The amount of fat you should eat each day depends on factors like your overall calorie needs, health goals, activity level, and dietary preferences. However, general recommendations can provide a good starting point. According to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, fat should make up 20-35% of your total daily calories.
Types of fat:
Saturated fat should be limited to less than 10% of total daily calories. While saturated fat isn’t as terrible as it was once thought, it still isn’t great to incorporate as the main fat source in your diet. In fact, there are even some studies that suggest switching out polyunsaturated fats for saturated fat have favorable effects on heart health indicators.
Trans fats should be minimized as much as possible, ideally kept to zero, as this has been linked to increasing LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol) and can increase the risk for heart disease.
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (found in foods like olive oil, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish) should make up the majority of your fat intake for heart health and overall well-being.