Telling the difference
How can you tell what kind of fat is in a product?
Soft vs. hard fats
Fat may be soft, like liquid oils and some margarines, or firm, like butter and shortening. Soft and liquid fat tends to be higher in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat. Hard fat tends to contain more saturated and trans fat.
Visible vs hidden
Fat may also be visible or hidden. Vegetable oil, soft margarines, and marbling on meat, for instance, are easy-to-recognize, visible fat. You can actually see these fats. Fat in baked goods, ice cream and in processed meats is hidden as it is an added ingredient. Be aware that most hidden fat is saturated or trans fat.
Look for fat on the Nutrition Facts panel
If you look at most packaged foods, you’ll notice a Nutrition Facts Panel with a consistent label format. Reading the “fat” section of the Nutrition Facts panel can help you determine what kind of fat is in the food.
Here’s how:
- Total fat: this is the amount of total fat found in one serving of this product. Total fat is found by adding up saturated + trans + monounsaturated + polyunsaturated fat.
- Saturated + Trans fat: this is the amount of saturated and trans fat found in a product. Numbers closest to zero are best!
You will notice that most Nutrition Facts panels do not list the amount of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat (it is optional to list these). You can find out how much mono + poly are in the food by subtracting the saturated + trans fat from the total fat. The left-over amount is "good" mono+poly fat.
Here are some other tips for reading the nutrition facts panel:
Serving Size
The information provided in the Panel is based on one serving. How much is a serving? That depends on the food. Look at the top left of the Panel for the specific serving size. Compare the serving size listed with the amount you will actually eat.
TIP: You’ll find that sometimes you eat more than the serving size listed on the package. Remember, if you eat double the amount of the specified serving size, you have to multiply the calories and nutrients by 2.
% Daily Value
For each nutrient, the Panel shows the percentage of the daily recommended amount provided by one serving.
TIP: It’s useful to compare the amounts of a specific nutrient when deciding between two similar foods. As a rule of thumb, any food that provides more than 20% daily value of a nutrient is a lot; 5% daily value is a little.
Nutrient List
The Panel lists calories and 12 core nutrients, and shows the amount of each (in grams or milligrams) per serving. Some foods list additional nutrients. For example, margarine labels indicate the amount of polyunsaturated fat.