Types of fats
Fats (lipids) are a class of nutrients. Fat can be broken down to supply energy (measured as calories) to the body. Fats are categorized as saturated and unsaturated. Most foods that contain fat have a mixture of these two categories, but usually there is more of one category than the other.
Saturated fat
Saturated fat is fat that is solid at room temperature. It can raise blood cholesterol. Saturated fat is found mostly in animal products such as milk and milk products, and meat. Poultry and fish have less saturated fat than red meat. Saturated fat is also found in tropical oils, such as coconut oil, palm oil, and cocoa butter. Tropical oils are used in many nondairy products and in snack foods. Food labels will tell you how many grams of saturated fat are in a food.
Trans fat
This is an unsaturated fat that has been altered by a process called hydrogenation. This is done to increase the shelf life of fat and to make the fat harder at room temperature. Harder fat makes crispier crackers and flakier pie crusts. Trans fat can raise blood cholesterol. It is found in many processed foods and snack foods, such as cookies, crackers, and some margarines and salad dressings. It is also found in other processed foods that are made with shortening, and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Try to keep your trans fat intake as low as possible.
Unsaturated fat
Unsaturated fat is liquid at room temperature. It is found mostly in oils from plants. Unsaturated fat may help improve your cholesterol levels if you use it instead of saturated fat and trans fat. Try to get most of your fat intake from unsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat are both types of unsaturated fat.
- Monounsaturated fat: This type of fat is found in vegetable oils, such as canola, olive, and peanut oils. Eating foods that are high in monounsaturated fats may help lower LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) levels, keep HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) levels high, and decrease your risk of heart disease. However, simply adding unsaturated fat to your diet without decreasing saturated fat may not lower your cholesterol.
- Polyunsaturated fat: This type of fat is found mainly in vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower, sesame, soybean, and corn oils. Polyunsaturated fat is also the main fat found in seafood. Eating polyunsaturated fat in place of saturated fat decreases LDL (bad) cholesterol but also decreases HDL (good) cholesterol.
- Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of polyunsaturated fat that may reduce the risk of heart disease. Eating a 3 oz (85 g) serving of fatty fish such as salmon or mackerel twice per week is enough to get the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. Taking fish oil supplements is not necessary. Ground flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, nuts, and seeds also contain omega-3 fatty acids.
Total fat
Total fat refers to the amount of fat in the diet given as a percentage of total calories. It is recommended that 20% to 35% of your total calories come from fat. This includes all types of fat, including saturated, trans, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fat.
| Author: | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS | Last Updated: February 23, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Ruth Schneider, MPH, RD - Diet and Nutrition Rhonda O'Brien, MS, RD, CDE - Diabetes Educator | |
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