Know Your Fats

The four major types of fat in the foods we eat are saturated fat, trans fat, polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat. The cholesterol level in your body can be affected by the different types of fat you consume. Unhealthy fats such as saturated and trans fats, raise LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels in your blood and have a damaging effect on your health. Healthy fats, such as polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, increase HDL ("good") cholesterol and are beneficial when consumed in moderation.

As part of a healthy diet, you should get between 20% to 35% of your total daily calories from fat.

Healthy man: Aim for 60 to 105 grams of fat or less per day.

Healthy woman: Aim for 45 to 75 grams of fat or less per day.

If you have heart disease, diabetes or other health conditions, you should have even less fat in your diet.

Unhealthy Fats

Saturated fat

• increases LDL ("bad") cholesterol and raise total blood cholesterol levels
• found in fatty cuts of meat, poultry skin and dairy products such as butter, cheese and ice cream
• also found in some vegetable oils including palm, palm kernel and coconut oils

Trans fat

• more harmful than saturated fat because it raises LDL cholesterol, lowers HDL ("good") cholesterol and increases triglyceride levels
• produced during hydrogenation - a chemical process that involves adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oil to turn it into a solid such as margarine
• found in most fast foods, baked goods and processed foods (e.g. muffins, cookies, doughnuts, French fries etc).
• some meat and dairy products also include small amounts of naturally-occurring trans fats

Hydrogenated fat

• hydrogenation results in the conversion of liquid vegetable oils to solid or semi-solid fats. It is commonly used in the production of margarine and shortening
• during the hydrogenation process, unsaturated fatty acids are converted to saturated fatty acids, which are known to raise blood cholesterol levels

Triglycerides

• the connection between triglycerides and heart disease is not clear but people with high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes often have elevated triglyceride levels
• the most common type of fat in your body
• a source of energy - triglyceride levels increase after eating
• found in food and also produced in the body - your liver changes excess calories from fat, carbohydrates and proteins into triglycerides

Healthy fats

Polyunsaturated fat

• reduces risk of heart disease and stroke by lowering LDL ("bad") cholesterol
• found in products made from plants such as nuts, seeds and various vegetable oils, including corn, safflower, soybean and sunflower
• also provide omega-6 and omega-3, two essential fats that your body needs for cell growth but cannot make by itself

Monounsaturated fat

• lowers LDL ("bad") cholesterol and increases HDL ("good") cholesterol
• found in olive and canola oils, avocados and some nuts
• usually contains higher amounts of vitamin E, an important antioxidant

Choose the right fats

Clinical studies have shown that replacing saturated fats in your diet with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats lowers blood cholesterol levels and reduces heart disease risk more effectively than simply reducing the total amount of fat that you eat.³ Use this chart to help you choose foods high in healthy fats: