Saturated fat and other fats

[SilverCharm]

Hi everyone, I have a few questions about fats.

Do we need saturated fat?

I add cold-pressed ground flax seeds to my cereal in the morning. How much should I have a day? I know it has omega-3s and 6s, but how much of my daily value do to the ground flax seeds have of these?

How much of the other healthy fats should I have a day?

[kraft]

You do not need saturated fat. But flaxseed oil is not saturated. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature. Coconut oil, cocoa butter, (these two are arguably not that bad for you in moderation) margarine and all the icky fat that comes from animals.

Good oils are liquid at room temperature, but I try to avoid the overly industrial ones. I use GMO-free canola, extra virgin organic unfiltered olive oil, sesame oil, peanut oil...but I would focus more on getting good oils from nuts, seeds, avocado, flax seeds, whole grains...no one needs to add oil to their foods if they eat enough good whole fats.

When you get enough variety of whole foods and enough calories, I don't see why you would need to measure out the amounts of fats in your diet. Just avoid the bad fats and load up of the fats already in whole foods.

[crazycutie]

Actually, you DO need oils! They lubricate your joints and your bowels. If it weren't for using a couple of tablespoons of oil a day, I'd never be able to go to the bathroom with all the bulky food from veganism.

[Bates]

Yes you do! ARGH. There is saturated fat in flax oil as well as olive oil. More importantly, they are also a significant source of unsaturated fats....this is what makes them healthy to consume (besides the obviously healthy omega fatty acids in flax). Also, how could you not eat avocados? Saturated fat from animal sources is not healthy because they do not provide the healthy unsaturated fats. Even my nutrition teacher (who is a registered dietician) and my college issued nutrition book say this.

[RawAllison]

I try to keep my saturated fats at about 10 gms per day. I don't worry about the amounts of the "good fats" that I eat. I can easily eat a whole avocado every day, some nuts, etc. I just watch the saturated grams.