Are Some Fats better Than Others?

Most foods contain several different kinds of fat, and some are better for your health than others.

You don't need to completely eliminate all fat from your diet.

In fact, some fats actually help promote good health.

But it's wise to choose the healthier types of dietary fat, and then enjoy them — in moderation.

Moderation is important for weight loss because, even healthy fats have calories.

To understand good and bad fats, you need to know the names of the players and some information about them.

Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are known as the “good fats” because they are good for your heart, your cholesterol, and your overall health.

Monounsaturated fats are found in vegetable oils, such as canola, olive, sunflower, sesame and peanut oils.

They are also found in avocados, olives, peanut butter, and nuts (such as almonds, peanuts, pecans, cashews, hazelnuts, and macadamia nuts).

Polyunsaturated fats are found mainly in vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower, sesame, soybean, and corn oils. It is also the main fat found in seafood.

The two types of polyunsaturated fats are omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids are found in foods from plants like soybean oil, canola oil, walnuts, and flaxseed. They are also found in fatty fish and shellfish. Omega-3 fatty acids may be especially beneficial to your heart and help decrease the risk of coronary artery disease.

They may also protect against irregular heartbeats and help lower blood pressure levels. A healthy diet includes 8 ounces or more per week of salmon, anchovies, herring, sardines, Pacific oysters, trout, or Atlantic & Pacific Mackerel.

Omega-6 fatty acids are found mostly in liquid vegetable oils like soybean oil, corn oil, and safflower oil.


Saturated fats and trans fats are known as the “bad fats” because they increase your risk of disease and elevate cholesterol.

Appearance-wise, saturated fats and trans fats tend to be solid at room temperature (think of butter or traditional stick margarine), while monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats tend to be liquid (think of olive or corn oil).

Saturated fat, also known as "solid fat" is mostly in animal foods, such as milk, cheese, and meat.

Poultry and fish have less saturated fat than red meat.

One confusing thing is that Saturated fat is also in tropical oils, such as coconut oil, palm oil, and cocoa butter.

You'll find tropical oils in many snacks and in nondairy foods, such as coffee creamers and whipped toppings.

Foods made with butter, margarine, or shortening (cakes, cookies, and other desserts) have a lot of saturated fat.

Saturated fat can raise your cholesterol.


Trans fat is a fat that has been changed by a process called hydrogenation.

This process increases the shelf life of fat (so it stays fresh longer) and makes the fat harder at room temperature. Harder fat makes crispier crackers and flakier pie crusts.

Trans fat can raise your cholesterol, so eat as little trans fat as possible.

You'll find it in: Processed foods, snack foods (such as chips and crackers), cookies, some margarine and salad dressings, and foods made with shortening and partially hydrogenated oils.


With so many different sources of dietary fat—some good and some bad— the choices can get confusing.

But the bottom line is simple: don’t go no-fat, go good fat.