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| fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) for the bad kindfor example, using natural vegetable oils in cooking. |
| Still, most health experts recommend limiting fat to no more than 30 percent of total daily calories. Some prefer 20 percent, with less than 10 percent of calories coming from saturated fat. |
| F.Y.I. |
| About 18 grams of saturated fat per day is a reasonable amount to strive for (that means strive for no more; less is fine!). |
| If you eat a healthy diet consisting mostly of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, along with low-fat proteins, you probably don't need to monitor your fat intake; you're doing fine. But if you eat a fair amount of packaged foods and added fat, you should figure out your daily fat intake by reading nutrition labels on the foods you use. These labels are based on a 2,000-calorie diet; so if you eat 2,000 calories a day, you'd figure: |
| calories from fat should be no more than 600 (2,000 ´.30 = 600) |
| or no more than about 67 grams fat (600 calories ÷ calories per gram of fat = 67). |
| If you're aiming for 20 percent of your calories from fat, that would come out to 400 calories, or no more than about 44 grams of fat. |
| Recommended Upper Limits of Total Fat and Saturated Fat Intake at Different Calorie Levels: |
| 1,200total fat 40 grams, saturated fat 16 grams |
| 1,600total fat 53 grams, saturated fat 18 grams |
| 2,000total fat 65 grams, saturated fat 20 grams |
| 2,500total fat 80 grams, saturated 25 grams |
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