Unhealthy Fat Fixes

By Tracy Olgeaty Gensler M.S., R.D.


You probably already know that not all fats are created equal; after all, you’ve been working on including sources of healthy fats, like olive oil, avocado and nuts, into your diet for the past several months. (Check out The Facts on Fats and Get Your Fill of Healthy Fats for more details.) Now, you’re going to focus on cutting back on the unhealthy fats: Saturated fat and trans fat.

Saturated fats are found in poultry skin, whole-fat dairy and fatty cuts of meat. Trans fats are mainly found in foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, such as cookies, piecrusts, chips and other snack foods. High-fat meats and whole-fat dairy also contain small amounts of naturally occurring trans fat. Obviously, cutting back on these kinds of fat can help you lose weight because the foods that contain them tend to be higher in calories. (Both healthy and unhealthy fat contain more calories per gram than either carbs or fat—9 grams for fat versus 4 grams each for carbs and protein—but healthy fats tend to be more satiating.) Some research suggests that saturated fat intake is associated with a greater storage of body fat, particularly for sedentary people. The news is just as bad for trans fats; studies indicate that you may be more likely to gain weight if you eat these fats than if you eat healthy monounsaturated fats—even if you consume the same amount of calories from both.

Weight isn't the only issue -- these two fats are also a major health concern. Both raise LDL or bad cholesterol and are linked to heart disease, inflammation, and perhaps cancer. Of the two, trans fats are perhaps even more threatening, because they not only raise LDL, but they also lower HDL levels, the good cholesterol, which helps protect against heart attacks. And studies show that trans fats may cause body fat to be stored in the abdominal area, which also increases heart-disease risk. The bottomline is that both fats should be on your radar if you’re looking to lose weight and live a healthier life.

So how much is too much? Aim to limit your saturated fat intake to less than seven percent of total calories. If you consume 1,500 daily calories, that means capping your intake at about 10 grams. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you can get to this limit: A slice of cheese can have up to six grams and only ½ cup of ice cream can pack 10 grams. You can stay under the seven-percent limit by making some small adjustments to your diet, such as switching to fat-free or one percent milk and opting for lean protein sources.

As for trans fat, ideally, you should be at zero grams per day, but if you can’t completely eliminate it, make sure to cap your intake at one percent of your total calories. If you’re consuming 1,500 calories per day, you should aim for no more than 1.5 grams trans fat daily. Opt for trans-fat-free products whenever possible, and always check labels. Although some labels may say “0 g trans,” on the nutrition facts panel, the product may still contain a small amount of the harmful fat. That’s because the FDA allows manufacturers to claim 0 g trans fat if the product has up to 0.49 grams. The only way to tell for sure if a product is free of trans fat is to make sure there’s no “partially hydrogenated oil” in the ingredients list. And don't forget to check for saturated fat, too, because they’re often lurking where you least expect it.