Healing Foods Pyramid
This Facts About reviews healthy fats and gives examples of foods to choose from as well as foods to avoid. We provide a guide for selecting an appropriate portion size, and recommendations for incorporating healthy changes into your diet.
What are the recommended servings per day?
- 3-9 servings per day (see serving sizes below)
What are the different types of healthy fats and oils?
- Fats and oils are made up of basic units called fatty acids. Each type of fat or oil is a mixture of different fatty acids.
- Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA) are found mainly in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds and some plant foods. They are liquid at room temperature.
- Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) are found mainly in vegetable oils, fish and seafood. They are liquid or soft at room temperature. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are types of PUFA and are considered essential fatty acids because our bodies cannot make them, thus they must be obtained through the diet.
- Saturated Fatty Acids are usually solid at room temperature and are found mainly in foods from animal sources like meat, dairy products and butter. Some vegetable oils such as coconut, palm kernel and palm oil are saturated.
- Trans Fatty Acids are liquid vegetable oils that have been chemically processed to become solid at room temperature through the addition of hydrogen atoms. These hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils are used in some margarines and fried foods as well as to improve the flavor, texture and shelf-life of processed snack foods like cookies and crackers.
Which fats are recommended?
- Emphasize consumption of monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids
- Limit consumption of saturated and trans fats (listed as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils on labels)
- All foods containing fat have a mixture of polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and saturated fatty acids. It is not feasible or desirable to completely eliminate one type of fatty acid from your diet.
Why choose healthy fats like MUFA and omega-3s?
- They provide antioxidants such as vitamin E and selenium
- Small amounts of healthy fats help the body absorb the vital nutrients from fruits and vegetables
- Including healthy fatty acids in the diet in appropriate quantities can help prevent and treat: diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity, musculo-skeletal pain, inflammatory conditions
- Some research suggests that diets including MUFA can have a positive effect on cholesterol, blood pressure, blood clotting and inflammation.
- Omega-3 fatty acids are necessary for proper brain growth and development. They are anti-inflammatory and may be helpful in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, high blood pressure, inflammation, mental health disorders, diabetes, digestive disorders, autoimmune disease and cancer.
Why should I avoid saturated and trans fatty acids?
- Saturated fat eaten in excessive amounts is the main culprit in raising total and LDL “bad” cholesterol, which can increase risk of heart disease.
- Trans fatty acids may act like saturated fats in the body and raise LDL cholesterol levels. They may also lower HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
- A food item may contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving but still reflect “0” grams of trans fat on its food label. To ensure that the foods you eat are actually free of trans fat, check that hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are not listed as ingredients.
Selected food sources of MUFA with serving sizes (listed highest to lowest MUFA content)
Oils |
Nuts (serving size) |
Seeds (serving size) |
Butters (serving size) |
Other (serving size) |
Olive oil Canola oil Peanut oil Sesame oil Walnut oil Soybean oil Flaxseed oil (should be consumed raw and not used in cooking) Grape seed oil |
Macadamias (2-3) Hazelnuts (5) Pecans (5 halves) Almonds (7) Cashews (6) Pistachios (17) Brazil nuts (2) Peanuts (9) Pine nuts (50) Walnuts (4 halves) |
Sesame seeds Pumpkin seeds Ground flaxseed Sunflower seeds |
Almond butter Cashew butter Peanut butter (½ Tbsp) Tahini/sesame paste (2 tsp) Sunflower seed butter (2 tsp) |
Avocado Black olives(8) Green olives (10) |
Selected Plant Sources of Omega-3 Fatty Acids (listed highest to lowest omega-3 content)
Please visit the Fish & Seafoodsections for more information about animal sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
Oils |
Nuts and seeds (serving size) |
Flaxseed oil* |
Flaxseeds (1 Tbsp) |
Walnut oil |
Walnuts (4 halves) |
Canola oil |
Pecans (5 halves) |
Soybean oil |
Pine nuts (50) |
*Should be consumed raw and not used in cooking. |
|
Specific Considerations
Calorie-controlled high-MUFA diets:
- Do not promote weight gain
- Are more suitable than low-fat diets for weight loss in obese people
- Are a substitute for low-fat diets for medical nutrition therapy in diabetes
Flaxseed Facts
Flaxseeds are an oilseed just like canola and sunflower are oilseeds. The seeds that come from flax provide excellent health benefits:
- Rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are similar to the healthy fats found in fatty fish such as salmon
- Good source of fiber
- Contain other beneficial plant nutrients called lignans; research shows that a diet that contains lignans may reduce the risk of several types of cancer as well as heart disease and osteoporosis
- Using ground flax meal or grinding flaxseeds in a coffee grinder is necessary to make MUFA available to our bodies.
What is the daily recommended intake of omega-3 fatty acids?
There are currently no established guidelines regarding optimal omega-3 intake. According to the Institute of Medicine, the Adequate Intake (AI) is 1.1g daily for women and 1.6 g daily for men. However, some experts believe that these recommendations might be too low to obtain the health benefits associated with omega-3s. Research shows benefits associated with higher intake of 2-3 g per day.
Why is the fat ratio important?
Two types of fatty acids that are essential for human health are omega-3 and omega-6. Studies suggest that decreasing the ratio of omega-6 (in vegetable oils) to omega-3 fatty acids (in fatty fish and some vegetable oils) is important to reduce risk of cancer and heart disease, inflammatory conditions, and depression.
Most people consume too many omega-6 fatty acids and consume too little omega-3 fatty acids. To reduce your risk of chronic disease, reduce your intake of omega-6 fatty acids and increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids.
- Avoid vegetable oils such as corn or safflower oil.
- Eliminate highly processed foods.
- Eat high omega-3 fish at least twice per week.
Know Your Limits for Fat
- On a 2,000 calorie diet, about 30% or 600 calories (67g) should come from total fat per day
- A ratio of 1:2:1 of saturated to monounsaturated to polyunsaturated (such as omega-3s) fat is recommended
- 1:2:1 in calories equals 150:300:150; no more than 150 calories or 7.5% (17g) of total calories from saturated fat
- Most people consume too much saturated fat and not enough monounsaturated or omega-3 fatty acids.
Ideas to balance your fat consumption
- Choose salad dressings that use olive, canola, or flaxseed oils as its base.
- Add avocados, nuts, or olives to salads instead of high saturated fat animal foods like cheese, butter and meat.
- For a snack, opt for a small handful of nuts/seeds each day in place of highly processed and high fat choices including chips, pastries, and cookies.
- Use olive and canola oils for most cooking.
- To increase plant sources of omega-3s, choose walnuts, ground flaxseed and uncooked flaxseed oil.
- Never use oils, seeds or nuts after they begin to smell or taste rank or bitter. This is a sign that the oil has begun to turn rancid through a harmful oxidation process.
- For high temperature sautéing or frying, use oils with a high smoke point, like canola or grape seed oils.
- Limit/avoid consuming:
- Polyunsaturated vegetable oils like safflower, sunflower and corn oil
- Margarine, vegetable shortening, and all products made with partially hydrogenated oils
- Saturated vegetable oils such as coconut, palm kernel and palm oil
- Use high-quality cold-pressed olive oil, flaxseed oil or sesame oil as an addition to cooked foods or salads before eating.
- Add a tablespoon or two of ground flax seeds or flax meal to smoothies, muffins, bread or any other home-made baked item.
- Choose white meat; in general, red meat (fatty beef, lamb, pork, ham, duck, and goose) has more saturated fat than white meat (turkey or chicken without skin) or fish
- Be aware of any foods deep fried in restaurants. Deep fried foods may say “fried in vegetable oil”, but it is often hydrogenated vegetable oil.
This Facts About document is published by Monica Myklebust, MD, and Jenna Wunder, MPH, RD, at University of Michigan Integrative Medicine Clinical Services. Our mission is to care for people using an Integrative Medicine model that reaffirms the importance of relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches to achieve optimal health and healing.
Resources
Face the Fats
Nutrition Action Healthletter, July/August 2002
www.cspinet.org/nah/07_02/fats.pdf [PDF]
Accessed May 8, 2006
Fast Flax Facts
Dixon, Suzanne
Cancer Nutrition Info, LLC
www.cancernutritioninfo.com
Accessed May 8, 2006
Nutrition in 1 Ounce of Tree Nuts and Peanuts
International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation
www.nuthealth.org
Accessed May 8, 2006
Omega-3 Fats for Health and Well-Being
Karst, Karlene
Nutrition in Complementary Care: a Dietetic Practice Group of the American Dietetic Assn.
www.complementarynutrition.org
Accessed May 8, 2006
A Primer on Fats and Oils
American Dietetic Association
www.eatright.org
Accessed May 8, 2006
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