Transcription
What are the best and worst fat sources to include in your pro metabolic diet? In this video, by popular request, I'm going to be ranking 38 of the most commonly available fat sources on a tier list from S to super to F for fail. And at the end of the video, I'm going to give you specific examples of how you can incorporate these different fat sources into your daily diet.
Before we jump into the ranking system, in previous videos where I ranked protein and carbs, which I recommend you check out, there was some comments in the bottom kind of having question around how I rank some of the components. And I want to make it clear here, it's not really possible to have like a very clean linear order for the ranking system. A lot of these things don't actually rank linearly. There's a lot of nuance to the picture and there there's multiple different components by which I'm ranking the different foods and some components will be important in in some people's context and other components will be more important in other people's context. So, it's not always going to work out perfectly, but the goal of the video is to try to simplify things and at least give some system or some uh general structure while also talking about the nuance through the process. So, I want to keep this in mind here because it's not like the ranking that I set up is the be all to end all ranking and you have to if you're eating this food and it's not S tier. What you're doing with your diet is not ideal. That's not the goal. It's just to set up a system and provide nuance on the different sources.
The other thing I want to do is before we talk about the specific fat sources, I want to give a general idea of how much fat I typically shoot for in a diet. So, usually I set the fat intake in the diet somewhere between 20 to 30% of caloric intake and sometimes I even go up to 40% of intake. One thing I want to mention, and this is something I've seen more commonly, a lot of people coming out of low carb, keto, carnivore spheres that I've been working with, um, finding some of the sugar diet stuff, they've been dropping fat intake exceptionally low. I think going less than 20% of fat in the diet is actually a huge problem, especially if it's done long term. Shorter term, you could probably get away with it. If you have a higher body fat percentage, you could probably get away with it. But longer term, as you start to lose weight, uh, as you start to shift into eating more carbs, when you keep the fat lower than 20%, you can start to run into issues like blood sugar swings throughout the day. Issues with satiety, so being very hungry or hungry sooner after your meals, hormones can start to get wonky. Women can start to lose their cycle. Men can start to see impacts on their androgenic function like libido or assertiveness or morning wood or things like this. And you can also see impacts on people's digestion where basically digestion starts to get off because you don't have that bile flow. You don't have that trigger of intestinal motility from the bile acids. You're not able to clear out the small intestine and also you're not as able to absorb fats soluble vitamins depending on how the diet set up. So I would avoid going less than the 20%. But from the 20% to the to the 30% or even sometimes up to the 40% there's going to be a lot of individual variance in what somebody does best with and there's different context for that. So I can cover that in a separate video, but I wanted to point that out here first.
Now when I'm ranking these fat sources, there's five major factors that I tend to consider when I'm looking at the fats. So first one is their degree of saturation. So when I'm looking at these different fat sources, I want to understand how much monounsaturated fats where there's only one double bond, how much saturated fats are present where there's no double bonds, and then how much polyunsaturated fats are present where there's multiple double bonds. This is important because this will change the stability of the fats, how likely they are to degrade under heat or under general circumstances. Um, and the polyunsaturated fats in of themselves, the omega-3s and the omega-6s, they have different mediators that they produce that also adjust their effects in the body overall. So, I'm thinking about the unsaturation of these different fats. And one thing I want to mention here is that the omega-3s typically are even more unsaturated than the omega-6 polyunsaturated fats, even though their effects are a little bit different in terms of inflammation because of how they're metabolized with the different enzymes, the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase enzymes. Another thing I want to mention here just really quickly before we jump into all the um all the different fat sources for polyunsaturated fat intake in general to protect against the instability due to the double bonds I like for people to have about 0.4 milligrams of vitamin E for every one gram of polyunsaturated fat intake to help prevent lipid peroxidation. So that's just a rule of thumb that you can keep in mind. You can see that set up inside your chronometer.
Another thing that I look at with these fats, this is not a primary component, but one thing to consider is going to be the chain length of those fats. So, is it a long chain fat? Is it a medium chain fat? Is it a short chain fat? The chain length refers to the number of carbons in the fatty acid tail. Uh, and there's different effects across different chain lengths. Like medium chain fats that you find in coconut oil or palm oil will have different effects than you find in long chain fats like stearic acid that you would find in beef tallow and dark chocolate.
Next component is going to be nutrient density. So this is the vitamin and mineral content of that different fat source. Obviously it's not only about nutrient density, but if you can get a fatty acid source that also gives you vitamins and minerals, I think that that's quite helpful overall. Um, the next component here is going to be the specific effects of different fats. So, we're looking at the effects of these fats on hormones, on digestion, on liver health, metabolism, on cognitive processes, on inflammatory pathways, and also the impact on the lipid profile. That's something I've been dealing with quite a bit. I have quite a few clients who are coming to me to work with issues around managing their lipid profile. Can they adjust their diet in certain ways that they can optimize lipid profile because they don't want to go on a statin and all this type of stuff.
And the last piece is individual tolerance. And this individual tolerance is actually like the trump card here where essentially I can give you all the theoretical perspectives on some of these fats. And I think the goal here is to give you those perspectives and some of the like the experience I've had working with people and how they respond to these fats and you test them out and then you choose the fats that work best for you based on your individual tolerance. That's one of the most important things. You can have like coconut oil most saturated fat like best for cooking all type of stuff. The MCTs have all these benefits, but every time you take coconut oil, you have severe digestive issues. The theory doesn't matter anymore, at least in so far as like this is the best thing ever and you should be doing this. It's more okay, the MCTs have certain effects in the GI tract that can be irritating for some people and lead to loose stools, diarrhea, etc. So, in that circumstance, coconut oil may not be ideal for that individual. So, individual tolerance is extremely important here and something to keep in mind in conjunction with all of the other theoretical components we're going to talk about.
Now, before we jump in, I do have an energy-based food guide that you can use to help you figure out and troubleshoot the different fat sources. There's also a calorie macro calculator that comes with it so you can figure out the amounts that you should shoot for based on your total energy intake. So, the link is going to be in the description for you. And with that, we'll jump into the different fat sources here.
All right, so the first tier that we're going to talk about here is going to be E tier. And E tier is basically a bunch of different seed oils to a large extent and then walnuts. I'm going to group these all together. These are basically a little bit better than some of the other seed oils that we'll see in a in just a moment, but they have a very high polyunsaturated fat content. Right? So, safflower oil, we have about 13% polyunsaturated fat. It's mostly mono, it's not too bad. Um, overall, in terms of having super high omega-6 content, but there's just better fats to choose from than safflower oil. It's still an industrially produced seed oil. There's multiple steps in that process. And even though the PUFA content is not that high, again, we could just use something else. Same thing with peanut oil. The PUFA content here or PUFA being polyunsaturated fatty acid content is about 20%. So just it's on the high end and there's not really much benefit to using this specific fat. And it is again an industrially produced oil. So I would also stay away from this one. Canola oil, same deal. Higher polyunsaturated fat intake. We're about 25% polyunsaturated fat. Now, it does have a better omega-3 to omega-6 ratio than some of the other fats here, but the total polyunsaturated fat intake is high. And the omega-3s that are in the canola oil are going to be the plant-based omega-3s, which if you were going to argue for the benefit of the omega-3s, you'd be more talking about the ones you would find within seafood. So, again, I'm not really using canola oil as a major fat. Walnuts, the reason they're here compared to um some of the other fats, they have a way higher omega-6 content uh or a total polyunsaturated fat content. It's like 71% which is ridiculous, but they do have some micronutrients and they do have some specific polyphenolic and plant compounds that have some benefits. So, I'd say they're better than like seed oils in general, but still I wouldn't make them a major source of fats in the diet. And then flaxseed as well. Very high polyunsaturated fat content about 70% almost 70% 68%. There's a large portion of this comes from plant-based omega-3s. So it's the fatty acid profile is significantly different than the other seed oils that we're going to see. But at the same time, it's still a high amount of polyunsaturated fat. And if you're going to prioritize if you're like, "Hey, I I think omega-3s are important and I'm going to get them." like just have your seafood instead instead of trying to plow away with flaxseed oil or something like this. So, these are basically seed oils or high polyunsaturated fat sources that aren't as terrible as like the traditional seed oils, which we might as well just get those out of the way.
So, we have our traditional seed oils here. We have sesame oil. We have soybean oil, rice bran oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, normal sunflower oil, and then grape seed oil. These as a whole, they're all very high in polyunsaturated fats. I don't think they're a good option. A lot of these are industrially produced fats that are heated, bleached, deodorized, etc. So, I would stay away from these uh or I personally stay away from these as much as possible and avoid them in the diet. The only thing I'll mention here is sesame oil in general or sesame seeds in general do have some specific components like sesamin which has a variety of beneficial effects. But the I wouldn't try to get sesamin by taking in a bunch of sesame oil or sesame seeds. You could supplement it separately if you want to. But this these this category this F tier these are the worst. I would stay away from these altogether. And then I really don't incorporate these oils or or these the walnuts in any significant amount in in many of my clients' diets at all. So I avoid these E and F tier pretty much across the board. I don't think there's a reason to incorporate these components. There's much better options that we're going to talk about.
Now with E and F tier out of the way, the next tier that I want to talk about is B tier. B tier is essentially a conglomeration of whole food fat sources that come with a variety of micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals and have specific effects, but at the same time, they also have some components that make their tolerance to people questionable. Now, if you tolerate all these, great. But if you're somebody who's dealing with different digestive issues or you don't tolerate dairy well or eggs give you some problems or you have issues with histamine or oxalates or or phytates, then something like dark chocolate wouldn't be great. So uh the B tier options are would be ideal sources but they have some tolerance components.
All right. So when we look at dark chocolate I'd say the first benefit of it is taste. Most people I work with across the board enjoy dark chocolate. The next thing is it's very low in polyunsaturated fat. So if you look down here we're looking at like 3% polyunsaturated fat. So for 100 grams of fat there's three grams of polyunsaturated fat. Then from there it has a nice ratio of saturated fats to monounsaturated fats. So it's about 60 50 60% saturated to about 40% monounsaturated. And a large portion of that saturated fat comes from stearic acid which actually has beneficial effects on mitochondrial function by inducing mitochondrial fusion and also has beneficial effects on the lipid panel. So it can actually improve lipid panel markers. On top of that, dark chocolate's very rich in cocoa polyphenols that are beneficial for vascular health and it's also can be high depending on the percentage that you're using in theobromine and caffeine which can be helpful for cognition. Again, the another component is that dark chocolate is quite nutrient-dense. So, you get quite a bit of minerals. Now, it's not perfect here. You're not going to absorb these as well as from plant uh animal foods because there are uh there is a decent amount of oxalate. There can be a decent amount of phytate in the dark chocolate from the the cocoa powder and that can impair some of the absorption. So, we'll talk about that in a second. The last piece here is prep. Dark chocolate's great because you can just grab it and add it to a meal and go and you don't really have to cook anything or prepare anything. This doesn't mean that dark chocolate's perfect. So, some of the major problems with dark chocolate are that it can be quite high in heavy metals depending on which source you get it from. So, there's a Consumer Reports article that actually mentioned one of the best options as Ghirardelli. That's one of the ones that I that I typically use because it's lower in some of the heavy heavy metals like lead and cadmium. The next component I touched on these dark chocolate can have a decent oxalate content and phytate content that can bind up some of the minerals and for some people can actually irritate the intestine and also to produce dark chocolate. Most manufacturers or most most producers most cocoa plantations will actually ferment the cocoa beans to make the cocoa powder. Um, and so that can increase the histamine content and for people who are sensitive to histamine or dealing with histamine problems. Dark chocolate can be a huge problem. The next component is dark chocolate is very rich in fiber. So obviously this is a lot of dark chocolate. It gave me 100 grams of fat, but it gives you about 25 grams of fiber. Now for some people this is great. It helps boost fiber intake for the day. It has benefits in the microbiome, but for other people this can cause digestive issues. And the last one is dark chocolate because of the theobromine and because of the caffeine can keep some people up at night or it can worsen anxiety in different circumstances. So lot of pros for dark chocolate but in some people's context there can be quite a bit of cons.
So the next option we have here is cheese. And just like with dark chocolate taste is a winner here with cheese. Most people really enjoy cheese. Um, I don't know anybody who really doesn't like it especially if you grew up with cheese and you're from like a a westernized world where cheese is a big thing. But for most people in western in the western world, cheese is a huge thing. A lot of people really enjoy it. Now, cheese is quite low in polyunsaturated fats. So only about 4% polyunsaturated fatty acids, which again we want to keep on the low side because they have the high amount of double bonds, which makes them unstable. The cheese also has it's a little bit shifted more towards saturated fat. So probably closer to about a 60% saturated, maybe 30 30 40% monounsaturated fat. So it's more towards the saturated side. It does have quite a bit of special fats like odd-chain fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid which have a variety of different health benefits outside of being low in polyunsaturated fats and this comes from the bacterial fermentation in the cow's rumen changes the fatty acid profile of the cow and of the dairy products as well. Also cheese and dairy fats in general can be quite high in stearic acid up to 10 to 20% which again has the benefits on mitochondria on the lipid panel and also cheese is quite nutrient-dense right? So if you do tolerate cheese or even other higher fat dairy products like yogurts or not higher yeah or higher fat like yogurts or even high-fat milk you can get quite a bit of hard to get micronutrients like calcium or zinc or selenium um and then also vitamin A in the form of retinol the active form in the diet. So cheese can be quite helpful to hit certain micros as well as yogurts and milks if you tolerate them. Uh, also prep time with cheese, you just break it off, break off a block of cheese, you take a portion out and you're good to go. So it also makes eating very easily. Same thing with Greek yogurt. You put it in a bowl, add some fruit, maybe a little bit of honey, and you have some carbs, some fat and some protein ready to go.
Now the problems with cheese, and this is where people's can have some difficulty with it, is it can impact your hormones. So cheese can contain or is mainly casein protein and I've talked about in separate videos so I'll reference that but the casein protein has opiate peptides in it that can basically impact your dopamine and prolactin axis and then interact with some of the hormones in sensitive people. Obviously you can switch to A2 varieties of cheeses or use goat cheese instead or sheep cheese which may have a different impact because the casein structure is a little bit different. Also if it's a high-fat cheese you can get quite a bit of estrodiol sulfate. Now some people it's not really a big deal. It doesn't matter. And then for other people it may impact their hormones lead to different symptoms acne change in cycle things like this. The other thing is dairy high-fat dairy products in general they're high in palmitic acid and this may impact people's lipid profile. So it can it can bump up LDL and total cholesterol. So for people who are trying to manage their lipid profile because their doctor's concerned then adjusting some of the dietary fats or adjusting the amount of dairy fat you use can actually help to move the numbers. The other component is that high-fat dairy can shift the bile acid composition in the gut and that can lead to a change in the microbiome and for some people this can lead to issues with dysbiosis and overgrowth of bacteria like Bilophila wadsworthia or Dysulopiger. And the last piece I'll mention here is that high-fat dairy products can put pressure on somebody whose liver is already struggling and having difficulty processing fatty acids because the saturated fatty acids particularly palmitic acid can be a little bit difficult for the liver to process in high amounts if it's already struggling. Now for people who aren't dealing with issues in terms of fatty liver um or metabolic dysfunction probably doesn't make much of a difference but it's more of a concern with somebody who who is dealing with a fatty liver.
Now, the next one after cheese is going to be coconut or shredded coconut. Now, the coconut's really versatile. A lot of people put in a variety of different dishes or recipes, and it's quite tasty. It does have a good micronutrient profile, and it does have a great fatty acid profile. Very low in polyunsaturated fats, only about 1% here for or roughly 1% here in polyunsaturated fats. And it does have a decent fiber intake. So, the coconut's great for this. On top of it, it's very high in medium-chain fats, which can have an antimicrobial effect inside the gut, particularly towards fungi. So, it can help to clear out things like candida inside the gut or overgrowth of fungi in the gut. Now, the downside to the coconut is the high amounts of saturated fats. It's very saturated compared to other fat sources, can put pressure on the liver with people who are having difficulty metabolizing fatty acids again in a circumstance of fatty liver. So in that circumstance, maybe you want to adjust the amount of coconut and balance out the saturated to monounsaturated ratio that you have. And then also the MCTs can irritate some people's digestive tracts just some people don't seem to do well with the medium-chain fats, the medium-chain triglycerides. So in that circumstance, like for myself, the MCTs will give me loose stools and digestive issues. So I kind of stay away from coconut coconut products that are high in fat unless I'm going to use a little bit to cook, which we'll talk about in just a second.
Outside of coconut flakes, the next one is going to be eggs. The benefit of eggs are really their nutrient density and the high-quality protein. So when you look at eggs, they have some hard to get nutrients here and some of those include retinol, choline, biotin, and then also selenium. So eggs can be really helpful to hit some of these targets and also get a very high-quality protein source. On top of that, the egg yolks and the high amount of cholesterol can be helpful for some people from a hormonal perspective. And some people who are dealing with serious digestive issues can actually tolerate egg yolks relatively well. Maybe not egg white protein. For some people, that can actually cause issues. And the last piece is very, really easy to whip up eggs. Just crack them in the pan, a little bit of fat, fry them up, hard boil them. So, they're very easy uh way to get protein and fat without much prep time. The problem with eggs, the cons of eggs is that they can be higher in polyunsaturated fats. So, we're looking at like 13% polyunsaturated fats, mainly omega-6 from eggs. Now, the feed will change this. That is true. So, if the chickens are fed something different besides corn and soy, which is the typical feed, at least in the US, then you can see a different fatty acid profile, but most eggs on average have corn and soy feed. And an even organic pasture will still see some of that. Some people can also be hyper-responders to the cholesterol inside eggs. So what happens if they eat quite a bit of eggs, it can bump their lipid profile up. So again, if that's something you're trying to manage, that's something to check out. A lot of people can have digestive issues with eggs. They don't tolerate the egg white protein. An easy switch is just trying to do just some of the egg yolks to get the micros and people tend to tolerate that. And for people who have issues with bile acids or dysbiosis with bacteria feeding on the bile acids or bile acid malabsorption, high amounts of egg yolks can actually create um some issues with the bile acids because of the high lecithin content in the eggs um and then the high cholesterol content and that can lead to digestive issues as well. So that's a very specific circumstance but people who are dealing with that type of digestive issue or dysbiosis may have difficulty tolerating even egg yolks.
The last one that we have here is avocado. Now, avocado is a great option. A lot of people enjoy avocado. It goes well in a lot of different dishes. And the avocado has not that much PUFA, not as much polyunsaturated fat as you would think. So, it is about 11 grams, which is a decent amount, but it's not massive. So, it can be a significant portion of the diet. The fat source in avocado is helpful to balance out some of the really saturated fat sources because it's very high in monounsaturated fats. We can see here it's about 63% monounsaturated fat. So, you can incorporate some avocado in the diet to balance the ratios, especially if you're having issues with liver processing of fats. The avocado is also pretty nutrient-dense. As we can see here, it tops off quite a bit of micros, things like copper, things like potassium, um things like folate. So, it can be very helpful to top off some of these micronutrients and also prep. It's really easy to make. Just cut up an avocado, put it on a rice cake, and throw some eggs on top, and boom, you have you have like half your breakfast sorted. or make some guac and add it to the side of the meal. Now, the downside to avocado is that because it's higher in polyunsaturated fatty acids. If you have too much, it may push your omega-6 content up in the diet, higher than the four grams per 2,000 calories that I typically shoot for. Now, if you're a little bit over, it's not a big deal, but that's like the rough rule of thumb that I tend to look at. The avocado can be high in FODMAPs, which are basically fibers that we aren't able to digest or carbohydrates that we aren't able to digest that the microbiome and bacteria in the gut get a hold of. And this can lead to basically bloating, gas, and different digestive issues. The other thing that's not really talked about that much, but I've seen this with clients, is high amounts of monounsaturated fats, like very high amounts, can impact hormonal function for some people. So, balancing the saturated and monounsaturated can be helpful to actually keep androgens. It's a good point. If you go too far over to monos, you can find your libido, your drive, stuff like this can start to drop. Also, the oleic acid can convert to something in the body called oleamide, which can make you a little bit sleepy, a little bit tired, and impact cognitive function. That's something I noticed from having high amounts of monos in one sitting, especially rapidly digesting monos in the form of different oils like macadamia oil or olive oil. And then on top of this, the avocado can have a high beta-sitosterol content and this is a phytosterol that can have some impact on hormonal function and some of the androgenic signaling in the body like five-alpha reductase enzyme function. So that or even the receptor function. So in this circumstance for some people they may notice impacts on some of their hormones with high amounts of avocado or other things if you're combining them like nuts and avocados together on the hormonal function and that's where balancing out with some of the other sources that are higher in saturated fats like coconut oil or beef fat can be quite helpful.
All right, so the next tier is D tier. Now in D tier there's a couple components. So we're going to look at basically chicken used as a proxy for chicken and turkey. But then we have a variety of the different higher polyunsaturated fatty acid nuts and seeds. Let's dive into chicken and turkey first. So the chicken, a lot of people ask me, well, can I eat chicken thighs? And my answer is yes, you can, but I would avoid the skin. And the reason why, if you look at this is, I put this here to get 100 grams of fat. So for 760 grams of chicken thigh, you have 100 grams of fat. This just to show you the percentage of polyunsaturated fat. So the chicken fat and turkey fat is pretty similar. is about 23% polyunsaturated fat. So it's quite high. Most of that's omega-6 because the chickens are fed corn and soy. So that's if you eat the skin. So if we look at a normal 4-ounce portion that somebody would have about 120 grams, you would get 14 grams or 15 grams of fat and that would come with 3.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat. Now this is not that big of a deal. It's not that much. But if you have other polyunsaturated fat sources in your diet, you can get the levels up pretty high. So in that circumstance, if you're going to do chicken or turkey thigh or something like this, I would highly recommend doing it with the skin removed. So 4 ounces of chicken thigh with the skin removed is only about 6.8 grams of fat. And then what you see here is it's only about 1.7 grams of omega-6. So the polyunsaturated fat intake is much lower. And this also applies to ground chicken or ground turkey. I would be shooting for a 97-99% lean ground uh chicken or turkey. If you go less than that, like even 93, and you're eating a decent amount, it can really bump the omega-6 content up pretty high.
Now, the other components outside of these, the almonds, the peanuts, the pistachios, the pecans, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds, etc., these I tend not to incorporate in the diet very much. They do have quite a bit of micronutrients in them, but at the same time, they have quite a bit of polyunsaturated fatty acids. So, if you have a small amount of almonds or peanut butter or something like this here, you're using Brazil nuts to hit your selenium target or maybe a small amount of pistachios or some sesame seeds in a dish, I think it's not that big of a deal. But if you start to use a large amount of this, like almonds, 100 grams of almonds gives you 21 grams of basically uh omega-6. Now, it does come with some micros, but most of these on paper, the micros look really good. When you start looking at oxalate content and phytate content and then the food matrix of the nuts and the seeds, you start to realize that the absorption of these things is not so great and even the absorption of the fats from these foods is not so great. So I typically avoid most of these. These are not the major nuts that I would incorporate in the diet because of the high PUFA content and for some people the high oxalate and high phytate content can irritate the gut. And the micros look good on paper, but they're not necessarily ideal or they're not as absorbable as you would get from animal protein sources. The other component is in some of the studies when they look at nut consumption, they see different benefits. I don't think that's necessarily because of the high polyunsaturated fat content, but the nuts also do come with quite a bit of plant compounds, polyphenols, and then they do have fibers that interact beneficially with the microbiome. So all of these components do provide a benefit, but you can get that from other foods without having to have high amounts of these different components and also maybe getting some irritation from things like the phytic acid or the oxalates. Again, some of these can be used for certain elements like Brazil nuts, very high in selenium. So that can be helpful to hit a selenium target if you're low and you want to do it through food, but you can also get that from eggs and from seafood as well. You don't have to necessarily rely on Brazil nuts. And also you can OD on selenium from Brazil nuts if you're having too many.
All right, so the next tier that we have here is C tier. And in C tier, we have a variety of different oils. And then I have some nuts that aren't as high in polyunsaturated fats. And I have lard. We'll start with olive oil. The benefits of olive oil are that it's high in monounsaturated fats, particularly oleic acid, which can have benefits on the lipid panel. And it's because um it's mostly monounsaturated. If you're having liver issues, it can be quite helpful. The other thing that olive oil has that's quite beneficial is it can be very high in polyphenols like oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol which have very specific effects on LDL oxidation and vascular function. So they could be beneficial there. You can also use an olive leaf extract as well. The olive oil can be quite easy to digest for people because it's in the oil form. So if you're having issues digesting fats, olive oil can be helpful. And an olive oil does come with some vitamin E. So we can see that here. And then we can see the fatty acid breakdown. Now the one thing is this says 10% polyunsaturated fat. This really depends on the variety of olive that you're incorporating. Some olives have much higher percentages and some olives have much lower percentages like a Koroneiki olive which I probably butchered that name versus a Coratina olive. They will be quite different in polyphenols and also fatty acid percentages. Now the problems with olives or olive oil in general is they're not very nutrient-dense. The other thing is the PUFA content can be quite high as I mentioned depending on the variety. Many olive oils on the market as we like a lot of people know at this point can be adulterated. So that's quite a problem or cut with cheaper oils. And it's the same thing if the the monounsaturated fat content becomes too high in the diet. It can make you sleepy via conversion of oleamide and it can also impact hormonal function either via too much monounsaturated fat like oleic acid driving up sex hormone binding globulin or the olive oil having a high amount of beta-sitosterol which can impact some of the the sterogenic hormonal pathways. So there'll be some of the cons of olive oil. So, it's not a terrible option, but it it there are some problems with getting too much olive oil.
The next one that we have is palm oil here. Now, palm oil, um, it has quite a bit of vitamin E, tocotrienols. It doesn't really have that much polyunsaturated fat, only about 9%. We can see the vitamin E here, and it has the specific tocotrienols. So, it's all right. It's not a terrible option, but at the same time, it doesn't really have much nutrient density. So there are there are better fat options available. It can be higher in PUFA than some of the other options that we're going to talk about in higher tiers. Um, and then the palm oil because it's high in palmitic acid. It has a decent saturated fat intake about 50%. This can shift some people's lipid profiles but overall has quite a bit of monos and saturated. So it's a decent source overall. Um, the other thing is how it's sourced is important because there is um there is some concern around how people are harvesting palm oil in different areas and destroying environments and stuff like this. So a high-quality source would be important with palm oil.
The next one we have is avocado oil and it basically has all the same components that you have with avocado except it doesn't really have the nutrient density. It still has a higher PUFA content. It has issues with the higher monounsaturated fat content which can impact cognition and hormonal function. In an oil form, it could be it could be absorbed faster and I think the effect hits stronger and it does have some beta-sitosterol in it which can impact hormonal function. So, not a primary oil that I typically recommend or use, but if it's in like avocado oil chips or something like this, it's definitely better than some of the other seed oils uh that I mentioned below. And in some cooking recipes, it's easier to use because it has a more neutral flavor than some of the other fats without impacting the consistency of some of the products that you're creating or some of the foods that you're creating.
The next one we have is high-oleic sunflower oil. And this is actually an interesting one. So, it is a seed oil, but it's very low in PUFA because the sunflowers are bred. It's not not through GMOs or genetic modification, but they're bred to have a high amount of monounsaturated fats and not so much poly. So, only 3% polyunsaturated fats. Also has quite a bit of vitamin E. So, the vitamin E content on the high-oleic sunflower oil is quite high. So, those are some of the benefits um of the high-oleic sunflower oil. Also with the high monounsaturated fat intake, this can have beneficial shifts on a lipid panel and also take some pressure off the liver. But at the same time, this is still technically an industrially produced seed oil. It can have quite a bit of monounsaturated fat. So if you use it as your major fat source, it can give you that sleepiness effect or impact some of the hormonal function. And it does have beta-sitosterol as well. So in this circumstance, it's not a major source that I go to, but it kind of falls in this middle area where it doesn't really have a lot of PUFA. It does have a good vitamin E content. It's mostly monounsaturated, but at the same time, it's still industrially produced. So, these are things to keep in mind with the high-oleic sunflower oil.
Now, the next one we have is lard. And lard's kind of a tricky one. I would avoid lard fed from with pigs that were fed with corn and soy. So, you want to look for a high-quality lard where the the pigs are fed good quality foods that aren't heavy in corn and soy. And the lard becomes beneficial if you have issues, digestive issues with beef tallow or some of the higher saturated fats because of a shift in the bile bile composition. This tends to be a little bit more absorbable, create less of those issues because it has a more balanced ratio of monounsaturated fats to saturated fatty acids. Um, doesn't have as high of the palmitic acid content or as high of a stearic acid content that we see with some of the other fat sources. Now, the problem with lard is that most times because it's corn and soy-fed, it does have a higher PUFA than beef tallow. And even when it's not, it still has a higher PUFA or polyunsaturated fat content than beef tallow. The way lard is made, it's typically already heated. Um, usually it's boiled or that it's heated up in a pan um to extract the fat out of some of the fatty tissue from the pig. The lard doesn't really have much nutrient density. Again, it's really difficult to find corn and soy-free lard in most circumstances, although it's becoming better now. Now there's a lot more options available. And then poor quality lard often comes with hydrogenated or is often hydrogenated or can come with additives like different antioxidant compounds to maintain shelf stability and stuff like this. So I typically don't recommend lard as a major fat source. But if you have a good pastured uh pork lard and you enjoy it and you digest it well, that could be an option to incorporate.
Now the next two are hazelnuts and cashews. And both these nuts aren't very high in polyunsaturated fats. So about 13% for the hazelnuts. And for the cashews, we're looking at around 16% 17%. So not too bad. They both have decent nutrient density. They will give you some vitamins and minerals as well as some fiber that can help with the microbiome. So we can see that here. And they do have different plant compounds, polyphenol compounds that are beneficial. So they can be incorporated in smaller amounts in the diet for some of those benefits, but they do still have a decent PUFA content. Both of them can have quite a decent oxalate and phytate content. So we look at hazelnuts, it's about 355 milligrams. So it's not terrible. It's not as high as dark chocolate, but still a decent amount. And then we look at the cashews, about 560 milligrams. This is for 215 grams of cashews and that was for 160 grams of hazelnuts which is obviously a lot but it's I was trying to get to 100 grams of fat to show you the percentage. The other thing is most of their fats are monounsaturated fats. So again same deal too much monos for some people can create that sleepiness or impact hormones and they also have the beta-sitosterol which in most circumstances are okay but for some people can impact hormones.
So the next tier that I want to look at here is S tier. Now for S tier I have two options. Option number one is going to be fatty beef. So this is going to be like a ribeye or ground beef or something like this. Now most people enjoy the taste of fatty beef. Not everybody, but most people do. It's very low in polyunsaturated fats. We can see only about 3% polyunsaturated fats. There's a nice ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fatty acids here. You have about 40 to 50% monos and about 40% saturated fat. So pretty nice overall. Then on top of that, you do get the benefits of the odd-chain fats and the conjugated linoleic acid in the ruminant fats due to the the breakdown of different fats from the grasses and and and grains the cows are fed inside the rumen. Also, there's a high stearic acid content in the saturated fatty acid portion of beef fat which again has benefits on the mitochondria and benefits on the lipid panel. If you're having the beef fat in conjunction with the meat like you're eating it with the meat meal, you get quite a bit of micronutrients here. You can see B vitamins are topped off and a lot of minerals like iron, copper, and zinc are topped off. And then on top of this, the beef fat tends to be beneficial for hormonal function. A lot of because it has that nice balance of saturated and monounsaturated, a lot of people can digest it well. I tend to see that using beef fat as one of the sources, major fat sources, if there's no digestive issues, can help with hormonal function. Now, the big problem with beef fat for people is that in some circumstances it can create issues in the microbiome and in the colon, especially if you've done a carnivore diet. So, the high stearic acid content in certain beef tallows or beef fats can lead to a shifting of the bile acid composition. This can lead to circumstances where you basically get an overgrowth of uh hydrogen sulfide producing bacteria that use the sulfur-containing amino acids like taurine. So this is like the sulfurobacter or bilophila wadsworthia and this can lead to circumstances that drive digestive issues. Um, also the high heme iron in the beef can create issues inside the colon for some people. And then on top of that this is more of a minor concern but when you cook the beef you will cook it at high temps typically and this will lead to some lipid peroxidation and peroxidation or oxidation of the cholesterol inside the beef fat. So those are some of the concerns. They're more minor. For people with digestive issues, it may be better to shift to other sources, but if you don't have them, it could be quite a good source.
Now, the next one is macadamia nuts. And the macadamia nuts, again, they're not perfect, but the roasted salted macadamia nuts taste great. They're very low in polyunsaturated fats. When you look here, you have about 1.9% polyunsaturated fats, which is excellent. They're mostly oleic and palmitic acids for monounsaturated fats, which can help with the lipid profile and help to balance out the saturated fats and help with some people digestively if they're having that bile acid issue. They are quite nutrient-dense, at least in terms of minerals, and they're pretty good source of thiamine. And then on top of that, they don't really have much anti-nutrients. There's not a high oxalic acid content. There's not a high phytic acid content in them. And also, mac nuts are super easy to incorporate in a diet. You can throw them in, you can grab them and go, leave them in your car. Um, so they're really easy to incorporate. The biggest problem with mac nuts is that they can be difficult to digest for some people because of the food matrix. Um, especially if they're unroasted. Raw mac nuts because the fats are embedded in the food matrix of the mac nut. For some people, can lead to fat malabsorption, especially if they're already having issues with digesting fats. The other thing, same deal with monos. Since they're almost all monounsaturated fats, as we can see here, about 77% monos, this can lead to circumstances that can make you sleepy and impact some of your hormones compared to having a better ratio of saturated to monounsaturated fats. And mac nuts do contain some beta-sitosterol and phytosterols, which for some people can impact some of the hormones. So, they're not nothing is a complete pro. There's a mixed bag for all of them.
These things, but macnuts and beef fat tend to be some of the best tolerated fats for people, and you can use them in larger amounts in the diet to keep polyunsaturated fats low while also optimizing a variety of different factors. Not putting pressure on the liver, not putting pressure on lipid panel, um, and also optimizing digestive absorption of these spring components.
The last tier that we have here is A tier. And A tier is a conglomeration of different oils and more refined fat sources that can be liberally added into the diet based on tolerance. And the reason they're an A tier, not an S tier, is because they don't really have much micronutrition with them at all. They're more like bulk oil sources that you can use to add to different dishes or cook with or things like this.
So, the first one we have is beef tallow. Very low polyunsaturated fat content. We're seeing about 4% polyunsaturated fat. It's about 50/50, or it's about, you know, 49% or 50% saturated, about 40% monounsaturated. It has a high amount of the odd-chain fats, conjugated linoleic acid, high in stearic acid, just like the beef, beneficial effects on hormonal function. The downside, as I mentioned, nutrient density, and then still the same thing as with normal beef fat, the shifting of the bile acid composition towards taurine-conjugated bile acids that can shift the microbiome towards sulfur-utilizing bacteria. And then also, beef fat, it's not ideal to cook with, I would say, because the monounsaturated fats can be peroxidized at high temps, and the cholesterol contained in it can be oxidized, but not as bad as something like butter. Doesn't have as quite as much cholesterol content.
The next one we have is the macadamia nut oil. And the macadamia nut oil is, um, very low in polyunsaturated fats. So we can see here, about only 2.5% polyunsaturated fat. Um, it's mostly oleic and palmitic acid. So monounsaturated, and very minimal anti-nutrients and components like this. We can see almost 80% monounsaturated here. The cons with it, again, the macadamia nut oil, not really much micronutrition to talk of. Okay, a little bit of vitamin E, negligible vitamin K, and that's K1. And again, too much monounsaturated in one, uh, sitting, especially taken in rapidly in the oil form, can have that sleepy effect or have the impact in some of the hormones. And it also does contain the phytosterol beta-sitosterol or sitosterol that can have some issues or have some impacts on some of the androgenic hormonal signaling.
The next one we have here is cocoa butter. And the cocoa butter here is also very low in polyunsaturated fatty acids, right? Only about 3%. Um, it's very high in stearic acid. It's even higher than beef fat. The dark chocolate's also quite high, which again has the benefits on lipid profile and mitochondrial function. It's about 60% saturated, about 30% monounsaturated. It doesn't have the cons, other concerns of chocolate, maybe some of the heavy metal contamination, but it also doesn't really have any of the nutrient density of chocolate. And the chocolate, because of the polyphenols and fiber, doesn't seem to have as much of a negative impact on that bile composition or microbiome that I talked about with beef fat, because of the stearic acid. But cocoa butter, because it doesn't have those components, can have the same impact that you would see with something like beef fat and the high stearic acid content. So that's something to keep an eye on.
The next one we have here is butter. Um, again, with butter, just like all these fats, only 3% polyunsaturated fat. It's about 50% saturated, higher amount of palmitic than stearic acid. So this can bump the lipid profile for people and a lower amount of monounsaturated fats. The biggest downside with butter is because of that, you have the impact on the lipid profile, impact on bile acid digestion for some people, and then there's not really much nutrition in butter, with the exception is a pretty good source of retinol, or vitamin A. So the active form of vitamin A. So butter is a decent option, um, for most people. And also, if you're having issues absorbing fats, butter is a good fat that is relatively easily absorbed, especially compared to beef fat, because the stearic acid, a little bit of longer chain fat. The longer the chain, it makes it a little bit more difficult to digest, uh, or absorb overall than some of the shorter chain fats. Uh, palmitic acid is I think 16 carbons, and stearic acid is 18 carbons. Butter also, like other dairy products, does have some of the hormones like estrone sulfate. So this can create some issues for people.
And another question when I was going through and setting up this video was, there, Ethan was asking me about ghee. So, ghee is another dairy fat option. It's pretty much butter without the lactose and the casein. And there's not really that much lactose and casein in ghee, but at the same time, when you make ghee, you have to heat up the butter in most circumstances, which can increase the oxidized cholesterol products, even though lactose and casein are decreased. So for somebody who has real issues with lactose and casein, then ghee may be a better option, but you may get a little bit more oxidized lipids than if you were to have butter overall.
Next one we have is coconut oil. And coconut oil is very low in polyunsaturated fatty acids. So we can see that here. It's about 1.7%. Um, it has a very high saturated fat or saturated fatty acid content of, uh, 80% and only about 6% mono. So it's very much shifted towards saturated. The problem with coconut oil, or I guess this is a benefit first, is it's very high in MCTs, which makes it very well absorbed, the medium-chain fats, but it also has some antimicrobial effects. And then it can be a good option for cooking because it is very high in saturated fatty acids, and it also can be a good option for people who are trying to produce ketones for certain circumstances, like if somebody's dealing with seizure disorders, like epilepsy.
Now, the downside with coconut oil is there's not much nutrient density in the coconut oil at all. It can shift the lipid panel, but it kind of raises both LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol. So it's actually not as big of a deal because the ratios are still dialed in. It can irritate people's GI tract, as I mentioned. So that's from the MCTs. It can give people the runs and digestive issues. And then for people who are dealing with fatty liver, it can actually put some pressure on it. If the liver is already having difficulty in terms of oxidizing fatty acids, if you take large amounts of coconut oil into the system, it can actually, um, put some pressure on the liver as it's already having difficulty processing fatty acids and you have rapidly absorbed fatty acids hitting the liver. So in that circumstance, I would moderate the amount in that in that context, maybe balance it out with some of the monounsaturated fats.
The last option we have here is palm kernel oil. And palm kernel oil is pretty similar to coconut oil. Similar breakdown, only about 1.6% polyunsaturated fat. Um, it's mostly saturated, about 80%, only about 10% monounsaturated. The saturated fats in palm kernel oil are largely medium-chain fats. So again, benefits for rapid absorption and antimicrobial components. It can be a good option for cooking because it's very saturated, doesn't contain cholesterol. It's going to oxidize just like coconut oil. Um, doesn't contain the cholesterol either. It can be helpful to create ketones without going on the ketogenic diet, just like coconut oil, but again, not really much nutrient density present in the palm kernel oil. It can irritate people's GI tracts, and it can put pressure on the liver overall.
With those fats out of the way, I wanted to show you some ways that you can actually incorporate the fatty acids into your, or these different fatty acid sources into your diet. So I made a bunch of different meals here, um, using the different fat sources. An easy example here is like a generic breakfast option. So, coffee with collagen, some honey, and then the fat sources here are the eggs, two eggs on a rice cake with some avocado. So you have the eggs here and the avocado are the major fat sources. Um, and the carb source here is the oranges and the rice cakes. So an easy way to get in a nice mix of fatty acids. We can see here, polyunsaturated fat about three grams for this meal. Um, about 11 grams of mono and about four point or five grams of saturated fat. So a nice balance between the fatty acids. This would be helpful for somebody who needed to shift the lipid profile or adjust what's going on at the liver. If they're having, uh, trouble, um, with fatty acid oxidation at the liver, they're dealing with fatty liver, the choline and the eggs could be helpful. And then the monounsaturated fats and the avocado could be helpful. And then the digestion would be slowed by the food matrix with the avocado. And then having all this together in one meal.
The next option we have here is the shake option. So you have whey protein, coconut water, banana, and strawberry shake. So you blend all this together, take like five minutes, and on the side, you'd have the dark chocolate and the macadamia nuts. And this is a nice combo because if you look at both this meal, all together, the fatty acid profile is pretty balanced. It's almost 50/50. So about 12, 12, um, 12 grams of monos, I guess maybe closer to 60/40. And about 9 grams of saturated fat. And that's between the mac nuts being mostly monos and then the chocolate being mostly saturated. Very low polyunsaturated fats, only about one gram. So you're getting a basically a nice ratio here. And again, these are really easy to just grab and go. There's not much prep time.
The next one we have here is a beef meal. So you have 85% ground beef with some veggies and some potatoes. So on the potato, you would put the butter, or you could put the butter on some of the veggies here, like a teaspoon on these veggies, the peas and broccoli, and a teaspoon on the potato. Altogether, that would round out your fat between the beef and the butter. And you have a glass of orange juice for some carbs. This meal, in terms of fatty acid profile, polyunsaturated fats are kept pretty low, only about 1.2 grams, and a little bit higher in saturated fat because of the beef fat and then also the butter together, but still, it's pretty almost close to 50/50. Um, a little bit high, so about nine grams of monos and about 11 grams of saturated. So not too bad overall.
The next we have is a chicken meal. So I chose chicken breast. So it's not really high in fat, only about three grams. It's only about 0.7 grams of omega-6 here. And then with the chicken meals, it's like a pretty typical option. So chicken, rice, avocado, and carrots, and then blueberries on the side. So the avocado picks up the rest of the fat in this meal all together. This is going to be mainly monounsaturated. So 15 grams of monos, only four grams of saturated, and a little bit more polies because of the chicken and because the avocado has a little bit more polyunsaturated fat, but still perfectly fine meal. Something that a lot of people I work with, uh, do on a regular basis.
Next up, we have a shrimp meal. So it's a kind of a shrimp curry. I didn't add all the ingredients, but just to give a general idea. So you have shrimp, green bean, peppers, carrots, coconut milk. You could add the spices in there as well. And you have white rice for the carbs of the base and a little bit of butter to put into the white rice. Um, this can be mainly saturated because of the butter and because the coconut oil is about 14 grams of saturated, only 2.9 grams of monos, and you have, uh, 1.7 grams of polies, but most of that is actually from the omega-3s coming in from the shrimp. So another decent meal option, another tasty meal option here.
The last one here is going to be a quick meal option, something that you could whip up within like 10 minutes. So you have Greek yogurt, a banana, strawberries, honey, and then on the side, you just add a bit of dark chocolate. So you're going to get some fat from the dairy here from the Greek yogurt. You're going to get about 10 grams. And then you pick up the rest with the dark chocolate, about another eight and a half grams. So altogether, this meal will give you about 10 grams of saturated fat, about five grams of monounsaturated fat, and then very low poly, only about less than one gram of polyunsaturated fat. If you wanted to balance this meal out a little bit more in terms of monounsaturated, uh, for digestive issues or for stuff going on with the liver, then what you could do is switch the dark chocolate out for macadamia nuts instead.
So with that said, you can choose any of these options. You can mix and match these pieces. They're meant to be modular. You can switch the fats out. But these give you some ideas on how you can incorporate these different fats into your diet. And if I was going to pick fats for the diet, I would mainly stick with S tier, A tier, B, and B tier. These three tiers, other tiers that I typically incorporate in my clients' diet on a regular basis. I don't do quite as much with, um, C tier. Maybe sometimes people will use some of these sources for different very specific things, but D tier, E tier, and F tier, I'm not usually incorporating much in clients' diets at all.
Now, with this said, if you enjoyed this video and you're curious about how to incorporate protein sources or sugar sources or carb sources, I have other videos on my channel that you can check out. Thank you.