Fat Chance

Ten to fifteen years ago it would have been an exercise in patience had you attempted to convince me that there are benefits to some forms of dietary fat.  The last decade has witnessed a resounding embrace of monosaturated forms as low-carb, low-sugar Atkins-endorsed selections have replaced favor for "lite" starches such as fruits and flours.  Red meat, whole milk, nuts, olives, salmon, and avocados are the avowed "super foods" (as evidenced in the current AARP member newsletter, among sources).  For immediate energy, we are no longer turning to a saucer-sized bagel, bulbous bran muffin, or towering glass of O.J., but, rather, a moderately-sized handfuls of low-calorie pistachios or twin hardboiled eggs.  In my own diet I have resisted contact with anything greasy to the touch, making exception for fatty fish that, even when prepared nearly "naked" of added ingredient, sport naturally-occurring oils (the much-touted omega-3 acids, essential to heart health and prescribed by today's physicians, including my father's).  As previously divulged, I also allow a blind "pass" to imitation butter spray, which I use as a poured topping.  The labeling on the latter is difficult to interpret for any real grasp of nutritional content, which in some way adds to its blank-slate appeal.  It is an admittedly sketchy product that allows no breakdown of the proportion of lipids in each bottle.  Other than for this most guilty pleasure, I have long relied on a version of chocolate soy milk for much of my protein, calcium, and (yes) fat --in addition to a daily nutrition shake, favoring all-natural Orgain.  More recently I have come to dilute the soy drink with unsweetened almond juice (derived from pressing the nuts), packaged in cartons similar to other competing milk substitutes, for a less sweet concoction that plays well with cooked oatmeal.  Having the knowledge that I respond favorably to its oaky nuance, and the increasing awareness of my need to bolster a limited menu, I dipped into a jar of almond paste this afternoon, retrieving a sludgy, gleaming tablespoon.  I was immediately struck by the instant silky luster lent my lips and the flush of heat soon enveloping cheeks, brow, ears, nose.  With a heart running cartwheels, I sensed my head almost feeling faint as an unexpected lightness of mind took hold.  These pronounced symptoms were likely influenced by emotion, stress, and bodily deficiencies in an integrated psychosomatic reaction much weightier than a single spoon might have been expected to yield.  Although short an explanation, I am proud to have strained protocol and taken a gamble on this potent, robust concentration of collagen-preserving glyceryl oleate.  Fat, I must remind myself, is necessary, even critical.  It is a controlling agent for inflammation, the clotting of blood, insulation, vitamin absorption/distribution, brain functioning, and maintaining  energy.  This vital nutrient provides cosmetic finesse to hair and skin, patching lines and wrinkles, restoring cells --generally, reviving one's appearance.  

I've given actual almonds --not just their thin liquid derivative-- a "crack".  For as long as I've resisted tangible fat sources I have fostered shades of insanity.  Perhaps now it is time for me to truly, formally go nuts.

Vintage Valentine indicating impending insanity should I continue with this celebrated bounty.