Saturated fat
Most people know that reducing dietary fat intake is often an important step in losing weight, but not everyone knows that some types of fat are worse for your health than others. The main types of dietary fat include:
- saturated fat;
- polyunsaturated fat;
- monounsaturated fat; and
- trans fat.
So what is saturated fat?
Saturated fat is one of the types of fat that can be bad for your health. Saturated fat is usually solid or waxy at room temperature — think butter and fat on meat. It is most often found in foods from animal sources, such as red meat, poultry and full-fat dairy products (e.g. full-fat milk, ice cream and cheese). Certain plant oils are high in saturated fat — these include palm oil and coconut oil.
Why is saturated fat bad for me?
While too much of any type of fat can cause weight gain, saturated fat can also increase your cholesterol level and put you at increased risk of heart disease. In fact, saturated fat is the main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol.
Trans fat, which is found in fried foods, some margarines and many commercially baked goods (such as cakes, chips and crackers), causes similar health problems. Trans fat not only raises LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol, but can lower HDL (‘good’) cholesterol as well.
What about the other types of fat?
You might not think so, but it’s important to include some fat in your diet. You need fat to maintain healthy skin and hair, and to keep your body functioning properly. Fats also help in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins from your bowel and their transport around the body.
The best types of fat to include in your diet are the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. These fats are not only essential nutrients for your body, but they can also help to reduce your level of ‘bad’ cholesterol when eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat. So, by replacing saturated fat with these unsaturated fats, you can reduce your risk of heart disease.
Unsaturated fats can be found in certain oils (e.g. olive oil, canola oil), nuts, seeds, unsaturated margarine spreads and avocados. But remember, even these fats are still high in kilojoules, so don’t overdo it.
How can I avoid saturated fat?
Going easy on take-away foods and desserts is a good start, and when snacking, you should try to steer away from chocolates and chips. Avoid cream, butter and full-fat cheeses too, and try to eat low-fat or reduced-fat dairy products.
It’s a good idea to use a variety of oils in cooking and salad dressings, such as canola, sunflower and olive oils. That way you can reduce saturated fat and increase your intake of poly- and monounsaturated fats. Avoid coconut oil and palm oil as these are high in saturated fat.
When eating red meat, try to choose lean cuts that have less fat. Remember to take the skin off chicken and other poultry before cooking, unless you’re roasting it, when you can remove the skin before eating. It’s also a good idea to eat fish at least twice a week, because it contains omega-3 fatty acid, a special type of polyunsaturated fat which can help to lower your risk of heart disease.
The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council recommends that saturated fat and trans fat together form no more than 10 per cent of the daily energy intake for healthy people.
How much saturated fat is in my food?
All manufactured foods in Australia declare the amount of saturated fat on the label, so by reading the nutrition labels on foods you can monitor the amount of saturated fat that you eat. Another way to make healthier food choices is to check for the Heart Foundation ‘Tick’ on the label. Generally, foods that have a Heart Foundation Tick are lower in saturated fat than other foods in the same category.
So you don’t need to eliminate all fat from your diet to improve your health. Just try to stick to the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated types as much as possible — and only eat them in moderation.
| Foods high in saturated fat |
|---|
|
Last Reviewed: 18 April 2012
- 1. National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Nutrient reference values for Australia and New Zealand including recommended dietary intakes (2006). http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines/publications/n35-n36-n37 (accessed Apr 2012).
2. Heart Foundation. Position statement: Dietary fats and dietary sterols for cardiovascular health (November 2008). http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/Dietary-fats-position-statement-LR.pdf (accessed Apr 2012).
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Saturated fat (updated 23 February 2011). http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/fat/saturatedfat.html (accessed Apr 2012).
