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How to Read the
Nutrition Label for Fat Information

by Mary Choate, M.S., R.D.

Fats in our diet supply essential fatty acids, important in cell membrane structure and in the regulation of blood pressure, blood clotting, and immune response. Fats are needed for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and carotenoids that protect body cells from damage. As we learn more and more about the role of fat in good health it is clear that the kind of fat we eat is as important as the amount.

The following information will guide you through the Nutrition Facts label information so you will be able to make the best choices for your diet.

Total Fat
The Daily Value for Total Fat is 65 grams (based on 30% of a 2000-calorie reference diet, rounded). This is an upper limit. Your personal limit may be higher or lower, based on your calorie needs and health goals.

Saturated Fat
The Daily Value for Saturated Fat is 20 grams (based on 10% of a 2000-calorie reference diet, rounded). This is an upper limit; less is even more healthful.

Saturated fat is related to increased levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, the kind that clogs blood vessels with cholesterol deposits, leading to heart disease.

Animal fat, whole milk dairy products, and tropical oils like coconut, palm kernel, and palm are rich in this kind of fat and should be avoided.

Select a liquid or tub margarine that has water or liquid vegetable oil as the first ingredient, and that has no more than 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon.

Polyunsaturated Fat
There is no Daily Value for polyunsaturated fats, but the American Heart Association recommends that up to 10% of calories come from polyunsaturated fats. That would be a maximum of 20 grams (based on 10% of a 2000-calorie reference diet, rounded). The average American diet contains too much of this kind of fat.

Some polyunsaturated fat is necessary in our diet to supply essential fatty acids that our body requires. In excess, this kind of fat tends to lower levels of both LDL-cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol. HDL-cholesterol is the kind that removes artery-clogging cholesterol from your body.

To keep your intake in the proper balance, consume polyunsaturated fats from small servings (1/4 cup) of nuts and seeds as snacks several times per week, and select fatty fish, rich in heart-protective Omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, one to several times per week. Try switching to monounsaturated oils like canola, peanut, and olive instead of polyunsaturated vegetableoils for cooking. Choose products made with monounsaturated oils instead of polyunsaturated ones.

Monounsaturated Fat
There is no Daily Value for monounsaturated fat, but the American Heart Association recommends that up to 15 percent of total calories should come from monounsaturated fat. This would be roughly 30 grams (based on 15% of a 2000-calorie reference diet, rounded).

Monounsaturated fat lowers damaging LDL-cholesterol levels, without affecting the levels of good HDL-cholesterol.

Olive, canola, and peanut oils, olives, peanuts, and avocadoes are rich in this kind of fat.

Trans Fat
Trans fat raises undesirable LDL-cholesterol levels. It is formed when hydrogen atoms are added to vegetable oils, making them into partially hydrogenated oils which are stable and solid at room temperature. It also occurs naturally; small amounts are found in meats and in milk.

Trans fat is not listed on the Nutrition Facts label, but may be roughly estimated on labels that include the amounts of saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated fats by adding the amounts of these together and subtracting from the total fat amount. Unfortunately, each of the values may be rounded, so you will get a "guesstimate," at best.

You will find trans fat hidden in most margarine, baked goods, and deep-fried foods prepared with hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Liquid oils such as olive, canola, soybean, and corn oils are free of trans fat; and liquid or tub margarines are lower in trans fat than stick margarines. To avoid the trans fats in your spread, look for a trans fat-free margarine. This means it contains less than one-half gram of trans fat per tablespoon. (One- half gram is a negligible amount, about the size of half a raisin.) Be aware that trans fat-free does not mean free of all fat or free of saturated fat. Read labels carefully to get the whole picture.

How Do You Put It All Together?
Read labels to find products with the least amount of saturated fat, and look at ingredient lists to spot partially hydrogenated oils, which indicate the presence of trans fats.

Cook with monounsaturated fats and choose products made with them more often.

Use the Nutrition Facts label to keep your total fat intake below 65 grams and your saturated fat intake below 20 grams per day.

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