Fat
in Your diet
Dietary fat plays
an important role
in your health
and not necessarily
a good one. While
we all need some
fat in our diets,
too much saturated
fat and cholesterol
may increase your
blood cholesterol,
as well as your
risk for heart disease
and certain types
of cancer. Fat has
also been linked
to weight gain and
obesity. That's
why experts recommend
a diet low in fat,
saturated fat and
cholesterol.
The average American
consumes too much
fat. It's easy to
see why. Fat makes
food taste good
and is found in
many meats and processed
foods. But fat contains
9 calories per gram
as compared to proteins
or carbohydrates,
which contain only
4 calories per gram.
So how much fat
should you eat each
day? The American
Heart Association
recommends that
you get less than
30% of your total
calories from fat.
Unfortunately, most
of us consume closer
to 34% of our daily
calories from fat.
Because everyone's
daily caloric needs
differ, the recommended
amount of dietary
fat varies from
person to person.
Simply put, the
more calories you
need to maintain
your weight, the
more fat permitted
in your diet. For
example, if you
require 2000 calories
each day, you're
allowed 65 grams
of fat each day.
It's easy to keep
track of your fat
intake by reading
food labels and
adding up the grams
of fat.
Try
this handy table to get an
idea of how much
fat you should include
in your diet each
day, based on a
light to moderate
activity level.
When you're figuring
out how much fat
you need, you should
also remember that
not all dietary
fats are the same.
Fats are divided
into three groups:
- saturated
- polyunsaturated
- monounsaturated
Saturated fat is
associated with
increased blood
cholesterol, while
the other two have
been found to lower
blood cholesterol.
To maintain a healthy
balance, you should
be getting:
- less than 10%
of your daily
calories from
saturated fat
- no more than
10% of your daily
calories from
polyunsaturated
fat
- 10 to 15% of
your daily calories
from monounsaturated
fat
In other words,
your total fat intake
should be divided
in thirds among
three types of fat.
If your total fat
allowance for the
day is 65 grams,
then your saturated
fat intake should
be less than 22
grams, your polyunsaturated
fat intake less
than 22 grams, and
your monosaturated
fat intake between
25 and 33 grams.
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