Dietary Recommendations for Lipids
The Food Guidelines for 2010 lumped solid fats and added sugar together. This changed as part of the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines which recommend that we obtain no more than 10% of our calories from saturated fats (solid fats). The new guidelines removed the limit on cholesterol, which used to < 300 mg a day. According to dietary eating pattern evaluations, Americans are not consuming too much cholesterol. This was definitely a controversial recommendation!
Whole food sources of cholesterol can be consumed, but limit (or eliminate) processed foods with cholesterol.
Whole food sources of cholesterol can be consumed, but limit (or eliminate) processed foods with cholesterol.
How Much Fat Do I Need to Eat?
- Keep total fat intake between 20-35% of total calories
- Saturated fat should not exceed 10% of total calories.
- The American Heart Association recommends < 7%.
- Keep trans-fat as low as possible (less than 1%)
- Essential fatty acids:
- 5-10% omega-6 FA
- 1% or more of omega-3 FA
- Cholesterol: no limit (new!)
Food Choices
Although the Dietary Guidelines promote the consumption of vegetable oils and the picture above implies that these are good choices, vegetable oils are highly refined. Many are not heat stable and should not be used for cooking at high temperature. When using an oil, choose olive oil. Consider pasture butter and coconut oil for cooking because they are more heat stable. Limit consumption of fat on meat that has been exposed to oxygen (visible fat). Avoid artificial trans fats. Increase intake of omega-3 fatty acids from chia seed, flaxseed meal (kept refrigerated) and wild caught fatty fish.
References
- Dietary Guidelines. Appendix 7. Nutritional Goals for Age-Sex Groups Based on Dietary Reference Intakes and Dietary Guidelines Recommendations. http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/appendix-7/
- Oil image by Lynn Hayes on FlickrCC, CC BY 2.0.
Last updated April 2, 2016