Fats and the diet for diabetes

Fat is a concentrated energy source. It provides essential fatty acids your body needs for many functions, and it serves as a carrier for the fat-soluble vitamins, A, E, D, and K.

Because diabetes puts you at increased risk for heart disease, you need to be especially aware of the health effects of dietary fat, obesity, and heart disease. Make sure you do not consume too much fat, but do not exclude it, because a certain amount is needed for your body to function properly.

There are three main types of dietary fat:

• Monounsaturated fat
• Polyunsaturated fat (omega-6 or omega-3)
• Saturated fat

All types of fat supply the same number of calories, but each has a unique source and function within the body.

Fats and how they affect your health

Type of fat	Food source	Overall health effect	Effect on your cholesterol
Monounsaturated	Olive, canola, and peanut oils; nuts (except walnuts); avocados; and olives	Positive	Lowers LDL cholesterol, maintains HDL cholesterol (when used in place of saturated fat)
Polyunsaturated	Safflower, corn, sunflower, sesame, soybean, and cottonseed oils; walnuts	Neutral	Lowers LDL and HDL cholesterol
Saturated	Meat; fatty dairy products; coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils; cocoa butter; hydrogenated fats (margarine, shortening)	Negative	Raises LDL cholesterol
Cholesterol	Organ meats (especially liver), meat, poultry, egg yolk, seafood, dairy fat products	Negative	Raises LDL cholesterol
Omega-3 fats (a type of polyunsaturated fat)	Fish (salmon, albacore tuna, sardines, herring, mackerel, trout, mullet, and whitefish), walnuts, and flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, hemp and hempseed oil.	Positive	Lowers LDL, total cholesterol, lowers triglycerides

Fat in your diet - effect on triglycerides

A high intake of fats, sweets, and alcohol can raise your blood triglyceride level. A sedentary lifestyle and excess weight can also increase your triglyceride level. Adults with diabetes need to keep their triglyceride level less than 150 mg/dL.

Fat in your diet - effect on cholesterol

Most forms of fat affect your cholesterol level. Specifically, they may affect the amount of LDL ("bad") cholesterol or HDL ("good") cholesterol in your bloodstream. An excessive amount of LDL cholesterol or triglycerides in the blood has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease. And having too little HDL is also unhealthy.

• Think of the "L" in LDL as standing for "lousy." Adults with diabetes need to keep their LDL cholesterol level 100 mg/dL or less.
• Think of the "H" in HDL as standing for "healthy." Adults with diabetes need to keep their HDL cholesterol level more than 40 mg/dL for men and more than 50 mg/dL for women.

The table above also shows that some forms of fat are actually beneficial to your heart health and, therefore, to the control of your diabetes. As with carbohydrate and protein, the key to fat consumption is careful balance, not total avoidance. A registered dietitian can help you decide how much and what type of fat is best for you.

Ideally, you should seek out foods that lower your LDL and triglycerides while maintaining your HDL. Increasing monounsaturated and omega-3 fats while decreasing saturated fat is the most effective strategy for achieving this goal.