• Home
  • Nutrition advice
  • Fitness advice
  • Beauty advice
  • Recipes
  • About the Experts
English | Español

Discover Good
  • Nutrition
  • Fitness
  • Beauty

Sorting Out the Good Fats and Bad Fats


 Posted by Susan Bowerman, M.S., RD, CSSD, CSOWM, FAND – Senior Director, Worldwide Nutrition Education and Training  0 Comment

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars
Loading ... Loading ...

Find the right balance of fats in your diet.

Sorting out the fats. Good fats, bad fats – the proper balance is key.

The nutrition story around fats used to be pretty simple: saturated fats were the bad fats, and polyunsaturated fats were the good fats. But the story is a bit more complicated. Now we’re talking about getting the right balance of fats. Two kinds of polyunsaturated fats in particular: omega-3 and omega-6.

First, a little terminology. The terms omega-3 and omega-6 refer to the chemical structure of the fatty acid, and there are several omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that we eat, not just one. It’s not that either of these groups of fats is bad. In fact, within each group there are ‘essential’ fatty acids—ones we need to eat, because our bodies can’t make them. In small amounts and in the right balance, essential fatty acids serve to support growth, vision and brain function.

The problem is that the balance in our diet is way off. Our food supply is overloaded with the omega-6 fats, and we don’t get enough omega-3. And when the balance is off, our health may suffer.

It wasn’t always this way. The diet our ancient ancestors ate had just the right balance of fatty acids from all the plant foods they ate, like vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. While they don’t seem> fatty, all plant foods contain traces of both essential fatty acids. And it’s been estimated that this hunter-gatherer diet contained roughly the same amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids—or a balance of about one-to-one.

Sorting out the fats. Good fats, bad fats – the proper balance is key.

In the last 150 years or so, our food supply has changed so much that we now eat about 15 times more omega-6 fats than omega-3s, which throws the ideal balance way off. One of the biggest contributors to this imbalance is the huge amount of grain-based oils we eat—particularly corn oil, which is one of the richest sources of omega-6 fats. We’re overloaded with omega-6, which is in everything from fried foods, baked goods, chips, salad dressings and sweets. At the same time, we’re not eating nearly enough omega-3s—particularly from fish—but also from foods like vegetables and nuts, too.

Simply reducing the total amount of fat you eat will help to shift the balance, since most of the fatty foods we eat are the primary sources of omega-6 in the diet. Then to be sure you get the good fats, try to eat more fish if you can. If you don’t cook it often, start with canned tuna or salmon, which can be used in a lot of dishes in place of poultry, like casseroles and pasta. If you can’t get fish on the menu a few times a week, you might want to consider a fish oil supplement.

Veggies and fruits naturally have the right balance of fatty acids, so do your best to include some at every meal. Fruits have fat mostly in their seeds, so those with edible seeds—like berries and kiwi—are great sources of these healthy fats. Think about nuts and seeds for snacks, too. They’re a great substitute for chips and crackers that can be full of the less healthy omega-6.

« Small Changes Can Add Up to Big Losses
What Motivation Do You Need to Get Healthier? »

    Share This


Susan Bowerman, M.S., RD, CSSD, CSOWM, FAND – Senior Director, Worldwide Nutrition Education and Training
Susan is the Senior Director of Worldwide Nutrition Education and Training at Herbalife, where she is responsible for the development of nutrition education and training materials, and is one of the primary authors of the Herbalife-sponsored blog, www.discovergoodnutrition.com. She is a Registered Dietitian and holds two Board Certifications from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as a Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, and a Certified Specialist in Obesity and Weight Management. Susan is also a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Susan graduated with distinction in biology from the University of Colorado, and received her master’s degree in Food Science and Nutrition from Colorado State University. She then completed her dietetic internship at the University of Kansas. Susan has taught extensively and developed educational programs targeted to individuals, groups and industry in her areas of expertise, including health promotion, weight management and sports nutrition. Prior to her role at Herbalife, she was the assistant director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, and has held appointments as adjunct professor in nutrition at Pepperdine University and as lecturer in nutrition in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Susan was a consultant to the (then) Los Angeles Raiders for six seasons, and was a contributing columnist for the Los Angeles Times Health Section for two years. She is a co-author of 23 research papers, 14 book chapters, and was a co-author of two books for the public: “What Color is Your Diet?” and “The L.A. Shape Diet” by Dr. David Heber, published by Harper Collins in 2001 and 2004, respectively.


Related Posts


How to Choose Your Ideal Diet

Build Your Own Balanced Diet

How to Choose Your Ideal Diet


  • Search

  • Sign Up for Updates

  • Meal Plans

    • 1200 calorie diet
      Try This 3-Day 1200 Calorie Diet Plan
    • Streamline Your Diet With This Healthy 1500 Calorie Plan
    • 2200 calorie diet
      Sample Menus for a 2200 Calorie Diet Plan
    • personalized diet
      How to Create a Personalized Diet Plan
    • 1800 calorie diet
      Healthy 1800 Calorie Diet Plan
  • Fitness advice

    • trail workout#ActiveBodyFit – Interval Trail Workout 1
    • holiday season fitnessMake Holiday Season Fitness a Priority
    • Summer countdownSummer Countdown: Get Fit and Tone Up in 6 Weeks
    • Heart Rate and Fat Burn: Here’s How it Works
    • butt exercisesBest Butt Exercises for a Toned Booty
  • Beauty advice

    • handsome skinHandsome Skin: Essential Tips for Men
    • oily skinOily Skin? Here's How to Beat the Shine
    • body acneTop Tips to Beat Body Acne
    • Skincare:Take a Holiday From the Holidays
    • skincare5 Mistakes and Fixes for Good Skincare
  • Nutrition advice

    • supertasterAre You a Supertaster?
    • Chefs' diet secrets
    • healthy behaviorHealthy Behavior: Making Healthy Diet Changes that Last
    • diet techniquePopular Dieting Tools and Techniques
    • Heart healthHeart health: How to fine tune your diet in 5 easy steps



Privacy Policy | CCPA Suplemmental Notice

Copyright © 2019 Herbalife International of America, Inc.