What Are the Advantages & Disadvantages of Eating Fats?

Fat often gets a bad rap as an unwanted food ingredient or as something many try to reduce from their hips, thighs and stomach. Being careful about eating too much fat is important, but even more important is making sure to get the right kinds of fats. A healthy balance between the different types of fats can make a big difference in health and disease prevention.

Fat Facts

• An imbalance of healthy and unhealthy fats can lead to heart disease, diabetes and even depression.

  Fat is an essential nutrient, meaning that it's absolutely required for good health. Body fat helps keep body temperatures constant, cushions internal organs, provides concentrated energy and is necessary for hormone production. Dietary fat, on the other hand, comes from food and there are important differences. Too much of the wrong kind of fat and too little of the right kind can lead to heart disease, diabetes and even depression.

The Good Fats

• Healthy, unsaturated fats like those in avocados help lower the risk of disease.

  Fats (including oils) come in different forms such as unsaturated and saturated. The good, healthy fats are unsaturated and encouraged because they can help lower the risk of diseases like heart disease and stroke. Unsaturated fats also include omega-3 fats, which may help control arthritis and even protect against cancer. Diets rich in healthy fats have been shown to help prevent disease as well as some signs of aging by keeping skin healthy.

The Bad and the Ugly

• Saturated and trans fats increase the risk of disease and should be limited.

  By contrast, saturated fats should be limited because of their unhealthy consequences. Saturated fats raise blood cholesterol and promote blood vessel inflammation, therefore increasing the risk of heart disease. Just as dangerous are trans fats, behaving just like saturated fat in the body. They may start out as healthy oils, but modification during food processing makes them an ingredient to be avoided. Read food labels and limit unhealthy saturated fats while boycotting trans fats altogether.

Choose Wisely

• Plants, plant oils and fish contain healthy fats necessary for good health.

  To make sure you’re getting the right kinds of fat, look for the healthy, unsaturated kind found in fish and plant foods, such as salmon, tuna, olives and olive oil, nuts, seeds and avocados. Avoid saturated fats found in meats and dairy products like beef, butter and ice cream. The key to a good diet is to choose whole, unprocessed foods that contain more healthy fats, fewer unhealthy fats and no trans fat.