The Facts on Fats
Marnie Nitschke, from Fork That Nutrition, our resident Certified Practicing Dietitian & Ambassador, helps us decipher the current research and advice on dietary fats.
Confused about fats and what’s actually healthy these days? Over the years, the official advice on fat consumption has bounced around a lot. And if you factor in the noisy voice of wellness experts and the alternative health scene obsessed with coconut oil, you’d be excused if you felt totally bamboozled.
There’s a good reason that the advice on dietary fat has changed significantly over time – and it’s called science! Nutrition experts and health bodies are continually reviewing the evidence, which is continually changing as new data emerges. So let’s get you updated.
First, let’s take a look at the different types of fats found in food.
There are 3 main types of fats in our diet – saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated.
Saturated Fat
Saturated fat is found mostly in animal foods – for example fatty cuts of meat, processed meats, cream and butter. And surprisingly, some vegetable fats like coconut and palm oil (used extensively in processed foods) are also highly saturated. In their natural state, saturated fats are easy to recognise because they are solid, which is due to their ‘tightly packed’ chemical structure.
Expert recommendations:
Limit your intake of these fats, which are seen to increase our LDL cholesterol (the not good type), inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk.
Unsaturated Fats
Unsaturated fats are mostly found in plant foods (vegetable oils, nuts, seeds) and seafood. They can be either polyunsaturated (likes fats from fish, walnuts and flaxseeds) or monounsaturated (like fats found in olive oil, avocado and almonds). Due to their more ‘fluid’ chemical structure, poly and monounsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature – think of cooking oils as opposed to butter or lard, and the difference is quite visible.
What about trans fats?
Trans fats are another type of fat (with a similar risk profile to saturated fat) that can occur in some meats and processed foods like margarine. In Australia, we can breathe easy, as the level of trans fats in our food supply is minimal, due to regulation by food authorities and strict labelling laws.
Expert recommendations:
Consume most of your fats from mono and polyunsaturated sources, as they don’t increase LDL, can increase ‘good cholesterol’ (HDL) production, and reduce our cardiovascular risk factors. Include omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, which have additional anti-inflammatory and blood thinning effects.
For a more detailed idea of where the different fats are found, I’ve put together this table. It’s important to note, however, that most foods have a combination of different fats. For simplicity, this list refers to the predominant type of fat present in various foods. Downloadable/printable version here.
Dietary fat recommendations in 2026
According to the current official Australian Dietary Guidelines (last updated in 2013), we should be eating fats ‘in small amounts’, and choosing low fat dairy products. The guidelines recommend particularly limiting saturated fats, and choosing mono and polyunsaturated fats.
These guidelines are currently in the process of review, and the money is on a significant shift when the next update is released, some time in 2026. In essence, the advice to limit total dietary fat is now very outdated, and the new model will likely be more in line with the traditional Mediterranean diet, focusing only on types of fats, and not total fat intake.
And the update on saturated fat?
Saturated fat has long been singled out as the ‘baddie’, due to evidence that it increases our body’s production of LDL (‘bad’ cholesterol), and is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases like heart disease and stroke. More recent evidence has indicated that saturated fat found in dairy products like milk and cheese is not associated with increased heart disease risk. But essentially, large bodies of research still support limiting dietary saturated fats in favour of mono and polyunsaturated sources.
And to illustrate just that, here’s my summary of a recent study, highlighting the benefits of monounsaturated fat from olive oil!
What is the study?
Consumption of Olive Oil and Risk of Total and Cause-Specific Mortality Among U.S. Adults. Published January 2022 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2021.10.041
Why is it such big news?
Essentially, because of the fact that this is the first long-term observational study of olive oil consumption and mortality (death) in the U.S. It’s relevant because previous research on olive oil and health has mainly been in Mediterranean populations (where olive oil consumption is higher).
What did this study involve?
The researchers used dietary records and health data collected between 1990 and 2018 (the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study), looking at different dietary fats and oils used. This included over 92,000 subjects (60,582 women, 31,801 men), which is huge!
What the study found (in a nutshell):
- Consuming higher amounts of olive oil can lower your risk of premature death overall
- Compared to those who never or rarely used olive oil, people in the highest category of olive oil consumption (more than 7g/day) had nearly a 20% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, 17% less risk of dying from cancer and nearly 30% reduced risk of dying from neurodegenerative (brain and nerve) diseases
- Importantly, people who consumed olive oil instead of animal fat (eg. butter, shortening, lard) had a significantly lower risk of dying
How does this relate to Extra Virgin Olive Oil?
This large study was just looking at olive oil consumption, and didn’t distinguish between Extra Virgin Olive Oil and regular, more refined varieties. But given the huge body of scientific evidence we have now around Extra Virgin Olive Oil, one could absolutely deduce that consuming Extra Virgin Olive Oil could provide even further benefits in terms of cardiovascular risk and early death.
Final thoughts ...
Dietary fat recommendations have changed over the years, but the current evidence shows that consuming a diet rich in mono and polyunsaturated fats, and limiting intake of saturated fats is what we should be aiming for. Olive oil (especially the Extra Virgin stuff) is a healthy fat that can help you live a longer and healthier life!
