Fats
Many of us have been led to believe that fats are bad for you, full-stop, but fats are actually an important part of a healthy diet. We just need to be choosy about which fats we eat and not eat them in excess. Fat contains 9 calories per gram and is another energy source for your body. People sometimes make the mistake of thinking that it is eating fat that makes you fat, but it is eating too many calories of any kind of food that puts on the pounds, even if you are on a low-fat diet. This is why foods that are labelled as 'low-fat' but contain lots of sugar are unhealthy and unhelpful. Fat should not be eaten in excess, though, as fat is a very concentrated form of energy with over twice the calories per gram as carbohydrate or protein. It is very easy to eat too many calories by eating fatty foods.
There are different types of fat. Good fats that are healthy and bad fats that are unhealthy. The bad fats are Saturated fats and Trans fats (or hydrogenated fats), and the good fats are Monounsaturated fats, Polyunsaturated fats and Omega 3 fatty acids. Saturated fats are found in cream, full-fat milk, cheese, butter and other full-fat dairy products, lard, dripping, visible fat on beef, mutton, lamb, pork or poultry and mostly any fatty animal products, but also in palm oil and coconut. Saturated fats clog arteries and directly raise levels of bad cholesterol. Trans fats are processed artificial fats that are usually found in foods like shop-bought biscuits, cakes and pastries. Trans fats also raise your cholesterol levels but also lower the levels of a healthy type of cholesterol. They are definitely something to avoid.
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can actually help reduce your levels of bad cholesterol. Omega 3 fatty acids are critical for your health and can reduce your risk of coronary heart disease and boost your immune system. Good fats are also important to enable you to be able to absorb certain vitamins, keep your hair, skin and brain healthy, stabilise your appetite and help your body heal. Some of the food where these good fats are found are shown below along with type of good fats they mainly supply. Include a small amount of good fats in your diet every day.
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| Avocado (mono) | Extra-virgin olive oil (mono) |
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| Nuts and nut butters (mono & poly) | Seeds like sesame or pumpkin (poly) |
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| Sunflower Oil (poly) | Linseed/flaxseed (poly & omega 3) |
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| Salmon (poly & omega 3) | Mackerel (poly & omega 3) |
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| Sardines (poly & omega 3) | Whole grains (oats, wheat) |
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