By Richard Harkness

Q: I’m confused about the different types of fats in foods and how they affect the risk of heart disease. Could you explain?

A: A brief primer on fats is in order.
There are bad fats and good fats (or at least better fats).

Fat present in food is primarily in the form of triglycerides, and the term “fat” generally refers to triglycerides. The body stores fats as triglycerides and uses them for energy production.

Excessive levels of triglycerides can increase the risk of heart disease. Triglycerides are composed of fatty acids. The three types of fatty acids are saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated.

• Saturated fats are present in animal fats such as beef, pork, and lamb, as well as butter, cream, cream cheese, mayonnaise, salad dressings, and coconut and palm oils.

• Polyunsaturated fats are present in most margarines, vegetable oils (corn, safflower, sunflower, soybean, sesame, and flaxseed), and seeds (flaxseed, sesame, sunflower, and pumpkin).

• Monounsaturated fats are present in olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, avocado oil and some margarines.

Saturated fat appears to be the primary fat villain in the heart disease story. Foods high in saturated fat raise cholesterol levels more than anything else you eat, including low-fat, high-cholesterol foods such as eggs.

High saturated fat intake is thought to drive up LDL cholesterol levels by impairing its removal by the liver.

One way to cut down on saturated fat in the diet is to replace red meats (beef, pork, lamb) with white meats (chicken and fish).

Another way is to use polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats in place of saturated fats.

Omega-3 fatty acids are a particular type of polyunsaturated fat present in fish oil that lowers triglycerides and provides other heart-healthy benefits.

Finally, trans fat is a “hybrid” type of fat that raises LDL cholesterol and may be even worse for you than saturated fat.

Trans fat is created when unsaturated vegetable oils are hydrogenated to make them more solid in consistency and prolong their shelf life.

Trans fat is typically found in margarines and other processed, packaged food products.

The good news is that margarines free of trans fat are available and manufacturers are now required to list trans fat content on product labels.

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