Wellness

Dietary Fats

Dietary Fats: Know Which Types to Choose

Fat plays a vital role in nutrition. Fats and oils provide energy, protect organs, insulate body tissues, transport fat soluble vitamins through the blood, and aid in nutrient absorption, just to name a few.

However, not all fats are created equal. Some fats promote our health positively while others increase our risks of heart disease. The key is to replace bad fats with good fats.

Healthy fats: Mono- and Polyunsaturated Fats

When choosing fats, your best options are unsaturated fats: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These fats, if used in place of others, can lower your risk of heart disease by reducing the total and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels in your blood. One type of polyunsaturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids, may be especially beneficial to your heart. Omega-3s appear to decrease the risk of coronary artery disease and may help lower blood pressure. Below are the best food sources of these healthy fats:

Monounsaturated Fats: olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, avocados, lives, nuts and seeds
Polyunsaturated Fats: vegetable oils (e.g. safflower, corn, sunflower, soy and cottonseed oils), nuts and seeds, reduced fat salad dressing, margarines made from vegetable oils
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: fatty, cold water fish (e.g. salmon, mackerel, herring, tuna), flaxseed, flax oil, walnuts

Harmful fats: Saturated and Trans Fats

Eating too many foods high in saturated and trans fats can increase your risk of heart disease by increasing your total and LDL (bad) cholesterol. Trans fats may also lower HDL (good) cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol isn't exactly a fat, but it's found in food derived from animal sources. A high intake of dietary cholesterol increases blood cholesterol levels, though not as much as saturated and trans fats do. Below are common food sources of harmful fats:

Saturated Fat: high fat meats (e.g. sausage, pepperoni, 80/20 ground beef, poultry with skin, bacon, hot dogs, bologna), full fat dairy products, lard, butter, and coconut, palm and other tropical oils
Trans Fat: foods containing hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils such as snack foods (e.g. chips, crackers), commercial baked goods (e.g. cookies, cakes, pastries), fried foods (e.g. doughnuts, French fries), shortening and margarine
Dietary Cholesterol: animal products (such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy products, lard and butter)

Daily limits for fat intake

Healthy people should consume less than 30 percent of their calories from fat. Here is how it should break down:

7-10 percent of total calories from saturated fats,
10 - 15 percent of total calories from monounsaturated fats
10 percent from polyunsaturated fats.
Cholesterol should be limited to 300 milligrams or less each day.

There isn't an established an upper limit for trans fat, but the American Heart Association recommends no more than 1 percent of your total daily calories. For most people, this is less than 2 grams a day.

Tips for choosing the best types of fat

Limit fat in your diet, but don't try to cut it out completely. Focus on reducing foods high in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol, and select more foods made with unsaturated fats. Consider these tips when making your choices:

Cook with olive or canola oil instead of butter.
Use canola oil when baking.
Sprinkle nuts or sunflower seeds on salads instead of bacon bits.
Snack on a small handful of nuts rather than potato chips or processed crackers.
Try peanut butter or other nut-butter spreads (nonhydrogenated) on celery, bananas, or rice or popcorn cakes.
Add slices of avocado, rather than cheese or mayo, to your sandwich.
Prepare fish such as salmon and mackerel instead of meat one or two times a week.
Minimize using commercially packaged foods which are high in trans fats. Always read labels to look for trans-fat free alternatives.
Use lower-fat dairy products.
Trim visible fats and skins from meat products.