Fats

Having some fat in our diet helps the body absorb some vitamins. Fat is a good source of energy and it provides essential fatty acids that the body can't make itself.
But eating lots of fat can make you more likely to put on weight because foods that are high in fat are also high in energy (calories). And eating a diet that is high in saturated fat can raise the level of cholesterol in your blood, over time, which increases your chance of developing heart disease.

So it’s important to try to eat less fat and go for foods that are rich in unsaturated fats instead of saturated. You can find out more about the different types of fat in this section.

Saturated fat

There are two main types of fat found in food – saturated and unsaturated. Eating a diet that is high in saturated fat can raise the level of cholesterol in your blood, over time.

This increases your chance of developing heart disease. So it’s a good idea to reduce your intake of saturated fat. You can do this by:

• eating less of foods that are high in saturated fat
   
• choosing options that are lower in saturated fat
   
• going for unsaturated fats instead of saturated

 

Foods that are high in saturated fat

Foods that are high in saturated fat include:

• fatty cuts of meat and meat products such as sausages and pies
• butter, ghee and lard
• cream, soured cream, crème fraîche and ice cream
• cheese, particularly hard cheese
• pastries
• cakes and biscuits
• some savoury snacks
• some sweet snacks and chocolate
• coconut oil, coconut cream and palm oil

 

How much is too much saturated fat?

Most people in the UK eat too much saturated fat – about 20% more than the recommended maximum amount.

• The average man should have no more than 30g saturated fat a day.
• The average woman should have no more than 20g saturated fat a day.

Children should have less saturated fat than adults. But remember that a low-fat diet isn’t suitable for children under five.

Of course most people don’t have time to tot up the amount of saturated fat they are eating every day. But it’s a good idea to take a look at how much saturated fat is in different foods. Then you’ll see that eating certain foods, especially in large quantities, can make it easy to eat more than the recommended maximum amount of saturated fat.

If you know which foods are high in saturated fat – and which are lower – then you can make choices each day to help reduce your intake of saturated fat.

 

Check the label for saturated fat

Look out for the figure for ‘saturates’ or ‘sat fat’ on the label because this tells you how much saturated fat is in the food.

High is more than 5g sat fat per 100g
Low is 1.5g sat fat per 100g

If the amount of sat fat per 100g is in between these figures, then that is a medium level.

Some foods have ‘traffic light’ labels on the front of the pack. These show you if a food is high, medium or low in fat, sat fat, sugars and salt.

Red = High
Amber = Medium
Green = Low

Try to choose foods that are low in sat fat as often as you can, or go for medium. If foods are high in sat fat, try not to have them too often, or eat them in smaller amounts.

When you’re shopping, compare similar foods – there can be a big difference in how much sat fat they contain. And choose the option that is lower in sat fat.

Ten tips to help reduce your saturated fat intake

 

Unsaturated fat

There are two main types of fat found in food – saturated and unsaturated. Unsaturated fats can help reduce blood cholesterol levels and provide us with the essential fatty acids that the body needs.

Omega 3 fatty acids, which are a type of unsaturated fat found in oily fish, help to prevent heart disease. So it’s a good idea to eat some foods that are rich in unsaturated fat, as part of a healthy diet.

Foods that are rich in unsaturated fat

These foods are all rich in unsaturated fat:

 

• oily fish
• avocados
• nuts and seeds
• sunflower, rapeseed, olive and vegetable oils, and spreads made from these

If you want to eat healthily, try to eat unsaturated fat rather than saturated fat. So that means cutting down on foods that are high in saturated fat and choosing to eat more of foods that are rich in unsaturated fat.

 

Ways to eat more unsaturated fats

Here are some ways to eat more unsaturated fats, rather than saturated:

 

• Try having oily fish, such as mackerel, salmon or trout, for your evening meal, instead of red meat.
• Choose a spread made from vegetable oil, instead of butter.
• Eat sardines on toast as a snack or light lunch, instead of a sausage roll or meat pie.
• When you’re cooking, use unsaturated oils such as olive, sunflower or rapeseed, instead of butter, lard or ghee.
• Snack on a few unsalted nuts, instead of other nibbles that can be high in saturated fat. But remember that nuts are high in fat.
• Make cakes with vegetable oil, instead of butter.

Omega 3 fatty acids

Oily fish is the best source of omega 3 fatty acids. These fatty acids have been shown to help protect against coronary heart disease.

There has been some research suggesting that omega 3 fatty acids have other benefits, such as helping children’s learning. The Agency carried out a review of the available research on nutrition and the behaviour of schoolchildren in 2006. The review concluded that there isn't enough evidence to show that omega 3 affects children’s learning in general. However, there is some evidence that there may be benefits for some children with learning difficulties.

Some omega 3 fatty acids are found in certain vegetable oils, such as linseed, flaxseed, walnut and rapeseed, but these aren't the same type of fatty acids as those found in fish.

Recent evidence suggests that the type of fatty acids found in vegetable sources may not have the same benefits as those in fish.

Trans fats

Most people in the UK don't eat large amounts of trans fats. On average, we have about half the recommended maximum. Many food manufacturers in the UK no longer use hydrogenated vegetable oils, which means that trans fat levels have been reduced in many foods.

 We eat a lot more saturated fats than trans fats. So we should try to focus on cutting down on saturated fat. See the Saturated fat page for tips on how to cut down.
If a food contains hydrogenated vegetable oil, this must be included in the ingredients list on the label. Foods containing hydrogenated vegetable oil might also contain trans fats. But trans fats don't need to be labelled separately under European law.

Very low levels of trans fats are also found naturally in foods such as dairy products, beef and lamb.