The word “fats” is largely misunderstood, even if people have evolved to use healthy fats or other adjectives. These are nutrients and they do give energy to the body, but there’s more to it than that.

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Firstly, our body needs fats to absorb fat-soluble compounds, which are vitamins of various types (A, D, E…). Secondly, most if not all foods we eat have more than one type of fat, often both saturated and unsaturated, which is why it is important to know a bit about the difference, so here goes…

Unsaturated fat

At room temperature, these fats are in liquid form and these largely plant oils. They are also some of the healthiest types of fat as consuming them will decrease levels of cholesterol in the body. However, another subdivision is important here:

• Monounsaturated
• Polyunsaturated

Monounsaturated fats are in vegetable oils, like peanut, olive, and canola oil, but also in avocado and nuts. Giving them a priority in your diet will decrease LDL or “bad” cholesterol in your body, but also increase HDL or “good” cholesterol.

Polyunsaturated fats achieved worldwide fame when omega-3 fatty acid products became a hit, which is found in seafood, soybean, canola, walnuts, flaxseed, fish, shellfish, and other similar sources. However, there are also omega-6 fatty acids, found in safflower, corn, and soybean oil.

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Saturated fat

This type of fat is commonly known as the “bad” type of fat, and rightly so. It is solid at room temperature and it comes mostly from animal products, like meat and milk-related foods. Red meat is the highest source of saturated fats, although fish and poultry also have it in lower quantities.

Saturated fat increases the body’s “bad” cholesterol levels, which is why you should pay special attention to products that contain tropical oils, butter and margarine, and other similar things.

Trans fat

This type of fats can occur naturally, although they are mostly made by hydrogenation of fats, to increase the shelf life of a certain product that contains them. This makes the structure of these fats harder at room temperature and they increase our cholesterol levels for sure. Canada has completely banned the use of trans fats in food production.