{"id":38503,"date":"2022-10-19T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/?p=38503"},"modified":"2024-11-12T16:16:03","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T00:16:03","slug":"good-fat-vs-bad-fat-types","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/good-fat-vs-bad-fat-types\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Fat: What Types of Fat Are Good vs Bad for You?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"article-pro\">\n<h4>\n  Table of Contents<\/h4>\n<div class=\"row gx-5\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"p-3\">\n<p><a href=\"#history\">1. A Short History of Dietary Fat<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#weight\">2. The Fat and Weight Association<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#function\">3. What Is the Function of Fat?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#types\">4. Types of Fat<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"p-3\">\n<p><a href=\"#howmuch\">5. How Much Fat Per Day Is Optimal?<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#myths\">6. Debunking Myths About Fat<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#avoideat\">7. What Fats Should You Avoid\/Eat?<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#recipes\">8. Recipes with Healthy Fats<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There may be no more contentious issue in nutrition than the topic of dietary fat. Part of the problem is that the word \u201cfat\u201d has many different meanings and connotations:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an essential macronutrient;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a type (several types, actually) of bodily tissue; or<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an adjective that many people find insulting or offensive which describes a body shape.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This maze of meaning distorts the scientific discussion of dietary fat \u2014 the nutrient we\u2019re going to look at here. The history of nutritional science, including recently discovered frauds and cover-ups, has polarized the debate to the point where it becomes difficult to know the truth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So before we can sift through the science and share what\u2019s known and generally accepted as our current state of knowledge about fats, we have to examine and untangle some of that history, so we can understand why it can feel so divisive to \u201cchew the fat\u201d about the health realities of good vs bad fat.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"history\">A Short History of Dietary Fat<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For most of human history, we ate whatever we could get our hands on. Food was often scarce, and its supply unreliable, so we didn\u2019t worry about the possible effects of excess. The problem was typically finding enough food to survive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As gatherer-hunters, humans subsisted on vegetation and viewed <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2022\/01\/220113194124.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hunting<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as a high-risk\/high-reward activity that could provide an occasional bonanza of calories and nutrients. When the clan brought down a large herbivore like a bison, elk, or impala, every calorie was meted out to various members.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only with the advent of agriculture and mechanized animal husbandry did the issue of too many calories become an issue. There were two major concerns that then arose: first, a new obsession with how much a person should weigh; and second, questions about whether excess weight contributed to negative health outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"weight\">The Fat and Weight Association<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_38544\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38544\" style=\"width: 1254px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-38544\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1351689632.jpg\" alt=\"Woman is standing on scales with question mark on display\" width=\"1254\" height=\"836\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1254,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1351689632.jpg 1254w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=300,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1351689632-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1024,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1351689632-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=768,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1351689632-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1254px) 100vw, 1254px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-38544\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">iStock.com\/Vaselena<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>It\u2019s hard for us to imagine, but it\u2019s only been about 100 years since most people have known their weight.<\/strong> The first personal scales were <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/elemental.medium.com\/the-completely-bonkers-history-of-the-bathroom-scale-35ba54e04805\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fairground curiosities<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 you dropped in a penny and got a slip of paper with your weight written on it. Soon the scales themselves became loaded games of chance \u2014 guess your own weight correctly and get your penny back.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People quickly became fascinated with this new way of assessing themselves. By the late 1920s, Americans became obsessed with whether they were gaining or losing weight. The wife of the Weight-o-Health weighing machine distributor was able to buy herself a brand new Nash automobile with 30,000 fairground pennies, according to a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/image\/380581007\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1928 story<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Los Angeles Times<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. And people were no longer satisfied with sporadic weighings at carnivals. Once a 1917 patent for a \u201cbathroom scale\u201d made them available for home use, the new industry quickly grew to $80 million in sales per year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Life insurance companies <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4904092\/\">created<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong> weight and height tables that showed \u201cnormal\u201d distributions.<\/strong> The new precision afforded by scales and the ability to compare oneself to a so-called \u201chealthy average\u201d led people, especially women, to pay attention to their weight \u2014 and their eating habits \u2014 on a daily basis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being slim went from a possible symptom of malnutrition to a sign of virtue. The fashion industry started making women\u2019s clothing such that bodies had to be adapted to fit into them instead of vice versa. Once narrow hips were \u201cin,\u201d rubber girdles <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.lt.vt.edu\/rslabach\/2012\/03\/02\/womens-self-worth-body-image-in-the-1920s\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">replaced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> hourglass corsets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/do-calories-matter-for-health\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">calories<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were to be more feared than coveted. Fasting and dieting became fashionable. And one of the principles of eating for thinness was to reduce or eliminate fats from the diet since, by weight, fat has more than double the calories of carbohydrates and protein. And once \u201cfat\u201d became a bad word for the human body, it was quickly apparent that \u201cfat,\u201d the macronutrient, had a serious branding problem.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Attacks on Fat<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Body shape wasn\u2019t the only factor causing Americans to become wary of fat in their food. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bcmj.org\/articles\/ancel-keys-and-lipid-hypothesis-early-breakthroughs-current-management-dyslipidemia\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Studies<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> dating from the late 1940s showed a correlation between high-fat diets and high blood cholesterol, which itself had been <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4159698\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">associated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with cardiovascular disease. Patients deemed high-risk for heart attacks and strokes were urged to adopt low-fat diets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By the 1960s, the medical mainstream and popular media started touting low-fat diets as appropriate for everyone, not just high-risk heart patients.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And in the 1980s, the low-fat approach became a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/18296750\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">societal craze<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of sorts, and was promoted by everyone from doctors to the government and, of course, the food industry itself. Processed food manufacturers began slapping \u201clow-fat\u201d on their packaging while filling their products with added sugars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sugar industry took advantage of the situation by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/09\/13\/well\/eat\/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">paying<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Harvard researchers to skew their findings in favor of sugar by blaming fat for all sorts of health problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These days, you can\u2019t turn around without confronting a skirmish in the \u201cdiet war\u201d between fat and carbohydrates. The anti-fat proponents <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hsph.harvard.edu\/news\/press-releases\/coming-to-consensus-on-dietary-fat\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tell us<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that high consumption of fat causes obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and possibly cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the \u201cfat is back\u201d advocates point to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/obesity\/data\/prevalence-maps.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">meteoric rise<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in overweight and obesity during precisely those decades when low-fat diets were the rage. They highlight studies that appear to show that replacing fat with sugar leads to even worse health outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are even some epidemiological studies that concluded that fat, and saturated fat from animal sources, in particular, doesn\u2019t increase the risk of heart disease. By 2014, both <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/magazine\/us\/2863200\/june-23rd-2014-vol-183-no-24-u-s\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Time<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> magazine and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/03\/26\/opinion\/bittman-butter-is-back.html\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The New York Times<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were telling us that \u201cbutter is back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So what\u2019s the truth here? What\u2019s the actual scientific evidence about dietary fat? What are the different types of fat? Which ones are good for you? And how much fat do you really need in your diet?<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"function\">What Is the Function of Fat?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Fat, along with carbohydrates and protein, is one of three <a href=\"https:\/\/nutrition.ucdavis.edu\/outreach\/nutr-health-info-sheets\/pro-fat\">critical macronutrients<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong> in the human diet.<\/strong> In addition to being a concentrated source of calories, fat provides essential fatty acids. The body cannot make these kinds of fat, so it\u2019s necessary to get them from food. (That\u2019s why they\u2019re called \u201cessential.\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fat serves <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nutrition.ucdavis.edu\/outreach\/nutr-health-info-sheets\/pro-fat\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">multiple functions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in your body. It is the principal way you store energy for later use. It insulates and protects your organs, and works to keep you warm in cold environments. And fat transports and facilitates the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, including A, D, E, and K.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fat also helps food taste good, which makes sense given its importance for human biochemistry. And since it\u2019s a concentrated source of calories, it also makes sense that eating fat contributes to satiety.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking of calories, your body does a neat trick, one primed by eons of evolutionary pressure. All excess calories that your body doesn\u2019t excrete, and that are not used by your body&#8217;s cells or turned into energy, are converted into body fat.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Triglycerides<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fat exists in animals and plants in a variety of forms. <strong>The most common fat form, in your food and in your body, is called \u201c<\/strong><\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heartuk.org.uk\/cholesterol\/triglycerides\">triglycerides<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>.\u201d<\/strong> The name refers to three fatty acids attached to glycerol, a form of the simple sugar glucose. Triglycerides are crucial to your survival, serving as your main source of long-lasting energy. And you don\u2019t just need to rely on food to supply them \u2014 your liver can manufacture triglycerides when needed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you eat extra calories, your liver increases its production of triglycerides, which is kind of like your body\u2019s way of saving them for a rainy day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The trouble is that excess triglycerides in your bloodstream are not a good thing, especially in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/health-topics\/cholesterol\/hdl-good-ldl-bad-cholesterol-and-triglycerides\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">combination<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with high LDL (bad) cholesterol. High triglyceride levels are linked with fatty buildup within artery walls, which increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"types\">Types of Fat<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_38546\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38546\" style=\"width: 1227px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-38546\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-503568259.jpg\" alt=\"Nutrition label showing calories and fat content.\" width=\"1227\" height=\"855\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1227,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-503568259.jpg 1227w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=300,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-503568259-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1024,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-503568259-1024x714.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=768,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-503568259-768x535.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1227px) 100vw, 1227px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-38546\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">iStock.com\/NoDerog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are, broadly speaking, three categories of fat \u2014 saturated fat, unsaturated fat, and trans fat.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Saturated Fat<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can identify <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nutrition.ucdavis.edu\/outreach\/nutr-health-info-sheets\/pro-fat\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">saturated fat<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by the fact that it\u2019s generally solid at room temperature (unless you live in a sauna).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Saturated fat is found mainly in animal products like red meat, cheese, chicken, and eggs.<\/strong> There are also some plant foods high in saturated fat, including coconut and coconut oil, palm and palm kernel oil, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/truth-about-chocolate\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chocolate<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. (For the chocolate lovers of the world, I hasten to add that the saturated fat in cocoa butter, stearic acid, gets <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ynhh.org\/services\/nutrition\/chocolate\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">converted<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by your liver into a much healthier unsaturated fat.)<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Unsaturated Fat<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unsaturated fat comes in two main varieties, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. The term \u201cpolyunsaturated\u201d refers to the chemical structure having at least two double bonds, and, as far as I can tell, has nothing to do with parrots.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/healthy-living\/healthy-eating\/eat-smart\/fats\/polyunsaturated-fats\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Polyunsaturated fat<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> comes in two main types, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/omega-3s-vegan\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">omega-3<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and omega-6, depending on the position of the first double bond. <strong>People get polyunsaturated fats mainly from plant foods such as seeds and nuts; seed, nut, and vegetable oils; avocados; and certain forms of algae.<\/strong> For many people, fish are also a major source of the long-chain omega-3 fats DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Usually, oils with polyunsaturated fat remain liquid at room temperature, but they will turn solid if they get cold enough.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/healthy-living\/healthy-eating\/eat-smart\/fats\/monounsaturated-fats\">Monounsaturated fats<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>, such as the lesser-known omega-9s, are primarily found in plant foods like nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, and peanuts (plants typically contain more than one type of fat).<\/strong> Like their polyunsaturated friends, they are liquid at room temperature and turn solid when the temperature gets nippy. They are especially high in olive, almond, and avocado oils.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Trans Fat<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While trans fat can occur naturally, most of the trans fat in the modern diet has been created artificially through a process called hydrogenation. This <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.webmd.com\/diet\/features\/trans-fats-science-and-risks\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">process<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 in which liquid vegetable oils are heated in the presence of hydrogen gas and a catalyst \u2014 makes the oils shelf-stable and also stabilizes their flavors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This stability made trans fats an extremely lucrative ingredient in the industrial food supply, as items made with trans fat didn\u2019t need to be refrigerated \u2014 or rushed from production onto supermarket shelves. As a result, consumers enjoyed the convenience of trans fats through the use of margarine and shortening, which could withstand repeated heating without breaking down. Thus, the modern food system became saturated (here, a nonchemical term) with trans fats in fast food, commercial baked goods, and processed foods.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The only problem is that trans fat is really bad for your health. So bad, in fact, that <strong>in 2015 the US Food &amp; Drug Administration (FDA) deemed artificial trans fats \u201c<\/strong><\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insider.com\/guides\/health\/diet-nutrition\/trans-fat\">unsafe to eat<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>\u201d<\/strong> and gave food manufacturers three years to eliminate them from all products. The World Health Organization followed suit, launching a global initiative named <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/teams\/nutrition-and-food-safety\/replace-trans-fat\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">REPLACE<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with the goal of making the global food supply free of artificial trans fats by the end of 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>The Trans Fat Loophole<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t breathe a full sigh of relief yet, however. In the US, the FDA has allowed trans fats to remain in the commercial food supply through a loophole \u2014<strong> if the product contains less than half a gram of trans fat per serving, the manufacturer can \u201cround down\u201d to zero<\/strong>. The easiest way to pull off this trick is to decrease the serving size.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the Mayo Clinic (the clinic\u2019s name, Mayo, is trans-fat-free, although the food isn\u2019t), foods that commonly <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/high-blood-cholesterol\/in-depth\/trans-fat\/art-20046114\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">contain trans fats<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in \u201cunder the radar\u201d amounts include commercial baked goods (cakes, pies, and cookies), microwave popcorn, frozen pizza, fried foods, nondairy creamer, and stick margarine, among others. Since mathematical shenanigans will hide trans fat from the nutrition facts label, you\u2019ll need to scour the ingredients list for the word \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ewg.org\/research\/hidden-plain-sight\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hydrogenated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, Crisco, the best-known brand of shortening, pulls the \u201cround down to zero\u201d trick in its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/crisco.com\/product\/all-vegetable-shortening\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nutrition label<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, claiming to contain \u201c0g of Trans Fat per serving,\u201d despite the fact that its second ingredient is fully hydrogenated palm oil.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you include any meat or dairy in your diet, you will also be exposed to some <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/healthy-living\/healthy-eating\/eat-smart\/fats\/trans-fat\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">naturally occurring trans fats<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which may be just as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.who.int\/iris\/bitstream\/handle\/10665\/246109\/9789241510608-eng.pdf?sequence=1&amp;isAllowed=y\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">damaging<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to your health as the artificially created ones.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"function\">How Much Fat Per Day Is Optimal?<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_38548\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38548\" style=\"width: 1257px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-38548\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1366564675_modified.png\" alt=\"iStock-1366564675_modified\" width=\"1257\" height=\"838\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1257,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1366564675_modified.png 1257w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=300,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1366564675_modified-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1024,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1366564675_modified-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=768,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1366564675_modified-768x512.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1257px) 100vw, 1257px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-38548\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">iStock.com\/Dmitry Kovalchuk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>So how much fat should you eat? According to the USDA, the acceptable macronutrient distribution range (AMDR, which is not to be confused with ASMR YouTube channels of people whispering, turning pages, or repeatedly sticking their hands in jello) is around <a href=\"https:\/\/health.gov\/our-work\/nutrition-physical-activity\/dietary-guidelines\/previous-dietary-guidelines\/2015\/advisory-report\/appendix-e-3\/appendix-e-31a4\">20\u201335% of calories<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The type matters, as well. <strong>The USDA <a href=\"https:\/\/health.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2019-09\/2015-2020_Dietary_Guidelines.pdf\">recommends<\/a> that 15\u201320% of your calories come from monounsaturated fats, 5\u201310% from polyunsaturated fats, less than 10% from saturated fats, and none from trans fats.<\/strong> Additionally, they advise eating less than 300 mg of cholesterol per day.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ods.od.nih.gov\/factsheets\/Omega3FattyAcids-HealthProfessional\/\">Omega-3 fatty acids<\/a> have their own recommended daily allowance, which, due to lack of evidence, is called \u201cintake adequacy\u201d rather than an official Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). The number varies by age, sex, and pregnancy or lactation status, but is in the range of 1\u20132 grams per day, for all categories.<\/p>\n<p>A note about that \u201cless than 10% from saturated fats\u201d recommendation \u2014 individuals two years and older can make enough of their own saturated fats not to need any from their diets, so \u201czero\u201d is a perfectly appropriate recommendation in most cases. Also, a reminder about trans fats: There is no need for your body to consume any trans fats.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"myths\">Debunking Myths About Fat<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are a couple of myths about fat that lead people to make questionable food choices. One such myth vilifies all fat as something to be avoided. The second myth conflates eating fat with <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">being<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> fat, and blames fat consumption for the accretion of fat on the body when the truth turns out to be a good bit more nuanced.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Myth 1: All Fat Is Bad<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_38550\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38550\" style=\"width: 1142px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-38550\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1161162350.jpg\" alt=\"Selection food sources of omega 3 and unsaturated fats. Super foods high vitamin e and dietary fiber for healthy food on wooden background.\" width=\"1142\" height=\"728\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1142,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1161162350.jpg 1142w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=300,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1161162350-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1024,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1161162350-1024x653.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=768,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1161162350-768x490.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1142px) 100vw, 1142px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-38550\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">iStock.com\/kerdkanno<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we\u2019ve seen, dietary fat is essential for survival and health. So viewing all fat as the same \u2014 bad \u2014 can set a person up for deficiencies in certain key nutrients. And if you\u2019re eating less fat, then you\u2019re eating <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6053258\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more of something else<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If that something else is refined white flour and sugar, that\u2019s hardly an improvement, and may actually harm you more than a higher-fat diet. (Although practically speaking, diets high in saturated and trans fats also tend to contain lots of processed and artificial foods as well, so it typically doesn\u2019t operate as a zero-sum game.)<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Omega Fatty Acids<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since your body can\u2019t manufacture its own <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/omega-3s-vegan\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">omega-3<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and omega-6 essential fatty acids, you have to get them from food. And while you need both, the ratio between them is important. Not enough omega-3 fatty acids compared with omega-6s can contribute to inflammation in the body. <strong>An ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 appears to be somewhere between 4:1 and 1:1, a range associated with better heart and brain health, less inflammation, reduced risk of cancer, and even higher IQ scores.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The modern industrialized diet doesn\u2019t come close to this ratio, unfortunately. Some sources <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mountsinai.org\/health-library\/supplement\/omega-6-fatty-acids\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">estimate<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that the average American consumes at least 14 times more omega-6 than omega-3 fatty acids. If you\u2019re looking to reduce omega-6s (which most of us need to), reduce or eliminate the consumption of processed foods containing sunflower oil, corn oil, safflower oil, and cottonseed oil.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are three main types of omega-3 fats \u2014 EPA, DHA, and ALA. Your body needs EPA and DHA, which are \u201clong chain\u201d versions. The good news is your body can synthesize these compounds from ALA, which you can get in abundance from flax and chia seeds (as well as lesser amounts from walnuts, hemp seeds, and canola oil).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Unfortunately, not all bodies convert ALA into EPA and DHA efficiently, so you could be deficient in the latter two if you don\u2019t eat fish or take an algae-derived supplement.<\/strong> After all, the EPA and DHA that fish have in their tissue comes from algae in the first place. (For more on the health, ethical, and environmental impacts of fish, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/health-and-environmental-impacts-of-eating-fish\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">see our article here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s why many vegan health experts recommend taking an algae-based EPA\/DHA supplement. (My personal favorite comes from Complement, and also incorporates other critical nutrients that can be hard to source on an exclusively plant-based diet. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/complement\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can find out more here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. And if you make a purchase from that link, a contribution will also be made to FRN\u2019s work. Thank you!)<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Saturated Fat<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we look at the available <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/future\/article\/20190712-saturated-fat-worse-than-unsaturated-fat\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">scientific evidence<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it\u2019s pretty clear that, in general, <strong>the less saturated fat you eat, the lower your risk of chronic disease and the better your overall health.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A single high-fat meal \u2014 particularly one high in saturated fat \u2014 can cause <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/32040591\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">inflammation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> directly after eating. Of course, one meal isn\u2019t going to make a huge difference to most people, but repeating any bodily injury multiple times a day for years and decades can greatly increase the risk of a multitude of diseases and disorders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h5>Saturated Fat and Heart Disease<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nutrition.ucdavis.edu\/outreach\/nutr-health-info-sheets\/pro-fat\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Studies<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have found that replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat, particularly polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease (the world\u2019s #1 killer by a wide margin). And long-term trials <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/32428300\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">suggest<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that reducing dietary saturated fat lowers the risk of combined cardiovascular events by 21%.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5>Saturated Fat and Alzheimer\u2019s<\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your heart isn\u2019t the only organ negatively affected by saturated fats. Cutting back on meat and dairy can also benefit your brain. A study from 2003 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/12580703\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">found<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that people who consumed the least saturated fat had less than half the risk of developing Alzheimer\u2019s disease compared to those who consumed the most. Those results held even when accounting for the presence of the APOE4 gene, which <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nia.nih.gov\/news\/study-reveals-how-apoe4-gene-may-increase-risk-dementia\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">predisposes its carrier for Alzheimer\u2019s<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other studies have replicated this finding, with most showing that total fat consumption wasn\u2019t a risk factor, but that saturated fat consumption was. (In fact, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats have been associated with a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC1140705\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">decreased risk<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Alzheimer\u2019s \u2014 although whether that\u2019s because they were replacing saturated fat in the diet is unclear.)<\/span><\/p>\n<h5>Saturated Fat and MS<\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4342365\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">inflammation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> generated by saturated fat can even trigger the onset of multiple sclerosis, as well as hasten and intensify its progression. This can happen via several mechanisms, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8955724\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">including<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (warning: very technical language ahead!) degeneration of neurons and glia (the cells of the nervous system that support the neurons and facilitate the transfer of electrical impulses and information); oxidative stress damaging the myelin sheaths that protect and insulate the nerves, injuring the energy-producing mitochondria in the brain; and hypersensitizing the immune system so that it starts attacking your body.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Trans Fats<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Trans fats are a rare case where nutritional absolutism is called for \u2014 they\u2019re always bad for you.<\/strong> Lots of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hsph.harvard.edu\/nutritionsource\/what-should-you-eat\/fats-and-cholesterol\/types-of-fat\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">evidence<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> points to trans fats being associated with risk factors for cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. They raise bad LDL and lower good HDL cholesterol. They trigger inflammation. And they contribute to insulin resistance, which is a key cause of metabolic syndrome and the root cause of type 2 diabetes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And if that isn\u2019t enough to put you off eating Crisco by the tablespoon, trans fats have also been <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3551118\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">associated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with breast cancer, a shortened pregnancy, risks of preeclampsia, disorders of the nervous system and vision in infants, colon cancer, obesity, and allergies.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Myth 2: Fat Alone Can Make You Fat<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_38973\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38973\" style=\"width: 1254px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-38973\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1050035294.jpg\" alt=\"Woman pushing away processed foods high in fat and sugar\" width=\"1254\" height=\"836\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1254,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1050035294.jpg 1254w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=300,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1050035294-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1024,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1050035294-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=768,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-1050035294-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1254px) 100vw, 1254px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-38973\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">iStock.com\/Vadym Petrochenko<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I get it, there\u2019s fat in food and fat (adipose) cells in your body. It\u2019s an easy mistake to make that the only way to get fat is by eating fat.<\/p>\n<p>Now, it\u2019s true that excess fat consumption can contribute to overweight and obesity. That\u2019s because <strong>dietary fat contains nine calories per gram, compared to just four calories per gram of carbohydrates and protein.<\/strong> One way to gain weight is by favoring calorically dense foods that are high in fats. Shelled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicalnewstoday.com\/articles\/309834#nutrition\">walnuts<\/a>, for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fatsecret.com\/calories-nutrition\/generic\/walnuts?portionid=11594&amp;portionamount=1.000#:~:text=There%20are%20654%20calories%20in%201%20cup%20of%20shelled%20Walnuts.\">provide<\/a> 654 calories per cup. By contrast, a cup of fresh <a href=\"https:\/\/www.verywellfit.com\/cantaloupe-nutrition-facts-calories-and-health-benefits-4110083\">cantaloupe<\/a> contains just 60 calories. This means you could eat ten cups of cantaloupe before consuming as many calories as are in that single cup of walnuts.<\/p>\n<p>So if you\u2019re trying to lose weight or not gain weight, you should be aware of the amount of calories you\u2019re eating. And there\u2019s no more dense source of calories than fat. But most people don\u2019t gain weight because they\u2019re eating too much healthy fat in a vacuum. You have to look at the whole diet and at the overall ratio of caloric consumption to what a body needs.<\/p>\n<p>Some studies indicate that people self-limit the amount of fat they consume naturally because high-fat foods can trigger <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK53550\/\">satiety<\/a>. <strong>The problem for most people is eating too much fat coupled with sugars and other processed carbohydrates.<\/strong> There\u2019s evidence that the sugar\/fat combo actually releases endocannabinoids that promote hunger and the storage of any extra calories as fat.<\/p>\n<p>The processed food industry often combines the least healthy saturated and trans fats with highly palatable refined grains, sugar, and <a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/salt-vs-sodium-facts\/\">excess sodium<\/a>, creating a powerful cocktail of appetite enhancement and subsequent weight gain. Sugar itself will get converted to fat when eaten in excess. The amount of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6959843\/\">simple sugars<\/a> most people consume in a typical modern diet is itself a significant contributor to our current obesity epidemic.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"avoideat\">So What Fats Should You Avoid?<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_38552\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38552\" style=\"width: 1254px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-38552\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-910729640.jpg\" alt=\"heart with reducing bad fast\" width=\"1254\" height=\"836\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1254,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-910729640.jpg 1254w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=300,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-910729640-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1024,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-910729640-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=768,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/iStock-910729640-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1254px) 100vw, 1254px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-38552\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">iStock.com\/Lin Shao-hua<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To recap \u2014 based on the data we have available today, it seems wise to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/health.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2019-10\/DGA_Cut-Down-On-Saturated-Fats.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">limit saturated fats<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which mostly come from meat and dairy but can also be found in tropical oils such as coconut and palm. Any dishes that use these ingredients in significant amounts will also tend to be high in saturated fat. When shopping, make sure to read the ingredient lists of foods.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For most people, the easiest way to avoid saturated fats is to move towards a plant-based diet. If you\u2019re new to a plant-based diet, and want some help getting started, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/plant-based-diet-for-beginners\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this article could help<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can (and should) avoid trans fats by staying away from fast food, animal products, and hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Partially hydrogenated soybean and vegetable oils are commonly used for frying and cooking fast foods and processed foods. You can avoid them by making your own baked or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/are-air-fryers-worth-it\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">air-fried<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> plant-based versions of burgers, french fries, onion rings, and fried \u201cchicken\u201d at home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can avoid the trans fats that come in salad dressings sold in supermarkets and served at fast food restaurants by making your own. Some of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/oil-free-salad-dressings\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">yummiest and healthiest salad dressings<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can actually be made from high-fat whole food ingredients like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/nuts-nuts\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nuts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/nuts-seeds\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">seeds<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> instead of oils.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cakes, cookies, and other commercial baked goods are also often made with trans fats. Check out our detailed guide on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/vegan-substitutions-for-cooking-baking\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">healthy plant-based cooking and baking substitutes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, so you can make your own healthier versions at home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another common place to find trans fats is in frozen foods. I know they can be convenient, but so can making time for batch cooking. And that way, your convenient \u201cheat and eat\u201d meals can support your health as well as play well with your busy schedule. Here\u2019s our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/plant-based-meal-prep-guide\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">comprehensive guide to prepping plant-based meals<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can also find trans fats in some brands of microwavable popcorn, as well as potato and corn chips. This article shares <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/healthy-crunchy-snacks\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">healthy ways to satisfy your craving for a crunchy snack<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Fats to Eat<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Instead of saturated and trans fats, opt for foods containing unsaturated fats.<\/strong> Both mono- and polyunsaturated fats can provide health benefits, when consumed in moderation and in proper ratios. They\u2019re found in plants, such as nuts and seeds, and nut and seed butters (including walnuts, cashews, and peanuts; and hemp, chia, flax, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And remember that whole foods, being far more than the sum of their nutrition labels, can provide not just fats but also many essential micronutrients as well. So while <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/food-fraud-olive-oil-and-avocado-oil\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">avocado and olive oils<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can be a small part of a healthy diet, you might want to eat avocados and olives themselves, rather than just consuming the oils extracted from these foods.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"recipes\">Recipes with Healthy Fats<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can eat these foods on their own or include them as ingredients in a variety of dishes. Here are three examples of recipes that showcase healthy fats in a snack, salad, and main course. Whole food, plant-based fats are nothing to fear with these nutritionally-rich, mouthwatering recipes!<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>1. <a href=\"\/recipes\/sesame-sunflower-chia-bites\/\">Sesame Sunflower Chia Bites<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25449 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sesame-sunflower-chia-bites-3.jpg\" alt=\"sesame sunflower chia bites on counter\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=2000,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sesame-sunflower-chia-bites-3.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=300,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sesame-sunflower-chia-bites-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1024,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sesame-sunflower-chia-bites-3-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=768,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sesame-sunflower-chia-bites-3-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1536,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sesame-sunflower-chia-bites-3-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These nutritious bites have so much to love, including multiple forms of healthy fats in sesame, chia, and sunflower seeds. Sesame and sunflower seeds are great sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat, while chia seeds provide plant-based omega-3 fatty acids. What makes these bites even more satisfying is the nutty flavor of sesame and sunflower seeds combined with the natural sweetness of the dates. With their healthy fats in tow, these seeds are also a good source of protein and fiber to help keep you energized and satisfied.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>2. <a href=\"\/recipes\/simple-kale-avocado-and-pumpkin-seed-salad\/\">Simple Kale, Avocado, and Pumpkin Seed Salad<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38969\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/kale-avocado-pumpkin-seed-salad_1_50.png\" alt=\"Kale Avocado Pumpkin Seed Salad\" width=\"987\" height=\"760\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=987,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/kale-avocado-pumpkin-seed-salad_1_50.png 987w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=300,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/kale-avocado-pumpkin-seed-salad_1_50-300x231.png 300w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=768,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/kale-avocado-pumpkin-seed-salad_1_50-768x591.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 987px) 100vw, 987px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it comes to plant-based healthy fat champions, avocados and pumpkin seeds reign supreme. These wholesome ingredients are rich sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that lend themselves to the velvety and crunchy textures in this Simple Kale, Avocado, and Pumpkin Seed Salad. Plus, this superfood salad is teeming with fiber and loads of nutrients such as vitamins K1,<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">C, E, and B6, as well as plant-based protein thanks to the pumpkin seeds.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>3. <a href=\"\/recipes\/creamy-asparagus-risotto\/\">Creamy Asparagus Risotto<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38971\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Asparagus_Risotto-4_1_30.jpeg\" alt=\"Asparagus Risotto\" width=\"1805\" height=\"1205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1805,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Asparagus_Risotto-4_1_30.jpeg 1805w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=300,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Asparagus_Risotto-4_1_30-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1024,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Asparagus_Risotto-4_1_30-1024x684.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=768,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Asparagus_Risotto-4_1_30-768x513.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.foodrevolution.org\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1536,quality=75,format=auto\/foodrevolution.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Asparagus_Risotto-4_1_30-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1805px) 100vw, 1805px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The beauty of healthy fat (aside from its nutrient benefits) is its ability to elevate and transform even the simplest of plant-based dishes into an elegant culinary affair. Cashews get some of the credit here \u2014 they\u2019re blended into a silky, creamy, umami cheese sauce, and then simmered together with asparagus, spinach, and brown rice. This dish is packed with healthy fats, loads of fiber, and nutrients galore. Sounds too good to be true? We\u2019re here to let you know that plants are magical like that!<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>The Type of Fat Matters!<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A persistent health message over the past 50 years has been to avoid all sources of fat, leading both to an irrational fear of eating any fat, as well as the extreme opposite position that the more fat, the better. Once we get past the hype and look at the science, however, it becomes clear that some types of fat, in appropriate amounts and ratios, are necessary for health. The type of fat \u2014 and its source \u2014 matters. While saturated fats and trans fats can harm us, whole food, plant-based sources of fat, such as avocados, nuts, and seeds, can play an important role in a well-balanced and varied diet.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Tell us in the comments:<\/h4>\n<ul class=\"list text-h4 text-600\">\n<li>Have you ever been on a very low-fat or very high-fat diet? What was your experience?<\/li>\n<li>What are your favorite sources of healthy, plant-based fat?<\/li>\n<li>What\u2019s your favorite recipe that includes nuts or seeds?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><i>Featured Image: iStock.com\/morisfoto<\/i><\/p>\n<h4>Read Next:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/are-carbs-bad-for-you\/\">Are Carbohydrates Bad for You? What the Science Says About Carbs<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/plant-based-protein\/\">Plant-Based Protein: The Best Sources &amp; How Much You Actually Need<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fat is one of the most misunderstood nutrients. It\u2019s essential for health, yet it\u2019s often seen as a major cause of obesity and heart disease. Are there healthy sources of fat? And how much dietary fat is too much? This article looks at the science, rather than the hype, about fat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":38543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,2638,2639,2641],"tags":[19,108,1522,164,406,1135,2566],"class_list":["post-38503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-blog","category-food","category-health","category-nutrients","tag-brain-health","tag-cancer","tag-fats","tag-food-industry","tag-food-policy","tag-heart-health","tag-weight-management","wpautop"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What Are the Good vs Bad Fats? - Food Revolution Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is all fat bad for you? Or are there good vs bad fats? 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