While fats are important and provide calories, it is important to limit unhealthy fats like saturated and trans fats due to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Fats come in different forms like triglycerides, cholesterol, and fatty acids. Guidelines recommend obtaining 10-35% of calories from fats, which can come from healthy sources like nuts, seeds, vegetable oils, and avocados that contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Fats are important as they aid in vitamin absorption, provide insulation, promote cell growth, and lower LDL cholesterol when consumed in healthy forms.

1. Fats
Let’s face it, who does not like fat? Fat is
found in different forms and inmany foods;
that includes triglycerides, cholesterol, and
fatty acids. You have probably heardto limit
fats and fatty foods due to the increasedrisk
for CardioVascular Disease. While this is true,
it is alsoimportant to understandthe
importance of fat and the different types of
fats in your diet. Guidelines recommend10-
35% of total calories come from fats as fat
provides 9 Calories per gram. Let us take a
deeper look intofats…
Healthy Fat Containing Foods
 Nuts, seeds andbutters (almond
butter, sunflower seedbutter,
peanut butter)
 Vegetable oils suchas canola oil,
vegetable oil andolive oil
 Avocados
Benefits of Fat in the Diet
 Aidin the absorptionof fat
soluble vitamins
 Provide protectionand
insulationtoorgans
 Promotes cell growth
 Good fats lower LDL
cholesterol
 Adds to taste andsatiety of
foods
Healthy Fats
 Monounsaturatedfat
 Polyunsaturatedfat (includes
Omega-3 fatty acid and
Omega-6 fatty acid)
Limit These Fats
 SaturatedFat
 Trans Fat
Foods High in SaturatedFats
 Redmeats
 Coconut oil and
Palm oil
 Butter
 Highfat dairy products
 Friedfoods