What do monounsaturated fats do

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AHA Recommendation For good health, the majority of the fats that you eat should be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. What are monounsaturated fats? How do monounsaturated fats affect my health? Are monounsaturated fats better for me than saturated fats or trans fats?

Which foods contain monounsaturated fats? Most foods contain a combination of different fats. Examples of foods high in monounsaturated fats include plant-based liquid oils such as: olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, safflower oil and sesame oil. Other sources include avocados, peanut butter, and many nuts and seeds.

To get the health benefits, you need to replace unhealthy fats with healthy fats. Here are some ideas:. Monounsaturated fatty acid; MUFA; Oleic acid; Cholesterol - monounsaturated fat; Atherosclerosis - monounsaturated fat; Hardening of the arteries - monounsaturated fat; Hyperlipidemia - monounsaturated fat; Hypercholesterolemia - monounsaturated fat; Coronary artery disease - monounsaturated fat; Heart disease - monounsaturated fat; Peripheral artery disease - monounsaturated fat; PAD - monounsaturated fat; Stroke - monounsaturated fat; CAD - monounsaturated fat; Heart healthy diet - monounsaturated fat.

J Am Coll Cardiol. PMID: pubmed. Nutrition's interface with health and disease. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; chap Mozaffarian D. Nutrition and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Updated December Accessed July 2, Editorial team. Facts about monounsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats are good for your health in several ways: They can help lower your LDL bad cholesterol level.

This article will discuss monounsaturated fats and the scientific evidence behind their advantages. There are a number of different types of fat in your diet, which vary in their chemical structure. Monounsaturated fatty acids, or MUFAs, are a type of unsaturated fat. There are many different types of MUFAs.

Many foods are high in MUFAs, but most consist of a combination of different fats. There are very few foods that contain only one type of fat. Foods that are high in unsaturated fats, such as olive oil, are usually liquid at room temperature, whereas foods that are high in saturated fats, such as butter and coconut oil, are usually solid at room temperature.

These different fats affect health and disease differently. Monounsaturated fats, in particular, have been shown to have a number of health benefits 2. All fats provide the same amount of energy — 9 calories per gram — while carbs and protein provide 4 calories per gram.

Therefore, reducing the amount of fat in your diet can be an effective way to reduce your calorie intake and lose weight. A couple of studies have shown that when calorie intake remained the same, diets high in MUFAs led to weight loss similar to that of low-fat diets 4 , 5.

A larger study that combined the results of 24 other studies showed that high-MUFA diets are slightly more effective than high-carb diets for weight loss 7. Therefore, high-MUFA diets can be an effective way to lose weight when replacing other calories, rather than adding extra calories to the diet.

There is a big debate in nutrition about whether excessive saturated fats increase the risk of heart disease. Too much cholesterol in the blood is a risk factor for heart disease, as it can clog arteries and lead to heart attacks or stroke.

Various studies have shown that a high intake of monounsaturated fats can reduce blood cholesterol and triglycerides 8 , 9 , For example, one study of healthy people compared three months of a high-MUFA diet with a high-saturated fat diet to see the effects on blood cholesterol. High-MUFA diets can help lower blood pressure, too. A large study of people with high blood pressure found that a high-MUFA diet lowered blood pressure and the risk of heart disease, compared to a high-carb diet Similar beneficial results in blood pressure have also been found in people with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome 16 , However, it is important to note that the beneficial effects of high-MUFA diets are only seen when they replace saturated fat or carbs in the diet.