What Do You Know About Fats?

Although it might seem that the cholesterol in your diet would have the greatest impact on your blood levels of cholesterol, that's not true, the American Heart Association (AHA) says. Saturated fat is the main culprit. Saturated fat is found in foods from animals and in some plant foods. Animal sources include beef, veal, lamb, pork, poultry and whole milk dairy products. (Cholesterol is also found in these foods.) Plant foods that contain saturated fat include coconut, palm and palm kernel oils and cocoa butter. High cholesterol levels are a risk factor for heart disease.

Your total fat calories should be no more than 30 percent of all the calories you eat each day. If you have heart disease or a high level of LDL ("bad") cholesterol, you may need to restrict your saturated fat to less than 7 percent, and your total fat calories to 25 to 35 percent, the AHA says. Limiting fat shouldn't be the sole focus of a healthy diet, however. Total calories are also important. To avoid weight gain, you must balance the number of calories you consume with the number of calories you expend in exercise and other daily activity

Other examples of monounsaturated fats are olive and peanut oils. Avocados also contain monounsaturated fats. Safflower, soybean, and walnut oils are polyunsaturated fats. Both of these types of fat come from plants, and both may help lower your cholesterol levels. Each gram of fat contains 9 calories, compared with 4 calories for each gram of carbohydrate or protein. Any fat should be used in moderation to keep your weight under control.

Meat products and whole milk dairy products contain small amounts of trans-fat. Commercial bakery and snack products typically contain much more trans-fat. The trans-fat comes from the hydrogenated oil used in preparing these products. Hydrogenated oil is used because it has a longer shelf life than other fats. The FDA requires that food labels state the amount of trans-fat in a product. The AHA recommends limiting trans-fats to 1 percent of total calories. Some brands of soft margarine contain little or no trans-fat, and other food manufacturers are making an effort to decrease or eliminate trans-fat from their products.

Saturated fat may increase the risk for certain cancers, although more research is needed to establish a firm link, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Saturated fat may play a role in obesity, but total calories are more important than fat in weight management. Despite the long-standing recommendation from nutrition experts that Americans eat a low-fat diet, obesity continues to be a growing problem in the United States.

If you consume 2,500 calories a day, your total fat should be no more than 83 grams. If you consume 1,800 calories a day, your total fat should be no more than 60 grams.

Fat substitutes are based on one of these three categories, according to the AHA. Carbohydrate- and protein-based substitutes replace the fat in a product. Carbohydrate-based substitutes include okra gum, pureed cannellini beans, and mung bean paste. Protein-based substitutes include egg-white proteins, dairy proteins, and whey protein concentrate. Fat-based substitutes such as olestra are not absorbed efficiently from the intestines. According to the FDA, all three types are considered safe.