5 grams of hydrogenated oils AND STILL SAY THEY CONTAIN 0 GRAMS on the ingredient label. So make sure to read the detailed list of ingredients and look for the word "hydrogenated" - if you see it, ditch it.
• Margarines. Developed during war-time, margarine was a cheap alternative to butter. They are a bland gray color before colorings are added, which I think is very telling (and kind of gross)! Highly processed. Just don't do it.
• Poor quality meats and eggs as sources of saturated fats. Commercially raised animal foods are higher in inflammatory fatty acids and their fats store higher levels of toxins. We need saturated fats for survival and overall health, but only from high quality sources such as organic butter, organic ghee, and humanely-raised, antibiotic- and hormone-free animals that eat what they're supposed to.
• Low-fat or non-fat foods that nature did not create. Our bodies get confused with adulterated foods such as non-fat yogurt, low-fat cheeses, etc.. If a food is fatty by nature, have it as is! Just heed the serving size recommendations.