Fat in Your Diet: Which Fats Help and Which Hurt

For years, fat was treated like a villain. We switched to low-fat foods, and outcomes didn’t improve much because many healthy fats were cut along with the harmful ones.

BM135 is best used for issues related to high cholesterol, including deposits of excess fatty substance that collect in the skin or eyelid tissues and nodules in tendons, hands, or feet.

You need some fat. It provides energy, helps absorb fat-soluble vitamins, builds cell membranes, and forms the sheaths around nerves. Fat also plays roles in blood clotting, muscle movement, and inflammation. For long-term health, some fats are better than others. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats tend to help, industrial trans fats harm, and saturated fats sit in the middle.

Fat facts

All fats are chains of carbon and hydrogen. Differences in chain length, shape, and hydrogen count change how a fat behaves in the body. That small chemistry shift creates big health differences.

Some fats and the fat-like substance cholesterol have been linked to higher risks for:

• cardiovascular disease
• diabetes
• cancer
• obesity

Not all fats are equal. Some support health, others increase risk. Research continues, but basic points are clear: dietary fat provides energy, supports vitamin absorption, and helps body functions. Too many calories from any fat can cause weight gain.

Which fats to avoid or limit

Two types of fats deserve caution: trans fats and saturated fats. Foods high in these fats are often solid at room temperature, such as:

• butter
• margarine
• shortening
• beef or pork fat

Avoid trans fats entirely. Eat saturated fats sparingly.

Saturated fat: use sparingly

Most saturated fats come from animals and some tropical oils. Common sources include:

• fatty cuts of beef, pork, and lamb
• dark chicken meat and poultry skin
• high-fat dairy (whole milk, butter, cheese, ice cream)
• tropical oils (coconut oil, palm oil, cocoa butter)
• lard

Eating a lot of saturated fat can raise blood cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Recent studies question how large that effect is on heart disease, but many experts recommend replacing some saturated fat with polyunsaturated fats to reduce risk.

One 2015 review of randomized trials found that swapping saturated fats for polyunsaturated fats lowered heart disease risk. A 2017 paper in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggested LDL risks may have been overstated and encouraged looking at total cholesterol relative to HDL.

Talk to your doctor about your cholesterol numbers and overall risk. Swapping a few items on your plate makes a measurable difference over time.