When it comes to coronary heart disease, dietary fat has a negative image. It's true that excess saturated fat and cholesterol is responsible for the build-up of plaque that narrows your coronary arteries, but not all fats are bad for you. When eaten in moderation, good fats promote heart health and lower your risk for coronary heart disease.
Expert Insight
In 2004, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute brought together a prestigious panel to create the therapeutic lifestyle changes, or TLC, diet for cholesterol control and heart disease prevention. The TLC diet contains specific recommendations to guide your dietary fat intake. Start by limiting your total fat intake to 25 to 35 percent of your daily caloric needs, maintain saturated fats at 7 percent or less, and lower your trans fat intake to less than 1 percent. Once you've done that, pick good fats such as monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats for the rest of your daily requirement.
Identification
Monounsaturated fats have a single double-bonded, or "unsaturated," carbon atom, while polyunsaturated fats have more than one unsaturated bond. Both types of fats are liquid at room temperature. Polyunsaturated fats stay liquid when they're chilled, but monounsaturated fats may harden when cooled.
Sources
Plant oils such as olive, canola, sunflower, sesame and peanut oils are great sources of monounsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats are found in soybean, corn and safflower oil. Fatty cold water fish like albacore tuna, mackerel, herring and salmon are rich in a type of polyunsaturated fat called omega-3 fatty acids. You can also get healthy unsaturated fats from nuts, seeds, avocados and peanut butter.
Effects
Polyunsaturated fats help remove newly-formed cholesterol from your bloodstream so it can no longer create plaques in your coronary arteries. You can reduce your blood cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease by replacing saturated and trans fats with healthier polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, states the American Heart Association.
Tips
The American Heart Association recommends boosting your intake of good fats by eating at least two 3.5-oz servings of fish containing omega-3 fatty acids every week. You should also add a handful of nuts, seeds or legumes four times a week for added monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
Warnings
While polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are healthier options than saturated and trans fats, remember that all fats contain 9 calories per gram. Since overweight and obesity are risk factors for heart disease, use moderation when choosing any form of dietary fat.
References
- National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: High Blood Cholesterol: What You Need to Know
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults Executive Summary
- American Heart Association: Monounsaturated Fats
- MayoClinic.com: Dietary Fats: Know Which Ones to Choose
- American Heart Association: Polyunsaturated Fats
- American Heart Association: Knowing Your Fats
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