Focus on fats and heart health

What are the relationships between the fats we eat in our diet and heart health?
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Evidence strongly indicates that having high blood cholesterol can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Did you know that different types of fat can affect your levels of blood cholesterol, and that is why we have
recommendations on the type of fat we eat? This factsheet looks at saturated, unsaturated and trans fats to find
out more about this relationship.

Dietary fats that can increase your blood cholesterol

Saturated fat
Foods such as fatty meats, full fat cheeses, cream, butter, lard, palm oil, coconut oil, pastries and cakes contain
high amounts of saturated fat. Eating too much saturated fat can raise blood cholesterol and so intake of
saturated fat should be kept to within the dietary recommendations. Average UK intakes of saturated fats
currently exceed recommended levels.

Trans fat
In the past, artificial trans fats were present in foods such as margarines but the evidence for the harmful impact
of trans fatty acids on blood cholesterol and heart disease risk is now clearly recognised. Therefore, the majority
of food manufacturers have now eliminated artificial trans fatty acids (or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils)
from products. Trans fatty acids are also naturally found in the meat and milk of cows, goats and sheep at low
levels but these natural trans fats, at the amounts we consume them, have not been associated with increased
heart disease risk. Average UK intakes of all trans fats are well below the maximum recommendation.
Dietary fats that can reduce your blood cholesterol

Unsaturated fat
Foods such as avocado, oily fish, nuts, olives, seeds and oils and spreads made
from these (e.g. olive, rapeseed and sunflower oil) are good sources of unsaturated
fat. Dietary recommendations for heart health are to replace saturated fats with
unsaturated fats (polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats) e.g. swapping butter for
olive or rapeseed oil in cooking and choosing nuts or seeds rather than cake as a
snack.
Long chain omega-3 fat: a special polyunsaturated fat
Oily fish such as mackerel, sardines and salmon contain the long chain
omega-3 fatty acids known as EPA and DHA. These have been found to
reduce blood pressure and contribute to the normal functioning of the heart.
It is recommended that we eat at least 2 portions of sustainably sourced fish
per week (2 x 140 g), one of which should be oily, to provide approximately
450 mg of long chain omega-3 fatty acids per day.

Heart disease is complex

Heart disease is complex and, as well as high blood cholesterol, there are many risk factors including high blood
pressure, smoking, not exercising and consuming excess alcohol.

In addition to decreasing your saturated fat intake, eating plenty of fibre (wholegrains, fruit and vegetables, nuts,
seeds, pulses), and cutting down on salt can also reduce your risk of developing heart disease.

Don’t forget that an important risk factor for heart disease is being overweight and all fats whether saturated or
unsaturated are energy dense (provide a high number of calories per gram). So if you are managing your weight,
make sure you watch portion sizes of fat-rich foods, even the healthy ones like olive oil and nuts.

August 2018. Review date August 2021.

For sources used in this article contact:
postbox@nutrition.org.uk