Fats are essential for energy, cell growth, organ protection and hormone production. Although an essential part of the diet, most Americans consume too much fat of the wrong types. In 2010, Dr. Bob Eckel, past president of the American Heart Association, reported that the average American consumes about 20 lbs. of saturated fats and 3.5 lbs. of trans fat every year. The AHA created the program "Face the Fats" to give Americans guidelines about fats.
Recommended Calories From Fat
Consuming the right number of calories from fat will reduce the risk for heart disease, diabetes and other health complications. The AHA recommends adults consume between 25 and 35 percent of total daily calories from fat. Your daily limits depend on your total calories per day. To calculate the number of calories that should come from fat, multiply your daily caloric goal by 0.25 or 0.35. For example, if you consume 2,000 calories per day, 500 to 700 calories should come from fat, which is 56 to 78 g of fat.
Types of Fat
Types of fat considered bad for the body include saturated fats and trans fats. Other types of fats are monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. These two types of fats are the ones that individuals should consume the most of. Fats are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen molecules. The saturated fats have a single bond between the carbon and oxygen molecules. The unsaturated fats have a double bond between the carbon and oxygen. All types of fats have 9 calories in every gram.
Trans Fats
The AHA recommends consuming no more than 1 percent of your total daily calories from trans fats. Adults should consume less than 20 calories or 2 g of trans fats every day. Given that you consume a certain amount of naturally occurring trans fats daily, this means you should aim to eat no industrially manufactured trans fats at all. Trans fats are manufactured and created by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils and are cheap to produce and last a long time. Trans fats are mostly found in processed foods, fried foods and oil. Partially hydrogenated soybean oil has the highest amount of trans fats with 15 to 20 percent of total fat coming from trans fats. Soybean, canola and sunflower oil have 0.4 percent of fats from trans fats. Trans fats increase your overall cholesterol levels, increase your risk of heart disease and are hard for the body to digest.
Saturated Fats
Unlike trans fats, saturated fats are found naturally in many foods, specifically animal products. Saturated fat calories should be less than 7 percent of daily intake. On a 2,000 calorie diet, this is equal to eating 140 calories or 15 g of saturated fats per day. Saturated fats raise cholesterol levels and your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Polyunsaturated and Monounsaturated Fats
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the two essential fats since the body cannot produce them. They are crucial for brain development and hormone productions. Both reduce bad cholesterol levels in your blood and contain other healthy vitamins. Food labels often do not put polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats under the fat category. Subtract the fats that are listed from the total fats to get the amount of polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats in the food. The AHA's goal for adults is to consume all fat calories from polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.
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