Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated Fat

I think you misunderstand what MFP is "recommending". MFP is likely telling you to limit that item if it has a value.

That said, the latest science shows there is nothing wrong with saturated fats either, so just eat your food and enjoy. As long as you're varying your diet enough, you don't have to micromanage your macros.

The nutritional advice that MFP is reflecting in those figures suggests limiting saturated fats and overall fats, but does not set specific amounts of unsaturated (mono- and poly-) fats within your overall fat intake. If you want to follow the nutritional advice that MFP uses in setting those figures, you can have as much mono- and poly- unsats as you want, so long as you don't go over your total fats.

Personally, I mostly just worry about keeping calories below maintenance most days, and hitting at least the minimum numbers for protein, and fiber (but more is better. I don't worry about total fat, and I just try to keep my saturated fat to no more than one-third of the total fat I have on any given day, rather than keeping it below the number set by MFP. I do try to avoid added trans fats altogether, but occasionally they sneak in when I buy something without reading the label first.

ETA: I also try to eat good sources of omega-3 fatty acids (e.g., fish, flax seeds, walnuts, canola oil).

Actually, on my chart, it recommended 0 mono and poly, and when I do eat them, it says I went over my goal by exactly the number I ate? But Saturated they have no problem with. Why?

I thought the reason poly and monounsat fats say "0" is because theres currently no recommended amount to consume. Thought i read that here somewhere. And they are considered "good" fats (even though i don think theres "bad" fats). On the advice of someone here, i use the general fat intake as a goa to hit. So I go over those all the time and have lost 36lbs in 3months, and my cholesterol level has improved.

CyberTone wrote: »

There is a reported issue on the iOS app where it incorrectly displays the poly- and monounsaturated fats goals as zero instead of N/A as on the Web version and Android version. There are no specific daily reference values (DRVs) for unsaturated fats, so there are no corresponding goals for either poly or mono.
Please see this thread for the reported issue.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/31712316#Comment_31712316

On our version of the Adnroid App, the Mono and Poly still show as 0 instead of N/A. However, we did realize that the Total Fats (as mentioned above) in my case are around 75g but the Saturated are about 1/3rd of that, eg 22g. So the assumption is the remained are for the "good fats."

Thanks for this thread it helped us also.

yocarmencruz wrote: »

I was wondering the same thing, as monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are essential for health - they include Omega-3 and we should be encouraged to include them in our diet - they include nuts/seeds etc. They are referred to as essential fatty acids. I'm studying nutrition so using MyFitnessPal to keep an eye on my mico/macro nutrients. I think this is something they need to address as there are huge benefits to eating these healthy fats as opposed to saturated fat (our body makes enough cholesterol itself so we don't need to consume any through diet)

I agree! I dont know that there can be a standard recommendation for mono/poly but it would be nice to see it get more attention.
On my journey to lower my LDL I am paying close attention to these fats and really attempting to learn more about them after years of never even caring to know they exist other than the term "good fats" exists.
I personally LOVE to see these 2 red numbers when I expand my nutrition for the day.
The past 3 weeks these numbers have been higher than my saturated fat grams most days.

ferraramurray wrote: »

OK, I'm still a little confused.

- I understand that saturated fats should be limited so MFP sets a goal in order to not exceed such limit.
- I also understand that, since unsat-fats do not have a daily recommended amount as long as the total fat limit is respected.
- What about the trans fats then? Their goal is set to zero as well, but I doubt that they follow the same logic of the unsat-fats. I think in this case, zero means actually that the goal is to assume none.

SO, the confusion is due to the fact that the number 0 is used to indicate both "don't worry about it" (i.e. poli and mono unsat fats) and "absolutely not" (i.e. trans fats)!!!

If I'm correct, I think the logic should be different to let the user know when a specific nutrient should be avoided or if it poses no threat to your health.

Because mono and poly should read N/A and not 0. This has been going on for almost three years now, if not longer (I’ve been here almost four, so I can’t remember when it began).

Another issue is that not all food labels include a breakdown of fats into mono/poly so this more difficult to track. I know in the UK, the majority of labels just have an overall number for fat and the amount of that fat which is saturated.