103: We Got Fat Completely Wrong - How Unhealthy Fats Drive Illness, Inflammation, and Disease with Dr. Aaron Hartman

What if the fats you have been told to avoid are actually the key to repairing your cells, calming inflammation, and protecting your heart and brain? In this episode, Dr. Aaron Hartman breaks down the powerful role dietary fats play in health and disease. He explains how modern fat consumption has shifted dramatically over the past century and why low omega 3 levels, excess omega 6 intake, trans fats, and oxidized seed oils are now strongly linked to heart disease, metabolic syndrome, neurological disorders, autoimmune conditions, and even cancer. Dr. Hartman walks listeners through the biology of fats, how damaged oils disrupt cell membranes and inflammation signaling, and why restoring healthy fats is one of the most effective ways to support healing. The episode introduces the concept of lipid membrane medicine and shows how intentional fat choices can become a force for resilience and recovery rather than disease. Key Topics Covered Why low omega 3 levels carry a heart disease risk comparable to smoking How trans fats, hydrogenated oils, and oxidized polyunsaturated fats damage arteries The connection between excess omega 6 intake and obesity, insulin resistance, PCOS, and fatty liver disease How industrial seed oils became a staple in the modern food system and why that matters The importance of omega 3 to omega 6 balance and how modern diets became highly inflammatory How oxidized LDL contributes to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk The impact of unhealthy fats on brain health, mood disorders, ADHD, and neurodegenerative disease Why autoimmune and inflammatory conditions are worsened by damaged fats The decline of organ meats and egg yolks and resulting phospholipid deficiencies The role of phosphatidylcholine and phospholipids in mitochondrial and cellular repair Introduction to lipid membrane medicine as a therapeutic strategy for healing Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine 💻 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/ YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD