A low-fat diet is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Choosing low-fat foods reduces your risk for high cholesterol, which is associated with such medical conditions as heart disease and Alzheimer's. People over the age of 2 should get 25 to 35 percent of their daily caloric intake from total fat, according to the American Heart Association. Learn how to convert this healthful recommendation into real-life measurements of total fat and increase the benefits of your nutritious diet.
Fat
Fat is an essential nutrient, which means you need to consume some fat for your body to function correctly. Fat is an important component in energy storage, preventing heat loss and protecting internal organs. Fat is also integral to brain function, cell structure, production of digestive acids and hormones as well as in metabolizing vitamins.
Calculation
Each person has a different fat intake need. Determine the number of total fat grams you should consume on a daily basis by calculating your ideal body weight then figuring out how many calories needed to maintain that ideal weight and finally establish the maximum amount of fat grams. For example, an active woman who is 5 feet 6 inches tall would have an ideal body weight of 130 lbs., according to Women's Heart Foundation. She would need to take in roughly 2,000 calories each day to maintain that weight. This woman may consume 67g of total fat each day if she is healthy. She should restrict her total fat intake to 44g each day if she has high blood cholesterol levels or other risk factors for heart disease.
Types of Fat
Total fat includes several types of fat. Saturated fat is solid at room temperature, such as the white flecks of fat in raw hamburger or in butter. Saturated fat should account for less than 7 percent of your total fat intake. This means a person who consumes 50g of fat each day should get only 3.5g of saturated fat. A cup of cottage cheese or one medium doughnut contains about 3.5g of saturated fat. Trans fats are an unhealthy type of fat that often goes by the name partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Limit your intake of trans fats to less than 1 percent of your daily fat intake. Manufacturers use trans fats to make foods like crackers and doughnuts. A person consuming 2,000 calories each day should get fewer than 2g a day of trans fats.
Healthy Fats
The rest of the fat in the recommended daily allowances should come from healthy sources. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats do not raise blood cholesterol, and some types even reduce blood cholesterol when used in place of unhealthy fats. Fish like salmon and mackerel, nuts, seeds and oils from plants like olive and canola oils contain these healthy oils.
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