Why GAPS Prioritizes Natural Fats

The GAPS emphasis on natural fats is about nourishment as well as cooking. In Gut and Physiology Syndrome, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride describes fats as structural materials, sources of energy and parts of the body’s signaling systems. That is the background to her recommendation that animal fats form the main part of fat intake on GAPS.^[1]

Fat Has Structural Jobs

The book discusses cell membranes, the nervous system, bone marrow and the fat surrounding organs. These are different tissues with different compositions. Its dry-weight comparisons exclude water; they should not be read as a body-fat percentage that applies to every person.^[1]

The useful point is that fat is not only a reserve stored under the skin. Lipids contribute to membranes and myelin, and cholesterol is used to make steroid hormones. That does not mean that every hormone or neurotransmitter is made from dietary fat. The cholesterol-and-hormones guide explains the steroid distinction.

Animal Fat Is a Mixture

The source emphasizes that animal fats contain saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids in different proportions. Calling a food “animal fat” does not mean every fatty acid in it is saturated. Likewise, a whole plant food and a factory-extracted oil are not identical food forms.^[1]

This helps explain why the book discusses the original food, preparation and processing together. The kitchen guide translates that into cooking fats and finishing oils, without asking you to calculate a laboratory fatty-acid profile for dinner.

The Source’s Saturated-Fat Position

Campbell-McBride strongly disputes the portrayal of natural animal fats as harmful and describes saturated fats as protective within her GAPS argument. She discusses heart function, immunity and the body’s use of other fatty acids. These are the author’s stated nutritional positions, rather than a promise that one food prevents heart disease or cancer in every reader.^[1]

The passage is about the food framework. It does not interpret an individual cholesterol result, replace a prescribed treatment or make a single ingredient a guarantee of recovery. The cholesterol food-source guide keeps the biological and meal questions separate.

On weight, Campbell-McBride rejects the idea that eating fat itself causes obesity and instead attributes obesity to processed carbohydrates. This is part of her explanation for prioritizing natural fats in GAPS meals.^[1]

What the Book Prioritizes on the Plate

The 2020 book names fats in fresh meat, rendered animal fats, dairy fats such as butter, cream and ghee, and fats in egg yolks as the main sources. It also gives suitable plant foods and oils their own roles. The emphasis on animal fat does not remove all plant fats from GAPS.^[1]

Keep the food in its permitted form and phase. Cream, fermented dairy, ghee and an egg yolk do not all enter Intro in the same way. The food list and the phase comparison are the practical references.

Natural Foods and Processed Fats

The author contrasts these foods with processed cooking oils, artificial spreads, hydrogenated fats and shortenings. Her exclusion is broader than a trans-fat number alone. The processed-fat guide explains why a “zero trans fat” front label does not answer every GAPS ingredient question.^[1]

For whole nuts and seeds, use the applicable introduction and preparation guidance. A nutrient being present in a seed does not mean that the whole seed, its flour and an extracted oil are interchangeable on the plate.

Essential Fatty Acids Are a Separate Question

The book also describes the two parent essential fatty acids and their derivatives. “Essential” has a specific meaning there: the body needs to obtain the parent fats from the diet. The EFA guide explains that terminology and links to omega-3 and omega-6.^[1]

It is possible to understand the need for nourishment without buying every oil supplement. The source says many people following GAPS obtain these fats through food; supplementation is an individual part of its discussion, with a specific epilepsy exception.

Bring the Explanation Back to a Meal

If the theory has left you unsure what to cook, start with the cooking-and-finishing table and our Full GAPS meals. The aim is a workable food routine, with the phase and the actual ingredients clear.

For the wider food and household framework before you begin, this is the foundations course. The Understanding & Preparing for the GAPS Diet course is listed in my course catalog.

For practical meal choices, return to the GAPS fats-and-oils kitchen guide.

References

1. Campbell-McBride, N. Gut and Physiology Syndrome (2020), “Fats: the Good and the Bad,” structural roles, dry-weight discussion, “What fats are good for GAPS patients? First things first!” and the saturated-fat argument; “Essential fatty acids”.