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What is Monounsaturated Fat? Everything You Need to Know About This Healthy Fat

Of the four types of dietary fat, monounsaturated fat is the only one that isn’t riddled with controversy. Just one search for “healthy fat” will yield thousands of articles recommending the consumption of foods that are high in monounsaturated fats.

Regardless of the diet or the person, it seems that this fatty acid is unanimously crowned as being healthy. The same cannot be said for other naturally occurring fats like saturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, which both have research backing their potential to benefit, as well as worsen, our health.

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Articles of Interest

Monounsaturated Fat vs Saturated Fat: Effects on Cardio-Metabolic Health and Obesity

For over 40 years saturated fat, the fat found primarily in animal foods, was thought to be the main culprit for increasing cholesterol levels and causing heart disease. During this same time vegetable oils were promoted as being heart healthy because they could lower cholesterol. However, recently the evidence implicating saturated fat as being harmful to heart health has been challenged and more studies are beginning to show the harms from consuming industrially produced vegetable oils. Furthermore, monounsaturated fats, found in olives, olive oil, certain nuts and avocadoes have been promoted as being part of a healthy Mediterranean diet.

Monounsaturated Fat Vs. Polyunsaturated Fat

Using the shorthand of fats, saturated and trans fats comprise “unhealthy” fats, while unsaturated fats – both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated – qualify as “healthy” choices for your diet. In clinical studies, both types of unsaturated fats show promise for controlling different risk factors for heart disease, with polyunsaturated having a slight edge overall.

Monounsaturated Fat: Is It So “Good” After All?

While many point to the monounsaturated fats like olive oil as the magical ingredient in the Mediterranean diet, most of the extra energy we’ve consumed comes from palm, soybean, and sunflower oils, which are also primarily monounsaturated fats.

Monounsaturated Fatty Acids and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: Synopsis of the Evidence Available from Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) are chemically classified as fatty acids containing a single double bond (in contrast to polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) containing two or more double bonds and saturated fatty acids (SFA) without double bonds).

Nuts and their fats

With the exception of chestnuts (which are very low in fat), nuts contain around 50-75 per cent fat. Nuts contain mainly the healthy or ‘good’ mono- and poly-unsaturated (omega-3 and omega-6) fats, with a much lower proportion of the ‘bad’ saturated fats (<15% total fat).

Plant Fats Are Healthier Than Animal Fats, Study Says

After being vilified for years, fat is having a comeback. But with so many sources and types of fat out there, it can be hard to keep track of what’s healthy and what’s not. A new study, however, offers a simple rule of thumb: Plant fat sources appear to be better for you than animal sources, at least when it comes to monounsaturated fats.

The Benefits and Truth About Monounsaturated Fat

The most common MUFA found in food is oleic acid, a fatty acid that occurs naturally in vegetable and animal oils, especially olive oil. Monounsaturated fats are found often in foods like olive oil, nuts, avocados and whole milk.

The Differences Between Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated Fats

Saturated fats can adversely affect certain aspects of your lipid profile and increase risk for cardiovascular disease, which is why unsaturated fats—which have the opposite, positive affect—are preferred. There are two types: monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat. Although they differ slightly, including both types in your diet can help improve your heart health and lipids.

What are Monounsaturated Fats?

Fats are made up of a chain of carbon atoms that are connected to hydrogen atoms. Differences in the number of carbon atoms in the chain, how they’re bonded to hydrogen, and the shape of the chain are what distinguishes one type of fatty acid from another.

Why You Should Be Eating Monounsaturated Fats

MUFAs are especially great for cooking because they’re more heat stable and don’t spoil as easily as PUFAs. In other words, MUFAs can stand up to high-temp cooking methods like sautéing and roasting without burning or breaking down, and they’ll keep for longer in your pantry without going bad.

Resources

8 Health Benefits of Monounsaturated Fats (MUFA) + Risks

Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) are “healthy fats” that can help prevent diabetes, heart disease, and inflammation. However, they can have beneficial effects only taking into account dietary sources and other nutrients.