Question: How much fat is healthy to eat?
Today, a healthy diet can contain as much as 35 per cent of its calories from fat -- provided, of course, you choose the right type. In fact, Health Canada advises we consume two to three tablespoons (25 to 40 ml) of unsaturated fats each day to reap their health benefits.
Question: What are unsaturated fats?
Fats are classified as saturated or unsaturated (monounsaturated or polyunsaturated), based on which type of fat is present in the greatest concentration.
Excellent sources of monounsaturated fat include olive, canola, peanut, avocado and almond oils. Studies show that consuming these fats can help raise good cholesterol (HDL, blood) and improve how the body uses glucose among people with diabetes.
Polyunsaturated oils include sunflower, safflower, soybean, corn, grape seed, hemp, flaxseed, and walnut. Polyunsaturated oils provide an essential fatty acid called alpha linolenic acid (ALA). Researchers have learned that people who consume more ALA have a lower risk of heart disease. Your best bets for ALA include flaxseed oil, walnut oil and canola oil.
Question: What about omega-3 fats? Where do they fit in?
Omega-3 fats belong to the polyunsaturated family of fats. There are three different omega-3 fats in food: DHA and EPA are found in fish and fish oil supplements. Many studies have found that a regular intake of DHA and EPA helps to reduce the risk of developing heart disease. These are good fats. We should aim for a daily intake of 500 milligrams of DHA and EPA per day -- an amount equivalent to eating 6 ounces of salmon week or taking a fish oil capsule each day.
ALA in flaxseed, walnut and canola oil is also an omega-3 fatty acid. ALA is also found in many fortified foods like eggs, soy beverages and yogurt.
Question: What are the fats to avoid? How low should we go?
The so-called bad fats are saturated fat and trans fats, the two types that can raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol. Saturated fat is found in animal foods like meat, poultry, and dairy products. Trans fat is found in commercial bakery products, snack foods and fast foods made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. In Canada, the food industry has done a pretty good job so far at removing trans fat from products.
Your goal is to minimize your intake of saturated and trans fats -- they should make up no more than 10% of your day's worth of calories. To accomplish this, choose low fat animal foods and read food labels. Foods with a daily value of 10 per cent or less for saturated and trans fat combined are considered low in these fats.
Question: What about coconut oil? Is it a good or bad fat?
Coconut oil is a tropical oil used as an ingredient in food products. It is definitely a saturated fat, and it has been shown to raise blood cholesterol. But this effect is most due to its ability to raise HDL, or good cholesterol, not LDL cholesterol. So it seems coconut oil is not as harmful as we once thought.
