What Are the Best Fats to Consume for a Heart-Healthy Diet?

Janet O’Mahony, M.D. an internal medicine doctor and a member of Mercy Personal Physicians Downtown in Baltimore, offers insights regarding different fats and a heart-healthy diet in response to questions from VerywellHealth.com.

High fat diets are associated with blocked arteries and heart disease. But it does seem to matter what sort of fats are in the diet. The biggest scientific studies of dietary fat showed the Mediterranean diet is the most protective against heart disease and stroke. This diet contains primarily fats from fish chicken and olive oil which are both high in polyunsaturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids.  

A Mediterranean diet that was studied was high in fish, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, poultry, and dairy. They stuck to low amounts of red meat and used a lot of olive oil. Despite not being a diet that was very low in fat, it contained “heathy fats” like polyunsaturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids.  

The saturated fatty acids occur especially in red meat, fatty meats, junk foods, lard, and butter. This type of fat appears to be associated with worse cholesterol numbers and higher risk for heart disease.  

Some “influencers” advocate for the opposite type of eating—but this is not supported by the largest scientific studies on this subject.  

-- Janet O’Mahony, M.D., Mercy Personal Physicians Downtown