The Food Rule Salma Hayek Thinks You Should Break

Byrdie recently rounded up a range of "fountain of youth" secrets from iconic celebrities, including everyone from Julia Roberts to Halle Berry weighing in with helpful tips that anyone can incorporate into their routines to simply feel better day in and day out. Salma Hayek offered up some especially game-changing insight, sharing one of her personal beliefs about a common misconception.

"I embrace fat, the good fat," Hayek told Extra. "This is very important, and I make a bone broth that you can look up on the internet. It's very good for your health and it's full of collagen. When you drink it, it's like fat... I think people are afraid of fat, and fat is your friend."

According to Very Well Fit, fat has gotten a bad reputation throughout the generations, becoming something people are told to avoid with a blanket approach. Just like we learned after the rise of anti-carb diets, there are actually good carbohydrates our bodies need, we now know there are good fats we need in order to stay healthy. Twenty to 35% of our daily caloric intake should come from these healthy fats, which help boost energy, absorb vitamins, protect our organs, and aid growth and development.

The key is to know your good fats from your bad fats. According to Harvard Health Publishing, the worst fats, which we want to avoid, are trans fats. They are actually now banned in the United States, but small amounts can still sneak their way into foods like peanut butter (via The Spruce Eats). In the middle are saturated fats, common sources of which include red meat, cheese, coconut oil, and whole milk, as well as foods made with whole milk. Here it's about moderation, as saturated fats can drive up cholesterol, resulting in harmful levels. Experts recommend keeping these under 10% of your daily caloric intake.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the good kind. According to Self, examples of these are avocados, walnuts, almonds, nut and seed butters, olives and olive oil, salmon, tuna, dark chocolate, tofu, edamame, eggs, and full-fat dairy. Like Hayek noted, these fats are necessary and helpful for your body, so they are nothing to be afraid of or steer clear of like you would with trans fats. 

To follow Hayek's lead even more closely, try making bone broth. A warm cup a day isn't just cozy and tasty, but it will also treat you to the benefits Hayek loves, like stronger joints and bones, better brain function, and youthful, glowing skin.