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Abby's Magazine - Volume 5 Issue 1| Page 45 and animal products from livestock raised in confined animal feeding opera ons (CAFOs). Here again, if you cut down on protein, you need to replace lost calories with healthy fats such as avocados, coconut oil, olives, olive oil, bu er and nuts. Overall, most people would do well to get upwards of 50-70 percent fat in their diet (along with high amounts of vegetable carbs, moderate-to-low amounts of high- quality protein, and very li le, if any, carbs). According to the California Avocado Commission, a medium Hass avocado contains about 22.5 grams of fat, two-thirds of which is monounsaturated. They're also very low in fructose, which is yet another boon. Avocados are also very high in potassium and will help balance your vitally important potassium to sodium ra o, and it enables your body to more efficiently absorb fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha- and beta-carotene and lutein, in other foods eaten in conjunc on. 2: Organic Coconut Oil Coconut oil is nature's richest source of healthy medium- chain fa y acids (MCFAs), which your body sends directly to your liver to use as energy. This makes coconut oil a powerful source of instant energy to your body, a func on usually served in the diet by simple carbohydrates. Numerous studies have shown that MCFAs promote weight loss and help improve insulin sensi vity and glucose tolerance. Addi onally, research has demonstrated that, due to its beneficial metabolic effect, coconut oil also increases the ac vity of your thyroid. A sluggish thyroid is one reason why some people are unable to lose weight, no ma er what they do. Half of the fat content in coconut oil is lauric acid—a fat rarely found in nature—that could easily qualify as a "miracle" ingredient because of its unique health promo ng proper es. Your body converts lauric acid into monolaurin, which has an -viral, an -bacterial and an - protozoa proper es, for example. You can add raw organic coconut oil to green juices, smoothies, and even coffee (in lieu of sugar). It's also the ideal choice for all types of cooking. In fact, it's the only oil stable enough to resist mild heat-induced damage. So, whenever you need an oil to cook or bake with, use coconut oil instead of bu er, olive oil, vegetable oil, margarine, or any other type of oil called for in recipes. 3: Wild Alaskan Salmon Wild Alaskan salmon is an excellent source of essen al animal- based omega-3 fats (EPA and DHA), high-quality protein, as well as astaxanthin and other an oxidants—all of which are important nutrients for fitness. Over the last several years, I've vigilantly warned against ea ng most fish, as virtually all fish these days contains dangerously high levels of mercury and other toxic contaminants. If it wasn't for the health risks posed by this contamina on, fish in general would be among my absolute most recommended foods for their outstanding nutri onal benefits, including high levels of omega-3 with DHA and EPA, which most people are desperately lacking in their diets. However, there are s ll some excep ons, and wild Alaskan salmon is one of them, as long as its purity can be verified. This was so important to me personally; I did loads of research to find a trusted source of Wild Alaskan salmon that passed third-party tes ng by an independent lab. I strongly recommend avoiding farmed fish though, par cularly farmed salmon, and even more specifically gene cally engineered farmed salmon. 4: Organic Pastured Eggs Proteins are nutrients that are essen al to the building, maintenance and repair of your body ssues such as your skin, internal organs and muscles. They are also the major components of your immune system and hormones. Proteins are found in all types of food, but only foods from animal sources, such as meat and eggs contain complete proteins, meaning they provide the eight essen al amino acids. Eggs, as well as the chickens they come from, are both healthful sources of protein but ONLY if raised the way nature