Lesson 1: It is the type of fat that matters, not the amount.

Learning about fats can be confusing. When you go to the grocery store, you're confronted with advertisements telling you that a product is low in fat, or a product is made with partially hydrogenated oil. To make sense of all the labels, I've compiled the following list of definitions for you:

• Saturated fats: Saturated fats are found in animal products such as butter, cheese, whole milk, ice cream, cream and fatty meats. They are also found in some tropical plants and vegetable oils such as  coconut, palm and palm kernel.
  
  Saturated fats are not as dangerous as you think. In fact, coconut oil is quite healthy and is the oil to use for cooking since it is far less likely to be damaged through heating.
  
  
  
  A misguided fallacy that persists to this day is the belief that saturated fat will increase your risk of heart attacks. Folks, this is simply another myth that has been harming your health for the last 30 or 40 years. The truth is, saturated fats from animal and vegetable sources provide a concentrated source of energy in your diet, and they provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone like substances.
  
  When you eat saturated fats as part of your meal, they slow down absorption so that you can go longer without feeling hungry. In addition, they act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Dietary fats are also needed for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption, and for a host of other biological processes.
  
  Studies on low saturated fat diets also support nutritional typing, which predicts that one-third of people will do very well on low saturated fat diets (which supports the studies showing that they work), whereas another one-third of people need high saturated fat diets to stay healthy.
  
  If you'd like to learn more about the role dietary fats play in your health, be sure to check out these excellent research studies.
   
• Trans fats: These fats form when vegetable oil hardens, a process called hydrogenation, and can raise LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, and  lower HDL (good cholesterol) levels, which of course is the complete opposite of what you need in order to maintain good heart health. In fact, trans fats -- as opposed to saturated fats -- have been linked repeatedly to heart disease. These fatty acids can also cause major clogging of your arteries, type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems..

• Monounsaturated fats: The best oil here is olive oil. Canola oil is also in this category, but I advise avoiding it and using olive oil instead.

Lesson 2: Learn about the importance of omega-3 and omega-6 fats.

Omega-3 fats improve your cell's response to insulin, neurotransmitters and other messengers. They also help the repair process when your cells are damaged. On the other hand, omega-6 fats are pro-inflammatory and contribute to insulin and membrane resistance, altering your mood, and impairing learning and cell repair. To avoid high levels of omega-6, it is important to avoid all vegetable seed oils.

Please understand that it's not only necessary to consciously consume omega-3 fats, which I'll review further in lesson 3 below, but it is just as important to lower your omega-6 fat intake. If you don't lower your omega-6 fats to acceptable levels, your omega 6:3 ratio will not be low enough, and you will not receive many of the wonderful benefits of omega-3 fats such as reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer's, arthritis and many other degenerative illnesses.

Lesson 3: Take a high quality omega-3 supplement

Americans consume a dangerously insufficient amount of omega-3, a fat essential to good health but only found in fish oil and a few other foods. Meanwhile, our intake of omega-6, another fat found in corn, soy, sunflower and other oils, is far too high. The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 should be 1:1, but the typical American's ratio ranges from 15:1 to 50:1!

I am convinced that this lack of omega-3 in our diets is a primary reason behind many of the diseases Americans face, and our shorter lifespan in relation to many other "first world" countries such as Japan or Greece.

Benefits of omega-3 found in fish and cod liver oil:

Helps fight and prevent heart disease, cancer, depression, Alzheimer's, arthritis, diabetes, hyperactivity and many other diseases

• Increases your energy level and ability to concentrate
• Provides greater resistance to common illnesses such as flu and cold
• Helps pregnant women avoid premature births, low birth weight and other complications

While a helpful form of omega-3 can be found in flaxseed, walnuts and a few other foods, the most beneficial form of omega-3 -- containing two fatty acids, DHA and EPA, which are essential to fighting and preventing both physical and mental disease -- can only be found in fish. Unfortunately, nearly all fish, from most all sources, are now severely contaminated with toxic mercury, which is why I have amended my previous recommendations to consume fish on a routine basis. It's simply not advisable for most people any longer.

My latest recommendation for a source of high quality omega-3 fats is krill oil.  The omega-3 in krill is attached to phospholipids that increase its absorption, which means you need less of it, and it won't cause belching or burping like many other fish oil products. Additionally, it is loaded with potent antioxidants, almost fifty times more than is present in fish oil. This prevents the highly perishable omega-3 fats from oxidizing before you are able to integrate them into your cellular tissue.

Lesson 4: How to know if you are taking too much omega-3 fats

• Mental sharpness on awakening
• Depression/well-being
• Weight gain
• Brittle fingernails
• Allergies
• Arthritis
• Quality of sleep
• Memory problems
• Dry hair
• Dry skin
• Concentration
• Fatigue

If you start krill oil and notice that one or more of the above symptoms improve that is a very good sign.

If after a time on the krill oil your symptoms return for no apparent reason, that is a good clue that you are taking too much krill oil and should stop for a short while to help your body eliminate the oil and then resume at a lower dose.

Unlike vitamins and minerals whose intake is usually relatively constant, the amounts of essential fatty intake is quite variable so following the above will help fine-tune your dose so you can fully benefit from the truly miraculous health benefits that krill oil provides.

If you chose to use fish oil or cod liver oil as your source of omega-3 fats, then the normal dose of fish oil is one 1,000 mg capsule with 300 mg of EPA/DHA for every ten pounds of body weight.

One teaspoon of liquid cod liver oil is equal to about 3 ½  capsules, and there are three teaspoons in one tablespoon, so one tablespoon would equal about 10 capsules.

This dose can be reduced if you are healthy and if you are in a summer climate with warmth and sun exposure.