Hi Reader

The cheese email clearly hit a nerve — the response has been lovely, and quite a few of you wrote back with a version of the same follow-up question: if cheese might actually be fine, what’s the real story with fat more broadly?

It’s such a good question. And I’ll be honest — it’s one I used to find quite confusing myself.

For years, fat was the enemy. Low-fat everything. Margarine instead of butter. Olive oil used sparingly, as though it were some kind of luxury. And yet, despite all of that dietary caution, we didn’t get noticeably healthier as a population. In fact, in many ways, we got worse.

So what’s actually going on?

Not all fats are the same thing

This is really the heart of it. “Fat” isn’t one substance — it’s an umbrella term for a whole family of different molecules that behave very differently in the body. Treating them as a single category is a bit like saying “carbs are bad” without distinguishing between a bowl of lentils and a packet of biscuits. Context matters.

Here’s how I think about it in practice.

THE FATS WORTH SEEKING OUT

• Monounsaturated fats — extra virgin olive oil, avocados, almonds, hazelnuts. The evidence here is really strong. This is the backbone of the Mediterranean diet, and the research on cardiovascular health and longevity is consistently positive.

• Omega-3 fatty acids — oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines), walnuts, flaxseed. Brilliant for brain health, reducing inflammatory markers, and heart function. Most people in the UK aren’t eating nearly enough of these.

• Fats from whole food sources — this includes full-fat dairy, eggs, meat. The research here has shifted considerably in recent years. The saturated fat in a piece of aged cheese or a slow-cooked piece of lamb behaves quite differently from the fat in an ultra-processed snack.

THE FATS WORTH LIMITING

• Trans fats — largely phased out of UK food production now, but still worth checking labels for “partially hydrogenated oils” in imported products. These have the clearest negative evidence of any dietary fat.

• Refined vegetable oils in large quantities — sunflower, corn oil and similar. Fine in modest amounts, but the modern diet tends to be heavily skewed toward omega-6 relative to omega-3, which can tip the balance toward a more pro-inflammatory state.

What I actually eat — and recommend

When I’m cooking, I reach for extra virgin olive oil almost by default. I use it generously — on roasted vegetables, in dressings, drizzled over soup. I have avocado regularly. I cook with butter occasionally and I don’t feel remotely guilty about it.

What I’ve moved away from is the heavily refined stuff — cooking sprays, margarine, the kinds of oils that have been processed to within an inch of their life.

The question I find most useful to ask about any fat-containing food is simply: is this close to its original form? A handful of walnuts, a salmon fillet, a good olive oil — yes. A spreadable “butter alternative” with fifteen ingredients — probably not.

The bigger picture

What the research on healthy ageing consistently shows is that the people who do well long-term aren’t eating low-fat diets. They’re eating diets rich in whole, minimally processed foods — which naturally include plenty of the fats I’ve described above.

Fat, it turns out, isn’t something to be afraid of. It’s something to choose thoughtfully.

If you’re curious about how your own fat intake fits into the bigger picture of how you’re eating, that’s exactly the kind of thing we can unpick together in a coaching session. I love getting into the detail with people — because the broad strokes are useful, but what actually makes a difference is what works specifically for you.

Until next time — eat well, cook with good oil, and don’t be afraid of the avocado 😊

Rebecca x

Ps If you'd like to book in to my gut health lunch at Polgoon there are still some spaces left