Dietary Fat Types: Are All Kinds of Fat Unhealthy? What Is the Recommended Intake?

There are different kinds of dietary fat. Some are healthy, while others should be avoided altogether.

Fat is Important For Nutrition

Fat is a crucial macronutrient. It is vital for several functions of the body, and it also serves as a crucial source of energy. Fat also helps protect the nerves and skeleton and allows other nutrients to do their job.

When it comes to dietary fat, there are some that are beneficial for the body and others that are not.

Types of Dietary Fat

Not all dietary fats are equal in terms of health benefits. Trans and saturated fats can boost the risk of disease and cholesterol levels, while unsaturated fats can support health.

Unhealthy Fat

Trans fats result from manufacturing. They result from a process that involves the addition of hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils for them to solidify. This kind of fat is also called partially hydrogenated oils.

This type of fat can have damaging health effects. Trans fat boosts LDL cholesterol levels and lowers HDL cholesterol levels. This leads to a heightened risk of stroke, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. In fact, it has been estimated that around 500,000 cardiovascular deaths each year have been linked to trans fats.

This type of fat has been growing in popularity due to its easy use and cheap production. They also last a long time and can give food a flavorful taste.

Trans fat sources include french fries, pastries, biscuits, baked goods, cookies, crackers, pizza dough, stick margarines, packed foods, and fast food. In fact, any food that has partially hydrogenated oils contains trans fat.

It has been advised by the American Heart Association (AHA) that trans fat consumption should not go beyond 5% to 6% of the total caloric intake of a person.

Another type of unhealthy fat is saturated fat. When someone eats too much saturated fat over long periods, health risks could increase. High saturated fat intake could lead to higher LDL cholesterol levels, which boosts the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease.

It has been recommended by the AHA that the daily intake of saturated fat should not exceed 13 grams.

Saturated fat can be sourced from meat products, dairy products, certain vegetable oils, and processed foods.

Healthy Fats

While trans and saturated fats are unhealthy, there is a kind of good fat known as unsaturated fat, which is mostly sourced from the oils of plants.

There are two kinds of unsaturated fat, namely, monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat. The former, which involves each molecule of fat bonding with a single hydrogen atom, could lower levels of bad cholesterol and maintain good levels of HDL cholesterol. However, such effects can only be achieved if one reduces saturated fat intake. It has been reported that having a diet that is rich in monounsaturated fats could reduce one's risk of developing heart disease.

One diet that is rich in monounsaturated fats is the Mediterranean diet. Other sources of monounsaturated fats are avocados, nuts, olives, nut butters, and olive oil.

On the other hand, polyunsaturated fats are not saturated with atoms of hydrogen. This type of fat has been found to be good for health, especially if it is comes from algae and fish. This is also called omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Omega-3 acids are said to be helpful with reducing blood triglycerides, maintaining heart health, and boosting the health of the brain, eyes, and joints.

However, another kind of polyunsaturated fat is omega-6 fatty acids, which are mostly present in processed foods and vegetable oils. It is important to note that too much intake of omega-6 could result in heightened inflammation.

Polyunsaturated fat sources include pastured eggs, seeds, nuts, different plant oils, and oily fish.

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