Fats, also known as lipids, are essential for many of your body's functions. Fats are a source of energy, they transport vitamins and other molecules and also play a role in normal growth and development. Eating the right types of fat, including unsaturated fats, can contribute to improved health, while saturated fats and trans fats contribute to poor health.
Monounsaturated Fats
When eaten instead of saturated fats and trans fats, monounsaturated fats promote better heart health. Monounsaturated fats lower your risk for heart disease by reducing "bad" LDL cholesterol levels. This type of fat can also provide your body with vitamin E, an antioxidant that most people need more of. Sources of monounsaturated fat include olive oil, canola oil, avocados, peanut butter and nuts and seeds.
Polyunsaturated Fats
Polyunsaturated fats are another type of fat that is essential for good health. Omega-3 fatty acids are a polyunsaturated fat that your body cannot make -- it must get them from your diet. Omega-3 fatty acids promote healthy cholesterol levels and help control blood pressure. They also contribute to brain development and function and ease inflammation. Fish, including salmon, tuna and halibut, are good sources of polyunsaturated fats, as are walnuts and flaxseeds.
Saturated and Trans Fats
Saturated fats and trans fats contribute to poor health by increasing your risk for heart disease. Saturated fats, found mostly in meat and whole-milk dairy products, increase LDL cholesterol. Your body makes all the saturated fat it needs, so keeping your saturated fat intake as low as possible is recommended. Trans fats also should be avoided in your diet because they not only increase bad cholesterol but also decrease heart-protecting "good" HDL cholesterol. Trans fats are found in commercially prepared baked goods, margarines and processed foods.
Considerations
You should choose unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats and trans fats whenever possible. While consuming healthy types of fat provides essential nutrients and promotes good health, too much fat intake may add too many calories to your diet. Each gram of fat provides 9 calories, more than double what each gram of carbohydrate and protein provides. Limit your total fat intake to approximately 20 to 35 percent of your total daily calories.
References
- University of Illinois; McKinley Health Center: Macronutrients: the Importance of Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat; 2008
- MedlinePlus: Fat
- American Heart Association: Monounsaturated Fats; 2010
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- Harvard School of Public Health: Fats and Cholesterol: Out with the Bad, In with the Good
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