Healthy Food Choices: Calories from Fat

The human body needs calories and fats, but does it need so many calories from fat? Try these tips for deciding on foods with calories from fat in this healthy shopping video.

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30% of calories can be from fat
Try to avoid trans fat
Minimize saturated fats
Vegetable fats are healthier

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Michelle Cooper has been a registered dietician for more than 10 years. She currently works for the state of North Carolina for the New Hanover County School District in the Child Nutrition Department as the supervising registered dietician on staff. She specializes in child nutrition, child fitness and overall child health. She enjoys her job because it allows her to be a pivotal piece of child development.

MICHELLE COOPER: Next, we are going to talk about calories from fat. Fats have about nine calories per gram. It is the most calorically dense nutrient. Carbohydrates only have four and protein only has four. Your diet should be comprised about only 30% of its total calories from fat. Of that 30%, you want to make sure that there are zero to little trans fat and 10% or less of saturated fat. Saturated fat is like the fat that I am holding. It's solid at room temperature. Only animal fats are solid at room temperature; therefore, you want to make sure that of the fats that you are choosing, mostly, you are choosing vegetable fats which typically tend to be liquid at room temperature. So remember, fat can be part of a healthy diet, but limit your calories from fat to no more than 30% a day of those zero to little trans fats, only 10% of the saturated kind. And other fat intake should be that from vegetable sources or those that are liquid at room temperature or poly and monounsaturated.

Healthy Food Choices: Calories from Fat Video

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