Smart guide to heart healthy fats and oils

The right amount of heart-healthy fats and oils can actually improve your overall health and reduce the chance of heart disease. By consuming the right fats, you'll be able to absorb important fat-soluble nutrients, such as vitamins A, D, E and K. Eating good fats can also boost your HDL cholesterol (the good kind) and lower LDL cholesterol levels (the bad kind), which also decreases the risk of strokes and heart attacks.

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, adults should allot approximately 20 to 35 per cent of their total daily caloric intake to fats. Therefore, an average woman should consume approximately 45 to 75 grams of fat, while an average man should consume about 60 to 105 grams.

Keep in mind that this fat allowance should include every source of fat in your diet. The fat found in some vegetables, fruits, nuts and meats should also be included in your daily allotment. When consuming oils, remember that five millilitres of an oil is approximately 4.6 grams of fat.

If you have a history of poor cholesterol levels, eating more monounsaturated fats can help. EatRight Ontario notes that monounsaturated fats are commonly occurring fats found in foods such as nuts, avocados and olive oil.

Polyunsaturated fats can lower high levels of LDL, but high levels of consumption of certain types of polyunsaturated fats can also lower the desirable HDL cholesterol. For this reason, you should limit your consumption of nuts, corn oils, sunflower oils and other foods that contain high levels of omega-6 fats.

Another type of polyunsaturated fat called omega-3  lowers triglycerides in the blood. Triglycerides are a type of lipid or fat found in the blood but are completely different from cholesterol. High triglycerides can lead to thickening of the arteries, which is linked to heart disease. Fatty fish, flax seed oil and walnuts are all great sources of omega-3 fats.

Due to the potentially high levels of contaminants in farm-raised fish, it's been suggested that adults should limit their consumption of these types to only seven ounces per week. However, adults can choose to supplement their omega-3 consumption with one gram per day of fish oil.

To fit the right fats into your diet and protect your heart health, you should try to limit your consumption of saturated fats as much as possible. Saturated fats, which are found in dairy and meat, can raise HDL levels.

Also, consider completely eliminating trans fats in your diet. Trans fats, which are found in most fried foods and packaged cookies, not only raise LDL levels, but lower HDL levels. EatRight Ontario states that the type of trans fat that naturally occurs in meat and other animal products does not contribute to heart disease.

To protect your heart, don't eliminate all the fats in your diet. Instead, choose heart healthy fats and oils that are bursting with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats and track your daily consumption to avoid overeating.