Category: Health

Cisco Live North America is just around the corner, and it’s the perfect time to dive into the world of network automation. If you’re looking to streamline operations, boost efficiency, and ensure compliance, you need to check out the power of combining Cisco Meraki and Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform.

In this blog we will explore several popular customer use cases for Meraki and Ansible Automation Platform. We will provide guidance on how to learn more, including a demo. And if you’ll be at Cisco Live San Diego, we help you plan your agenda to learn more about these use cases.

Cisco Meraki and Red Hat Ansible: better together 

For businesses with multiple branch locations or complex network infrastructures, managing IT infrastructure manually is a recipe for human errors and inefficiency, mostly due to inconsistencies in the operational procedures. Cisco Meraki’s cloud-managed networking, coupled with Ansible Automation Platform, offers a robust and consistent solution to enhance your IT operations.

Let’s explore some of the top Meraki use cases that will be available with Ansible Automation Platform, in the form of a Validated Content Collection, that will simplify your operations lifecycle: branch provisioning, audit and compliance checks, configuration drift audits, and regular rotation of Wi-Fi pre-shared keys.

1. Branch provisioning: fast, consistent, and reliable

Imagine deploying hundreds or thousands of new sites, retail stores, remote offices, or even a single site. Traditionally, this process would involve hours of manual configuration for each location, increasing the risk of errors and inconsistencies. Each site might require consistent configurations for firewalls, switches, and Wi-Fi access points, all of which must align with security policies. Manual provisioning is not only time consuming but also prone to human error, potentially leading to security vulnerabilities or network outages.

With Meraki and Ansible Automation Platform, site expansion becomes a streamlined, automated process. Ansible Automation Platform allows you to create reusable Ansible playbooks, which are automated scripts that define the desired state of your network. These Ansible playbooks can interact with the Meraki API to perform configurations across all of your devices. This means you can define a template or “golden configuration” for a typical branch and then apply that configuration consistently across all new sites.

Steps required for a branch provisioning orchestrated workflow: 

• Create networks and claim devices.
• Configure gateway (firewall) and WAN.
• Configure switches.
• Configure SSID and access points.
• Automate documentation and reporting to update enterprise systems including Sources of Truth

By using Ansible Automation Platform to automate branch provisioning with Cisco Meraki, organizations can achieve a more agile, reliable, and secure network infrastructure. This approach is especially beneficial for companies with a large number of geographically distributed locations, with operation teams that have to orchestrate multiple technologies, at scale, with a centralized approach.

2. Audit and compliance check: Stay ahead of the curve

Managing configurations across a vast network with multiple locations can quickly become complex. Maintaining consistency and ensuring compliance with internal policies and external regulations is critical. This is where automating audit and compliance checks with Ansible Automation Platform becomes invaluable.

Ansible Automation Platform allows you to leverage the Meraki API using Ansible Automation Platform to compare an organization’s settings and status against a set of best practices and thresholds – uncovering configurations that should be changed.

This includes general checks, as well as Wi-Fi and switch compliance checks.

3. Configuration drift audit: maintain a source of truth for your firewall policies

Configuration drift can lead to unexpected network behavior and security vulnerabilities. With Ansible Automation Platform, you can establish a “good network” baseline—your source of truth. Then, Ansible Automation Platform compares your live network configurations to this baseline and identifies any deviations, especially in critical areas like firewall policies. You decide if you want Ansible Automation Platform to automatically correct any non-compliant configurations or create a service ticket with all the details.

By using Ansible Automation Platform to maintain a source of truth and audit for configuration drift, you can ensure that your Cisco Meraki network operates reliably, securely, and in compliance with your organization’s standards. This proactive approach greatly reduces risk and streamlines network operations.

4. Scheduled rotation of Wi-Fi pre-shared keys: enhance security

Regularly updating Wi-Fi pre-shared keys (PSK) for guest networks is a critical security best practice. In dynamic environments where numerous guests may access the network, static PSKs can become a security vulnerability. If a PSK is compromised, unauthorized users can easily gain access. A scheduled rotation of these keys significantly reduces this risk. Manually changing PSKs every month across multiple sites is a tedious and error-prone process, but Ansible Automation Platform can automate this crucial security task, ensuring consistent and timely updates.

Ansible Automation Platform can be used to generate new, strong PSKs automatically and then push these new keys to all of your Meraki access points. This can be scheduled as a recurring task, ensuring that the PSKs are rotated every month without manual intervention. This automated process not only enhances security but also frees up valuable IT resources.

Why This Matters: key advantages of Cisco Meraki and Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 

By combining Cisco Meraki’s cloud-managed networking with Ansible Automation Platform, organizations achieve:

• Rapid deployment 
• Proactive compliance 
• Operational stability 
• Enhanced security 

Join Us at Cisco Live North America! 

Ready to see Cisco Meraki and Ansible Automation Platform in action? Join us at Cisco Live North America! Here are a few sessions to add to your agenda that showcase the power of these technologies:

Unite Meraki, Catalyst, and ISE with Ansible – DEVWKS-2301 

• Monday, Jun 9, 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM PDT
• Speakers:
  • Francois Caen, Product Manager, Cisco – Distinguished Speaker
  • Oren Brigg, Engineering Product Manager, Cisco
  • Craig Egan, System Engineer, Cisco

Extending automation to remote branch networks (Meraki) – DEVRHL-1004 

• Check Cisco Live U.S. Catalog, multiple times available
  • Speaker: Demond Green, Specialist Solutions Architect, Red Hat

Seamless Network Provisioning: A Meraki and Ansible Lab – LABMER-1100 

• Check Cisco Live U.S. Catalog, multiple times available
  • Speaker: Daniel Chaves, Customer Delivery Architect, Cisco

Dive deeper with Red Hat content

For more in-depth information, check out the resources available from Cisco and Red Hat:

You can also:

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GLOBE, Ariz. — Like many residents of this copper-mining town in the mountains east of Phoenix, Debbie Cox knows plenty of people on Medicaid.

Cox, who is a property manager at a real estate company in Globe, has tenants who rely on the safety-net program. And at the domestic violence shelter where she volunteers as president of the board, Cox said, staff always look to enroll women and their children if possible.

But Cox, who is 65, has mixed feelings about Medicaid.

“It’s not that I don’t see the need for it. I see the need for it literally on a weekly basis,” she said. “I also see a need for revamping it significantly because it’s been taken advantage of for so long.”

It wasn’t hard to find people in Globe like Cox with complicated views about Medicaid.

Gila County, where Globe is located, is a conservative place — almost 70% of voters went for President Trump in November. And concerns about government waste run deep.

Like many rural communities, it’s also a place where people have come to value government health insurance. The number of Gila County residents on Medicaid and the related Children’s Health Insurance Program has nearly doubled over the past 15 years, according to data from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Today, almost 4 in 10 residents are on one of the health insurance plans for low- and moderate-income people or those with disabilities.

So, since House Republicans passed plans to cut roughly $716 billion from Medicaid, the national debate taking place over the program hits close to home for many Globe residents, even as some welcome the prospect of tighter rules and less government spending.

For a rancher

For Heather Heisler, the stakes are high. Her husband has been on Medicaid for years.

“We’re ranchers, and there’s not much money in ranching,” said Heisler, who gets her own health care from the Indian Health Service. “Most people think there is, but there isn’t.”

Heisler was selling handicrafts outside the old county jail in Globe on a recent Friday night when the town hosted a downtown street fair with food trucks and live music.

She said Medicaid was especially helpful after her husband had an accident on the ranch. A forklift tipped over, and he had to have part of his left foot amputated.

“If anything happens, he’s able to go to the doctor,” she said. “Go to the emergency room, get medicines.”

She shook her head when asked what would happen if he lost the coverage. “It would be very bad for him,” she said.

Among other things, the “Big, Beautiful Bill” passed by House Republicans would require working-age Medicaid enrollees to prove they are employed or seeking work. The bill, which has advanced to the Senate, would also mandate more paperwork from people to prove they’re eligible.

Difficult applications can dissuade many people from enrolling in Medicaid, even if they’re eligible, researchers have found. And the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates more than 10 million people will likely lose Medicaid and CHIP insurance under the House Republican plan.

That would reverse big gains made possible by the 2010 Affordable Care Act that has allowed millions of low-income, working-age adults in places like Globe to get health insurance.

More people with health insurance

Nationally, Medicaid and CHIP have expanded dramatically over the past two decades, with enrollment in the programs surging from about 56 million in 2005 to more than 78 million last year, according to federal data.

“Medicaid has always played an important role,” said Joan Alker, who runs the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. “But its role has only grown over the last couple of decades. It really stepped in to address many of the shortcomings in our health care system.”

That’s particularly true in rural areas, where the share of people with disabilities is higher, residents have lower incomes, and communities are reliant on industries with skimpier health benefits such as agriculture and retail.

In Globe, former Mayor Fernando Shipley said he’s seen this firsthand.

“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, those are the people that aren’t working.’ Not necessarily,” said Shipley, who operates a State Farm office across the road from the rusted remains of the Old Dominion copper mine. “If you’re a single parent with two kids and you’re making $20 an hour,” he added, “you’re not making ends meet. You’ve got to pay rent; you’ve got to feed those kids.”

Not far away, at the local hospital, some low-wage workers at the registration desk and in housekeeping get health care through Medicaid, chief financial officer Harold Dupper said. “As much as you’d like to pay everyone $75,000- or $80,000-a-year, the hospital couldn’t stay in business if that was the payroll,” he said, noting the financial challenges faced by rural hospitals.

The growing importance of Medicaid in places like Globe helps explain why Republican efforts to cut the program face so much resistance, even among conservatives.

“There’s been a shift in the public’s attitude, and particularly voters on the right, that sometimes government plays a role in getting people health care. And that’s OK,” said pollster Bob Ward. “And if you take away that health care, people are going to be angry.”

Ward’s Washington, D.C., firm, Fabrizio Ward, polls for Trump, among other clients. He also works for a coalition trying to protect Medicaid.

At the same time, many of the communities where Medicaid has become more vital in recent years remain very conservative politically.

More than two-thirds of nearly 300 U.S. counties with the biggest growth in Medicaid and CHIP since 2008 backed Trump in the last election, according to a KFF Health News analysis of voting results and enrollment data from Georgetown. Many of these counties are in deep-red states such as Kentucky, Louisiana, and Montana.

Voters in places like these are more likely to be concerned about government waste, polls show. In one recent national survey, 75% of Republicans said they think waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid is a major problem.

The actual scale of that waste is hotly debated, though many analysts believe relatively few enrollees are abusing the program.

Nevertheless, around Globe, Republican arguments that cuts will streamline Medicaid seemed to resonate.

Retiree Rick Uhl was stacking chairs and helping clean up after lunch at the senior center.

“There’s a lot of waste, of money not being accounted for,” Uhl said. “I think that’s a shame.”

Uhl said he’s been saddened by the political rancor, but he said he’s encouraged by the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to cut government spending.

Back at the street fair downtown, David Sander, who is also retired, said he doubted Medicaid would really be trimmed at all.

“I’ve heard that they really aren’t cutting it,” Sander said. “That’s my understanding.”

Sander and his wife, Linda, were tending a stall selling embroidery that Linda makes. They also have a neighbor on Medicaid.

“She wouldn’t be able to live without it,” Linda Sander said. “Couldn’t afford to have an apartment, make her bills and survive.”

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

Are vegetable and seed oils “toxic”?!

From TikTok to bestseller lists, vegetable oils—a.k.a. “seed oils”—are a big topic right now.

To be fair, folks have debated the merits of vegetable oils dating back to when they first entered the marketplace.

More recently, however, with the advent of the carnivore diet, vegetable oil hate has roared back into the socials. Maybe you’ve come across posts that refer to these cooking oils as “toxic sludge,” “motor oil,” “the hateful eight,” and “the biggest cause of chronic disease that nobody knows about.”

The anti-vegetable oil logic goes something like this…

Animal fats have been with humans for thousands of years. Vegetable fats, on the other hand, were invented during the last century when profit-seeking companies wanted to find a way to sell cheap-to-grow foods to unsuspecting consumers.

Another argument: Like margarine, vegetable oils were marketed as healthier alternatives for butter, and yet, people argue, these oils are worse than butter, raising your risk for obesity, anxiety, depression, ulcerative colitis, and more.

In contrast to the above line of thought, other experts will tell you that vegetable oils are harmless, potentially even health-promoting—and absolutely better than butter.

So, who’s right?

Like so many nutrition topics, the truth is too nuanced to fit on a meme.

In this story, we’ll help you sort the science from the pseudoscience so you can make informed decisions about the oils you choose to include in your diet.

What are vegetable oils?

Sometimes called “seed oils,” vegetable oils start, as you might suspect, from the seed of a plant. The most common ones you’ll find in a typical grocery aisle include:

• Canola oil
• Corn oil
• Safflower oil
• Sesame oil
• Sunflower oil
• Soybean oil
• Grapeseed oil

By the way, if you feel like there’s a bunch of oils missing from that list, it’s probably because those oils come from non-seed plants (such as olive, avocado, palm, or coconut oil, which all come from fruits, and aren’t considered vegetable or seed oils).

How are vegetable oils processed?

Non-vegetable oils—such as olive and avocado oil—are derived from naturally fatty foods. In fact, olives are so oily that you could theoretically make your own olive oil at home. (Just Google “how to make olive oil from scratch,” and you’ll find a number of videos walking you through the steps.)

The same can’t be said of most vegetable oils, which mostly come from foods with a relatively tiny fat content to begin with.

Case in point: A cup of green olives contains about 20 grams of fat,¹ whereas a cup of corn has 2 grams.²

As a result, manufacturers must use an extensive multi-step process to extract this small amount of oil from these non-oily foods. These steps include:

• Crushing: A machine uses high pressure to press oil from the seeds.
• Refining: The seeds are heated with a solvent, such as hexane, to extract more oil.
• Deodorizing: To create a neutral taste and remove unwanted compounds, the extracted oil is then cooked at 400 F (204 C) for several hours.

During this process, health-promoting polyphenols and other stabilizing nutrients are lost, and small amounts of unsaturated fats are transformed into trans fatty acids (also called partially hydrogenated fat).

(Interesting fact: This also happens during deep frying. When vegetable oils sizzle in a restaurant’s deep fryer for hours, the trans fat content of the oil increases.)

To call these processed oils “toxic” might be an exaggeration. However, nutrition scientists generally agree that people should avoid trans fats in the diet, and in 2018, the Food and Drug Administration banned manufacturers from adding trans fats to processed foods.^{3 4}

What cooking oils should you eat?

At PN, we’ve created several visual guides people can use to make informed decisions about what to eat.

(We’ve also created a shopping list, which you or your clients can print out and take to the grocery store. Check it out: Healthy Fats Shopping List)

In these guides, we’ve placed a few vegetable oils—expeller-pressed canola oil, high-oleic sunflower, and safflower oils—in the “Eat Some” section. For us, “eat some” is another way of saying that these foods will neither improve health nor harm health—when consumed in reasonable amounts. In some cases, like in the example of dark chocolate, when consumed in small amounts, they might even improve health.

The rest of the vegetable oils, along with butter and other saturated fats, fall into the “Eat Less” category, as the image below shows. You’ll find vegetable oils in bold.

We’ve gotten hate mail from folks who say certain vegetable oils—especially cold-pressed canola oil—should appear alongside olive oil in the “eat more” category. Plenty of others say all vegetable oils belong in the “eat less” column, and that butter belongs in “eat some” or even “eat more.”

To understand the scientific reasoning behind our recommendations, let’s explore some head-to-head matchups.

Extra-virgin olive oil vs. expeller-pressed canola oil

These oils are the least refined of their kind.

To make extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), manufacturers grind and mechanically press olives, without using any heat. Similarly, expeller-pressed canola oil is made by mechanically pressing rapeseed, without the use of heat or chemical solvents.

🟢 The case for extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Olive oil is richer in heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) than almost any other cooking oil.

In addition, unlike the more refined “light” olive oil, EVOO maintains most of the olive fruit’s original polyphenols. These plant-based substances help to combat inflammation and protect cells from damage.

Perhaps most importantly…

More studies vouch for EVOO’s health-promoting qualities than for any other cooking fat.

For example, researchers asked 22,892 adults from Southern Italy to self-report their olive oil consumption. People who consumed the most olive oil (more than two tablespoons a day) were 20 percent less likely to die over the 13-year study than people who consumed the least olive oil (less than one tablespoon a day).⁵

Other research has linked the consumption of olive oil with a reduced risk of:

• High blood pressure⁶
• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes⁷
• Dementia⁸
• Cancer⁹

Consumption of olive oil is also associated with reductions in LDL cholesterol, especially when used to replace saturated fats like butter and coconut oil.¹⁰

🟡 The case for expeller-pressed canola oil

One of the more affordable cooking oils on the shelf, canola oil, is made from a Canadian-made hybrid of the rapeseed plant.

(The word “canola” refers to the first three letters of “Canada” with a fun “ola” added to the end for marketing purposes.)¹²

Among vegetable oils, canola is the richest in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats (though several non-vegetable oils have it beat) as well as alpha-linolenic acid, a plant-based omega-3 fatty acid.

In addition, canola oil contains plant substances called phytosterols that help influence blood cholesterol for the better, especially when used as a substitute for butter, research has found.^{13 14 15}

The winner

Extra virgin olive oil is the clear winner.

The body of research in support of EVOO dwarfs the body of research in support of expeller-pressed canola.

In addition, EVOO has a more favorable fatty acid profile. By the way, so does avocado oil, which is why you’ll also find it in the “eat more” column.

However, you can buy roughly twice as much expeller-pressed canola oil for half as much money as EVOO. Because of this, expeller-pressed canola can be a good budget-friendly choice. In addition, because of expeller-pressed canola’s more neutral flavor, many people prefer it over EVOO for baking.

When used in moderation, expeller-pressed canola can be part of a healthy diet. It is likely to be at least health neutral, if not somewhat health beneficial.

Expeller-pressed canola oil vs. refined canola oil

This match-up comes down to how processing methods affect the end product.

🟡 Expeller-pressed canola oil

An expeller press is a machine that squeezes oil out of seeds.

It’s able to do this without the use of solvents or heat, which helps preserve beneficial compounds such as alpha-linolenic acid and phytosterols.

🔴 Refined canola oil

Refining removes some protective alpha-linoleic acid while adding small amounts of unhealthy trans fatty acids. This results in a product that is proportionally lower in omega-3 fatty acids and higher in omega-6 fatty acids.

The winner

Expeller-pressed canola oil wins, but only by a small margin.

That’s because canola oil starts with a less controversial fatty acid profile than many other vegetable oils, as the chart below shows. Soybean oil, for example, has less heart-healthy monounsaturated fat and much more theoretically inflammation-contributing omega-6 fat.

Refined vegetable oil oil vs. butter

This is the match-up that triggers the most arguing on the interwebs.

Let’s cover the major claims from both sides—plus what the research says.

🔴 The case for butter

Butter proponents argue that saturated fats have been unnecessarily vilified. They point to nutrition recommendations during the 1980s and 1990s that recommended people replace butter with trans-fat rich margarine.

(We all know how that went.)

Margarine aside, others claim the research in support of reducing saturated fats is thin at best.²⁰

However, excessive saturated fat consumption (beyond 10 percent of total calories) does seem to boost cholesterol levels and may increase your risk of heart disease.²¹

Some research has found that replacing 5 percent of the saturated fats in your diet with monounsaturated fats could reduce the risk of heart disease by 15 percent. Similarly, replacing 5 percent of the saturated fats in your diet with polyunsaturated fats (with most of that coming from refined vegetable oils) reduces the risk of a future heart attack by 10 percent, according to an analysis of eight studies involving 13,614 people.²² Many other studies support this finding.²³

But not all saturated fats affect blood cholesterol equally. In some dairy foods, a membrane—called a milk fat globule membrane—surrounds the saturated fats and seems to limit their cholesterol-raising properties.

However, butter is low in this protective membrane, and consequently raises blood cholesterol more than other high-fat dairy products, like full-fat milk, cream, yogurt, or cheese.^{24 25 26}

The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend capping saturated fat at less than 10 percent of your calorie intake. A tablespoon of butter contains 7 grams of saturated fat—a third of the recommended daily limit in a 2000 Calorie diet.

So, while you don’t necessarily need to eliminate butter, it’s worth moderating your intake.

(Interested in learning about all the nuances of saturated fat consumption? Read: Is saturated fat good or bad for you?)

🔴 The case for refined vegetable oils

Due to their chemical structure, polyunsaturated fats are inherently less stable and more prone to oxidation than saturated or monounsaturated fats.

During the refining process, protective phytochemicals and antioxidants are stripped, making these oils more prone to oxidation. The theory is that this oxidation increases inflammation in the body and elevates the risk of various health conditions.

There’s some evidence to suggest that diets rich in polyunsaturated fats, especially from refined vegetable oils, are associated with increased levels of oxidized blood lipids, lipid peroxidation, and other markers of inflammation.^{27 28}

If you only use refined corn or safflower oils to lightly coat veggies before roasting them, you likely don’t have much to worry about.

However, for the vast majority of people, the biggest source of refined vegetable oils isn’t home-cooked meals—it’s ultra-processed foods.

The extra processing and repeated heat exposure used to create ultra-processed foods further oxidize these oils. Additionally, these foods are often loaded with potentially harmful ingredients like added sodium and sugars, and low in beneficial nutrients like fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.

Plus, they’re incredibly calorie-dense and difficult to stop eating, which can raise your risk for obesity. (Find out exactly why highly-processed foods are so “addictive”: Why you can’t stop eating ultra-processed foods.)

Most ultra-processed foods list one or more vegetable oils as one of their ingredients. Even ultra-processed foods that you wouldn’t think of as “fatty” contain small amounts. You’ll find them in store-bought cookies, chips, crackers, sauces, frozen dinners, meal replacement shakes, boxed macaroni and cheese, salad dressing, boxed rice blends, and more.

In a large review involving nearly 10 million people, the consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with a higher risk of premature death.²⁹ In addition, studies have linked high consumption of ultra-processed foods with the following health problems:^{30 31 32 33}

• Heart disease and heart attacks
• Stroke
• High blood pressure
• Depression
• Overweight and obesity
• Diabetes
• Reduced HDL cholesterol
• Cancer

You don’t have to abolish ultra-processed foods.

But your health will benefit from capping your consumption to about 20 percent or so of your intake, with the other 80 percent or so from mostly minimally-processed whole foods.

This alone will naturally lower your refined vegetable oil intake to a safer level, without much fuss. Plus, consuming refined vegetable oils in the context of a diet that’s rich in colorful plants, fiber, phytochemicals, and antioxidants may help offset the concern of oxidation. (For example, by putting a reasonable amount of commercial salad dressing on a large, colorful salad.)

The winner

This match-up is a draw.

Ultimately, both should be limited in the diet, and neither are health-promoting.

Most refined vegetable oils are lopsidedly rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids compared to monounsaturated fats, and are stripped of many protective compounds. As mentioned earlier, some experts argue that these omega-6-rich fats may contribute to inflammation (but the evidence here is mixed). Because of how they’re processed, seed oils also contain some of those trans fats that everyone agrees we should all minimize.

In contrast, butter is low in omega 6s but high in saturated fat, which can be problematic in higher amounts. Especially since it’s so low in the protective milk fat globule membrane. However, compared to refined vegetable oil, butter is less processed. Like olive oil, it’s one of those fats you could theoretically make at home.

Some final parting advice

This might be obvious from the head-to-head matchups, but we’ll say it anyway.

If you like it and can afford it, EVOO is a great choice.

Cold-pressed avocado oil and walnut oil are also great options, as both are rich in antioxidant compounds. Like EVOO, avocado oil is a rich source of MUFAs. Walnut oil’s fat primarily comes from polyunsaturated fats, so it’s best used as a dressing rather than used for cooking (as it’s less heat stable).

However, like EVOO, avocado and walnut oil tend to be expensive. If you or your client are budget-conscious, expeller-pressed canola oil is a solid runner-up.

Similarly, high-oleic sunflower and safflower oils are richer sources of monounsaturated fats than their high-linoleic cousins. When substituted for saturated fats like butter, high-oleic oils have been associated with cardiovascular benefits.^{34 35}

Regardless of what cooking fats you or your client choose, you’ll also want to do the following:

✅ Prioritize minimally-processed whole foods.

Whole and minimally-processed foods—such as nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, and salmon—are more likely to feature health-promoting monounsaturated (MUFAs) and omega-3 fats. They also come packaged with a wide array of other good-for-you nutrients such as fiber, protein, minerals, and antioxidants.

In contrast, ultra-professed foods are generally devoid of everything you keep hearing you should consume more of. These foods also tend to be calorie-dense, highly rewarding, and hard to stop eating.

If you’re not sure whether packaged food is minimally processed or highly processed, take a close look and consider:

• Does anything in nature resemble this food?
• Does it look like it came from an animal or a plant?
• If you look at the list of ingredients, do you see animal or plant components?

If you answer “no” to most of the above, the food is likely highly processed.

✅ Limit deep-fried foods.

It doesn’t matter what source of fat is used to fry them.

Sort all fried foods into the “eat less” category.

✅ Get most of your fats from food, not oils.

EVOO is associated with longer, healthier lives. However, that doesn’t mean you should be doing shots of it.

As a general rule, you’re better off getting most of your fat from foods like avocados, olives, nuts and seeds than from any cooking oil.

Whole food fats are rich in fiber, phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals, and are generally less calorie-dense than oils. (But having one to three servings of oils or butter per day is reasonable.)

And if you want personalized advice to suit your body, your eating preferences, and your goals, check out our Nutrition Calculator to figure out how fats fit into your overall diet.

References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We’ll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification. (You can enroll now at a big discount.)

Who doesn’t love ice cream on a hot summer day? Even if you’re avoiding dairy, there’s no reason to miss out! I first learned to make homemade ice cream when we were avoiding dairy for my son years ago. Even though I’ve added some dairy back into my diet, this dairy-free mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe is still a family favorite.

This mint chocolate ice cream gets its creaminess from coconut milk and avocado. Since making ice cream is on our summer bucket list, I’m glad to have an ice cream recipe full of nutrients and healthy fats for the kids to enjoy.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For… Avocado Ice Cream?

Instead of whipping cream or heavy cream, this mint chip ice cream gets its creaminess from avocadoes.

Avocados have such a mild taste and creamy texture that they’re perfect for desserts. I’ve used them before in cucumber lime veggie smoothies and real food shamrock shakes. Whenever I find a good deal on avocados, I know it’s time to stock up and make chocolate mint ice cream (and maybe some avocado brownies too).

Another reason avocados work so well for mint chocolate chip ice cream is the light green color they naturally add. It’s not bright like the green food coloring found in store bought versions though (which is probably a good thing!).

Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream With Coconut Milk

To make the ice cream, I simply puree everything except the chocolate chips together in a blender and then pour it into the ice cream maker. I add the chocolate chips once it starts to thicken. If you don’t have an ice cream maker you can freeze it without one, just stir it occasionally until it thickens.

You can use either semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate for this. You can even use a chopped chocolate bar. The little bits of chocolate add a nice crunchy texture the the smooth ice cream. I always opt for a darker chocolate since it has more health benefits and less additives.

This homemade version skips the granulated sugar and instead uses a touch of raw honey to sweeten. You can even make your own mint extract with fresh mint to add to this.

Here’s how to make your own (healthy!) mint chocolate chip ice cream the whole family will love!

More Homemade Ice Cream Recipes

If you’re in the mood for some more ice cream, homemade versions beat the ones from the grocery store hands down. You might even like them more than your favorite ice cream from the local ice cream shop! Here are a few recipes to try.

What are your favorite ice cream flavors? Tell me about it below!