Please help on identifying good and bad fats

185james

Hi,
I'm new to this sight and am still learning basics of healthy nutrition. I noticed that on my App's nutrition details screen, the "Goals" for polyunsaturated fats was 0 (g). Meanwhile, for saturated fats, the goal was 26 (g). Looking up what these different fats were on the American Heart Association website, I found that polyunsaturated fats were generally good while saturated fats were generally bad. It seems that my FitnessPal "Goal" numbers are backwards. Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance,
James

WalkingAlong

I don't even see any fats goals or types of fats listed on mine, though I don't use a mobile app. I see where I can set it to show different categories of fats, though, in settings. Maybe you set yours up that way and just need to manually change it? I agree, saturated fats are usually considered the baddies.

bcattoes

There are no goals for mono- and polyunsaturated fats because there are none set by medical guidelines. If you want to learn about fats, here is a good article from Harvard School of Public Health.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-and-cholesterol/

cmriverside

Unless you have been advised by your doctor to limit sat fats, there is no reason to do so.

Animal fat and some vegetable fats are saturated. You can Google for lists.

Just eat the food you like, nothing is off limits...the "bad fat" would be Trans Fats...usually used in commercial baking.

MissBee0507

I think the American Heart Association is great place to find reliable information. I am sure the Harvard School of Public Healthy is also a good resource.

Basically, from what I have read...monounsaturated and polyunsaturated are the 'good fats' meaning they have positive effects on our health....they raise good cholesterol (HDL). Olive oil, walnut oil, avocados, nuts

'Bad fats' are typically saturated fats, they raise bad cholesterol (LDL) and most of this comes from animal based sources (high fat meats, high fat dairy, butter, lard, grease, etc.) and processed fats (crisco and such).

Coconut oil is actually a saturated fat as well however because it is a plant based saturated fat it is thought to process differently in the body and not be as harmful as animal based saturated fats- research is limited.

As far as goals...I would say incorporate whole natural good fats whenever you can...nuts, avocados, etc. Use olive oils for cooking or salad dressings. Throw in some coconut oil too if you like....it is great for popping popcorn or asian type recipes. Avoid the bad fats- which are mostly in processed foods, fast foods, bakery.