Are all fats in our diet bad for us? Are some fats terrible and others a cure-all? Since the mid-1950s, dietary guidelines and published research on the subject have taken enough twists and turns to leave many of us confused.
The three main categories of fat are trans fats, unsaturated fats, and saturated fats. In the early 1980s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommended avoiding all types of fat. Low-fat diets became the craze and numerous “low-fat” items appeared on grocers’ shelves.
The problem was that many of these products replaced fat with refined sugars and junk food carbs, knocking out the health benefits. And labeling all dietary fats as bad ignored the fact that we need some fats to help us absorb certain nutrients.
A few years later, experts narrowed the warning about fats. They recommended that people strongly limit saturated fats because they tended to raise LDL cholesterol levels and could increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The main sources of saturated fats are butter, whole-fat dairy, lard, beef tallow, palm oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil.
Today, we hear a lot about the hazards of trans fats. A large body of research has shown that artificially created trans fats should be avoided because they elevate LDL levels (bad cholesterol) and decrease HDL levels (good cholesterol), putting you at an increased risk of CVD. Another name for trans fats is “partially hydrogenated oils.” These fats are typically found in pie, stick margarine, canned frostings, creamers, many frozen pizzas, and some packaged snacks.
Research also supports the conclusion that unsaturated fats — both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated varieties — can actually lower the risk of CVD. Monounsaturated fats are found in olive, peanut, and canola oils; avocados; almonds, pecans, pumpkin, sesame seeds, and other nuts. Polyunsaturated fats are in salmon, trout, walnuts, as well as safflower, corn, and soybean oils.
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