October 2024

While it’s a common assumption that fat should be avoided at all costs, dietary fats are an essential nutrient and an important part of a balanced diet.

You need dietary fat to help you absorb certain vitamins. You also need dietary fat to nourish your brain and build healthy cells and the protective covering around your nerves. Fat is essential for other critical
bodily functions, like blood clotting and muscle movement.

Instead of avoiding dietary fat, a healthier approach is to focus on the dietary fats most beneficial to the body while avoiding the less healthy ones. Learn more about the different types of fat, what foods they’re
found in, and how they affect your heart health.

Here’s the 411 on the three types of dietary fats:

Saturated fats

Saturated fats are found in animal products like beef, pork, full-fat dairy (like milk, yogurt, ice cream, and cheese), butter, and coconut oil. Palm oil, which can be found in some chips and other processed foods, is also rich in saturated fats. Studies have consistently shown that excessive consumption of saturated fats can raise levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the so-called “bad” cholesterol, increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease.

The American Heart Association recommends limiting your daily intake of saturated fats to less than six percent of the calories you consume each day. So, if you eat roughly 2,000 calories a day, no more than 120 calories should come from saturated fat. (Since a gram of fat has nine calories, that’s around 13 grams of saturated fat per day.)

Monounsaturated fats

Olive oil lovers can rejoice: Olive oil, as well as canola, peanut, safflower and sesame oils, are all monounsaturated fats. Such fats can also be found in avocados, peanut butter, and pumpkin seeds. Not only are they an excellent substitute for saturated fats like butter, but studies suggest they help reduce your “bad” cholesterol and improve your overall health.

Polyunsaturated fats

Polyunsaturated fats are also considered to be healthy. Like monounsaturated fat, they help decrease bad cholesterol and also provide vital nutrients like vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids. Soybean, corn, and sunflower oils are good sources of polyunsaturated fats, as are the fats found in nuts, seeds, and soybeans. And don’t forget cold-water fish, like salmon and trout. They also contain fats of the polyunsaturated fats.