What Is Monounsaturated Fat?

Most foods that contain fat have a combination of types, including monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated fats. Paying attention to the kinds of fat you consume can help you make healthier choices overall. Since monounsaturated fats are considered one of the healthiest of the fat types, choosing foods with more of this kind of fat can improve your overall health.

Description

Monounsaturated fats contain one double-bonded carbon molecule, as opposed to the two or more in polyunsaturated fats. Saturated fats have none. Monounsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temperature and solidify when placed in the refrigerator. Monounsaturated fats, which are sometimes called omega-9 fats, come in two forms, defined by the way the molecules are configured. These two forms are known as eliadic acid and oleic acid.

Sources

Many nuts and seeds, including sunflower seeds and walnuts, contain monounsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats are also prevalent in many types of oil, including olive, canola, high oleic safflower, peanut, sesame and sunflower oils. Avocado and peanut butter are other sources of monounsaturated fat.

Importance

While all dietary fats store energy in the body; aid in the digestion of fat-soluble vitamins like vitamins A,D, E and K; modulate gene activity; and act as a cellular building block, monounsaturated fats also have other benefits. Specifically, monounsaturated fats can help lower total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol levels. In addition, a November 2010 study in the "Canadian Medical Association Journal" found that increasing the monounsaturated fat intake in a cholesterol-lowering diet raised levels of high density lipoprotein, or HDL, the good type of cholesterol in the bloodstream. Replacing other fats with monounsaturated fats can lower your risk of heart disease and stroke, according to the American Heart Association. Monounsaturated fats also often contain vitamin E, an essential nutrient that has antioxidant properties.

Alternatives

Oils containing polyunsaturated fats, such as soybean oil and corn oil, are also healthier than saturated fats and can be used as an alternative to monounsaturated fats. Saturated fats and trans-fats, which are an altered form of fat created during food processing, are considered unhealthy fats since they can raise the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease.

Recommendations

The CDC recommends that you get 25 to 35 percent of your daily caloric intake from fats and that the majority of these fats be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats. A simple way to increase your monounsaturated fat intake is to use them to replace saturated fats you'd normally eat. For example, using olive oil on bread instead of butter is a good substitution.