🎙️ Raising Healthy Habits - The Truth About Fat
Episode Transcript:
“When it comes to feeding our kids, there is probably no topic more confusing — or more emotionally loaded — than fat.
A lot of parents listening right now grew up in a world where avocados were ‘fattening,’ butter was the enemy, margarine was advertised as heart-healthy, and anything labeled low-fat automatically seemed like the better choice.
So if you’ve ever found yourself hesitating over oils in the grocery aisle…
or feeling guilty when your child reaches for something with fat in it…
or wondering what’s actually true…
you’re not alone — and it’s not your fault.
Hello, I’m Maggie Rich, a Certified Functional Nutritionist and founder of Healthy Habits Santa Cruz and this is Raising Healthy Habits — a podcast series that helps you understand what your child’s growing body actually needs, without the fear, confusion, or outdated nutrition myths.”
⭐ The Low-Fat Era: How We Got Here
“So how did we get here? “To understand why parents still feel torn about fat, we need to go back a few decades.
In the 1960s through the 1990s, the nutrition world landed on a simple — and ultimately incorrect — conclusion:
👉 Fat causes heart disease.
👉 Therefore eating less fat must be healthier.
The science behind this was incomplete, overly simplified, and in many cases… misinterpreted. But it spread like wildfire.
By the 1980s and 1990s, grocery stores were filled with:
low-fat yogurt
fat-free cookies
skim everything
margarine instead of butter
and processed foods pumped full of sugar to make up for flavor
And here’s why the misinformation spread so rapidly:
Food companies benefited enormously from this shift.
Removing fat made foods cheaper to produce and last longer on shelves, because fat can spoil and go rancid.
Sugar — especially corn-based sweeteners — was extremely cheap for manufacturers, so it became the go-to replacement when fat was removed.
This made it so manufacturers could:
cut production costs
increase shelf life
improve flavor cheaply
and market products as “low-fat,” “heart-healthy,” or “guilt-free.”
It was a perfect storm of profit and public misunderstanding.
And one major misunderstanding took hold — one that shaped how an entire generation views fat.
Saturated fat and trans fat were lumped together and blamed for the same problems… even though they behave very differently in the body.
Trans fats — the artificial kind created when oils are chemically altered — have now been largely phased out because they’re strongly linked to inflammation and heart health issues.
Saturated fat, on the other hand, comes from whole foods like butter, ghee, coconut, and full-fat dairy. In balanced amounts it supports energy, hormone health, and brain development — especially in kids.
But back then, these two very different fats were treated as if they were identical.
At the same time, industrial seed oils like canola, soybean, corn, and safflower were heavily marketed as ‘heart-healthy,’ even without solid long-term evidence — and they were inexpensive for manufacturers to use.
Unfortunately, and quite obviously, their messaging stuck.
If you’re a Millennial or Gen-X parent, you probably heard:
‘Fat makes you gain weight.’
‘Avoid butter.’
‘Stick with vegetable oil.’
‘Low fat is good; high fat is bad.’
So of course parents today still feel confused.
We were all taught a story that simply wasn’t true. And we were taught it because it benefits companies' pockets, not consumers' health. I could go more into the varying examples where companies benefit from keeping their consumers sick but that’s for another time.”
⭐ What We Know Now: Fat Is Essential for Kids
“Let’s jump back to the present day where the research paints a very different picture — especially for children.
Healthy fats are essential for:
Brain development (the brain is almost 60% fat)
Steady energy
Mood regulation
Hormone production
Absorbing vitamins
Stable blood sugar and focus
Kids are not small adults.
Their brains are developing at lightning speed — and fat is the raw material their brain cells literally build themselves from.”
(pause)
“Here’s the simplest truth:
👉 Fat is not the problem.
The wrong kinds of fat — eaten too often — can be.”
⭐ Oils 101: The Ones That Support Your Child’s Body
“Let’s keep this crystal clear.”
✔️ Here are the best oils to have in your kitchen
These come from whole foods and contain antioxidants, stable fats, and nutrients:
Extra-virgin olive oil
Avocado oil
Coconut oil (great for certain cooking)
Butter or ghee (if tolerated)
Why these?
Because they’re less processed, more stable at high heat, and support the brain, hormones, and a healthy inflammatory response.
🔥 A Quick Note on Smoke Point
(and Why It Matters)
“This is something almost no one teaches — but it’s simple and helpful to know.
Every oil has a smoke point, which is the temperature where the oil starts to:
Smoke
Break down
Lose nutrients
And form compounds that aren’t supportive for the body and ultimately cause inflammation
Once an oil hits its smoke point, like your pan is literally smoking, it’s not doing you or your family any favors and it’s best to turn off the heat, remove the oil, and start over.
This happens most commonly with extra-virgin olive oil, because it has a lower smoke point than avocado oil or ghee. And I see a lot of people using it in high heat scenarios.
Olive oil is incredibly healthy — but it’s better for:
Roasting
Low–medium heat cooking
Dressings
Marinades
Finishing vegetables
Not high-heat frying.
So if you see your olive oil smoking, don’t panic — just pause, wipe the pan, and start over. Or, consider swapping it for an oil that works better under high heat like avocado oil.
And if you’re listening to this and thinking,
‘Okay… this is helpful, but how am I going to remember any of it,’
I made something for you.
I created a free handout called Your Guide to Healthy Cooking Oils — it breaks down exactly what each oil is best for, what it’s not ideal for, the flavor notes, and the real functional-nutrition benefits.
It also discusses the smoke-point so you’ll easily see which oils handle high heat and which ones should stay at low–medium temperatures. It’s one of the most practical tools I’ve made for families, and you can download it anytime at healthyhabitssc.com/podcast.
⭐ Oils to Reduce — Not Fear
Now let's talk about the oils not mentioned in my handout. They aren’t ‘bad’ or ‘toxic’ — so let’s just remove that language completely. But they are used extremely heavily in processed foods, which means our modern diets often include far more of them than our bodies were designed for.
These include:
Canola oil
Soybean oil
Corn oil
Safflower oil
Sunflower oil
Generic ‘vegetable oil’
“These oils are extracted in ways that strip away nutrients and can create instability when heated repeatedly (like in fryers).
Over time — and especially in high amounts — they can contribute to inflammation.”
“Again:
This is not about fear.
This is about awareness — and the fact that small swaps matter.”
⭐ What This Means for Everyday Cooking
“So now that you understand which oils support your child’s body — how does that actually translate in the kitchen? There’s a lot of information in the handout I made but I’ll give you some quick examples here.
Use olive oil for everyday roasting, sautéing, and dressings.
Use avocado oil anytime you need a hotter pan — stir-fries, searing, quick weeknight meals.
Use butter or ghee for eggs, veggies, and recipes that need rich flavor.
Use coconut oil for baking or dishes where you want a touch of sweetness.
And for snacks?
Add whole-food fats — like nuts, seeds, olives, avocado, or full-fat yogurt — to help stabilize energy, mood, and focus.”
“These shifts don’t require a total overhaul. They’re small, subtle choices that — over time — support a calmer nervous system, more stable energy, and better brain health for your kids.”
⭐ How to Talk to Kids About Fat
“When it comes to talking about fat with kids, keep it neutral, positive, and functional — no moralizing.
Try phrases like:
‘Fat is brain fuel.’
‘Healthy fats help you focus in school.’
‘Fat helps you stay full between meals.’
‘Your brain is made of almost sixty percent fat — so your body needs it to grow and think clearly.’
Kids don’t need fear.
They need simple, true information they can connect with their own experience.”
⭐ A Quick Parent Label Check
“And speaking of clarity, one place where a lot of parents get stuck is on food labels — so let’s dive into that really quick. When you’re reading labels, you don’t need to analyze grams or track percentages — that’s where most parents start to feel overwhelmed.
For this episode, we’re keeping it very simple. When you flip a package over, just look for two things:
1. What oil is used?
(Olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, butter, or ghee are more supportive choices.)
2. Is there whole-food fat included?
(like nuts, seeds, olives, avocado, dairy, eggs)
That’s it.
You’re not trying to build a balanced meal from a label — you’re simply becoming more aware of the quality of fats you and your family are consuming.
And if you’ve ever looked at a nutrition label and thought,
‘I have no idea what I’m supposed to pay attention to,’
You’re going to love the next episode.
I’m going to walk you through how to read labels in a way that’s actually helpful and easy — not confusing, or focused on counting anything —
just clear cues that tell you what’s inside and how it supports your child.”
⭐ Reflection Moment
“Let’s take a moment to check in with ourselves:
What’s one belief about fat that you absorbed growing up
—and what new truth are you ready to replace it with?
And then choose just one small upgrade for the week:
Use olive oil instead of canola
Add avocado to breakfast
Bring back eggs cooked in butter
Swap margarine for ghee
You don’t have to change everything.
You just have to start.”
⭐ Closing & Resources
“As I already mentioned, I’ve created a free handout called Your Guide to Healthy Cooking Oils. It breaks down exactly which oil to use, how to use it, and why. You can download it at healthyhabitssc.com/podcast.
You’ll also find my Fat + Fiber + Protein cheat sheet and whole-food lists there — simple tools to help you nourish your kids with confidence.
I’m Maggie Rich, Certified Functional Nutritionist and founder of Healthy Habits Santa Cruz. And this is Raising Healthy Habits, a podcast series to help you understand what your child’s growing body actually needs — and choosing foods that support them from the inside out.”