Heart Healthy Monounsaturated Fats

Monounsaturated fats, also known as oleic acid, provides cardioprotective health benefits to individuals with type 2 diabetes. According to the US Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines for Americans, you should limit total calories from fat to 30 percent or less. If you choose a higher fat diet, the fat should come from foods rich in monounsaturated fats, such as certain oils, nuts, seeds and other foods.

Identification

Fat is an energy- or calorie-yielding macronutrient that provides 9 calories per gram. It is an essential dietary nutrient. Fats are insoluble substances and are found in many foods. There are three types of fats: saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. Monounsaturated fats, by definition, contain one double or triple bond per molecule and are liquid at room temperature; however, when chilled they may partially solidify.

Best Food Sources

Certain vegetable oils and nut oils are high in monounsaturated fats. Those that offer the highest amount of monounsaturated fats include high-oleic sunflower or safflower oil, hazelnut, olive, canola, avocado, almond, peanut, corn, sesame, rice bran, soybean and cod liver oils. Soft tub margarine-like spreads made mostly from canola or olive oils are also rich in monounsaturated fats, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC.

Other Food Sources

Avocados are rich sources of monounsaturated fats though the fat content of an avocado depends upon type. Hass avocados are higher in fat and monounsaturated fat than Fuerte avocados. Peanuts and peanut butter are the richest legume food sources of monounsaturated fats. Hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios and cashews, cashew butter, sesame seeds and sesame paste or tahini contain monounsaturated fats. Sunflower seeds, sunflower seed butter, flaxseeds and pumpkin seeds offer some monounsaturated fat.

Type 2 Diabetes

According to a review of fat modification in the diabetic diet published in the journal "Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes" in April 2003, the use of monounsaturated fatty acids in the diabetes diet results in lower blood sugar levels and lower blood pressure readings when compared to a carbohydrate-rich diet. Another benefit of a following a monounsaturated fat-rich diet is the tendency to have higher HDL or "good" cholesterol levels.

Other Heart Benefits

Monounsaturated fat is the main type of fatty acid used in the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet. This type of fat, according to a scientific summary conducted by the American Heart Association and published in the "Journal of Nutrition" in 1999, favorably affects several risk factors for coronary heart disease or CHD. When compared to saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids not only lower LDL or "bad" cholesterol levels but lower blood triglyceride levels. Current American Heart Association recommendations are to limit total fat to 30 percent of calories. Of the 30 percent, half or 15 percent should come from monounsaturated fatty acids.