Here Are the Healthy Fats You Should Be Eating Every Day

Lauren Wade

Olive Oil

If there’s one fat whose consumption you can easily increase, it’s olive oil. Greeks are said to get up to 30 percent of their diet from monounsaturated fats—mostly olive oil. The traditional diet eaten in Greece and countries such as Spain and Italy is the basis for the Mediterranean diet, after all. An olive oil–rich diet (that includes lots of vegetables, little meat, and a good bit of red wine too) has been shown to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
(Photo: nick@/Flickr; design: Lauren Wade)

Fish

Fatty fish such as salmon and tuna can readily replace some of the red meat in your life. Both are chock-full of omega-3 fatty acids—polyunsaturated fats—that benefit many body systems, including the heart, brain, and skin. The body can’t make omega-3s, so we have to rely on foods that contain them.
(Design by Lauren Wade)

Seeds

Seeds, fast becoming a food fad, are finding their way back into the American diet. Chia seeds and flax seeds are two of the most well-known varieties, offering important polyunsaturated fats to help lower heart disease risk. Try sprinkling flax on a hearty kale-avocado salad or mixing chia seeds into your next fruit smoothie. For snacking, put down the bag of chips (full of saturated fat), and grab a handful of unsalted pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead.
(Design by Lauren Wade)

Avocados

Go ahead and dive into the guacamole at the big game—it’s a great healthy fat! A well-known food containing good fat (monounsaturated) is the beloved avocado. Try sliced avocado on a sandwich instead of deli meat, or mix it into a hearty salad in place of chicken. Your heart—and your taste buds—will thank you.
(Design by Lauren Wade)

Nuts

Unsalted almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans—all containing monounsaturated fat in high concentration—are fantastic choices for snacking, topping salads and yogurt, or making your own nut butter. Adding walnuts to your diet can help get you more of those important omega-3s that can benefit the heart, brain, and skin.
(Design by Lauren Wade)
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