Nutrition and the New Food Pyramid: Healthy Fats

Healthy fats include oils that are high in unsaturated fat, such as olive or canola oil. You can also find healthy fats in foods such as nuts, seeds, nut butters, avocados, and fatty fish. Healthy fats provide essential nutrients for your body, such as vitamin E and essential fatty acids, which keep cells and tissues healthy and help the body heal.

Some fats are liquid. Others are solid. Food labels tell you which fats a food contains. Some are healthier than others.

• Unsaturated fats. These are often liquid at room temperature. They are found in some oils (such as olive, peanut, and canola), avocado, nuts, seeds, and fish. These are the healthiest fats. They can be good for your heart in moderate amounts. They can even sometimes raise your HDL (good) cholesterol levels.
• Saturated fats. These are often solid at room temperature. They are found in animal foods, such as butter, lard, beef, pork, and high-fat dairy. They are also found in coconut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil. These are less healthy and should be limited. They can raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.
• Trans fats. These may be found in some fast food, such as french fries, snack foods such as chips and cookies, and some margarines and shortenings. These are the worst fats for you. Stay away from them when you can. They can raise your LDL cholesterol levels and lower your HDL cholesterol levels.

• Out with the bad. Check food labels for trans fats. And stay away from foods that have them. Look for the words "partially hydrogenated" on the ingredients list. Trans fats are mostly found in highly processed foods. So choose less-processed, whole foods more often.
• In with the good. Choose unsaturated fat over saturated when you can. Here's one idea: Use olive, avocado, or canola oil instead of lard or butter. What else could you do?

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