When it comes to fats, the conversation can get confusing. Are all fats bad for you? Should you avoid fats to keep your cholesterol in check? Or are some fats essential for a healthy body? The truth is that fats are not the enemy—but the type of fats you eat makes all the difference in how they affect your health, particularly regarding cholesterol and inflammation.
You may have heard that cholesterol is bad and should be avoided. But what if I told you that your body produces cholesterol as a defense mechanism to fight damage? One of the leading causes of that damage is oxidative stress—something that bad fats, such as trans fats and certain polyunsaturated fats, contribute to significantly. Your body raises cholesterol production to counter this damage because cholesterol is an antioxidant.
In contrast, healthy fats—such as saturated fats and monounsaturated fats—do not cause oxidative stress and, as a result, may help lower your cholesterol levels. So, how do you know which fats to eat and which to avoid? Let’s break it down.
The Role of Fats in Your Body
Fats play a crucial role in how your body functions. They are an essential source of energy, support cell growth, and help your body absorb key nutrients like vitamins A, D, E, and K. They also provide structure for your cell membranes and act as messengers in hormone regulation. However, not all fats behave the same way in your body, and choosing the wrong kinds can lead to oxidative stress, inflammation, and chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes.
The key is understanding which fats cause damage and how healthier fats can actually protect your body.
Good Fats: The Fats You Need for Optimal Health
Monounsaturated Fats: The Heart Protectors
Monounsaturated fats are among the best fats you can include in your diet. They are found in natural sources like olive oil, avocados, and nuts.
Monounsaturated fats are also rich in antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties, which means they help protect your body from oxidative stress. Eating foods rich in monounsaturated fats supports your heart and brain health while keeping inflammation at bay.
Key Sources:
Olive oil
Avocados
Almonds, cashews, and peanuts
Sesame oil
Why They’re Good: These fats help maintain healthy cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease. They also provide long-lasting energy without triggering the oxidative stress that can lead to chronic inflammation.
How to Use Them: Drizzle olive oil on salads, add avocado to smoothies or sandwiches, and snack on a handful of nuts for a nutrient-packed boost.
Saturated Fats: The Misunderstood Healthy Fat
For years, saturated fats have been blamed for raising cholesterol levels and causing heart disease. However, recent research shows that not all saturated fats are harmful. In fact, saturated fats found in natural sources—like grass-fed beef, butter, and coconut oil—do not cause oxidative stress. This means they don’t lead to the inflammation and damage that require your body to produce more cholesterol as a defense mechanism.
Saturated fats can be a healthy part of your diet when consumed in moderation. They provide stable energy, support brain function, and help maintain the structure of your cells. Saturated fats also help balance cholesterol levels because they don’t trigger the oxidative stress that leads to cholesterol overproduction.
Key Sources:
Grass-fed beef and lamb
Butter and ghee
Full-fat dairy (milk, cheese)
Coconut oil
Why They’re Good: Saturated fats are stable and don’t break down easily when heated, making them ideal for cooking. Unlike unhealthy fats, they don’t cause oxidative stress so that they won’t contribute to cholesterol spikes or inflammation.
How to Use Them: Cook with butter, ghee, or coconut oil instead of processed seed oils. Choose grass-fed meat and full-fat dairy to enjoy the benefits of saturated fats.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: The Anti-Inflammatory Powerhouses
Omega-3 fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fat, are among the most beneficial fats you can consume. These essential fats—in fatty fish, flaxseeds, and walnuts—have powerful anti-inflammatory effects and help lower the risk of chronic diseases, including heart disease, depression, and arthritis.
Unlike their omega-6 counterparts, omega-3s reduce inflammation in the body. They also support brain function, reduce triglycerides, and help regulate blood pressure, making them crucial for overall health.
Key Sources:
Salmon, mackerel, and sardines
Chia seeds and flaxseeds
Walnuts
Algal oil (for plant-based omega-3s)
Why They’re Good: Omega-3s reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure, and support brain health. Their anti-inflammatory properties also protect against oxidative stress, meaning your body doesn't need to produce excess cholesterol to repair damage.
How to Use Them: Eat fatty fish at least twice a week, add flaxseeds to smoothies or oatmeal, and consider an omega-3 supplement if you're not getting enough from food.
Bad Fats: The Ones to Avoid or Limit
While healthy fats support your body’s functions, bad fats trigger oxidative stress, forcing your body to produce more cholesterol as a defense mechanism. Let’s look at which fats are best avoided.
Polyunsaturated Fats (Omega-6): The Inflammatory Culprits
Polyunsaturated fats include both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, but not all polyunsaturated fats are created equal. While omega-3s are anti-inflammatory, omega-6 fatty acids—found in most vegetable and seed oils—promote inflammation when consumed in excess. And that’s a problem because the modern Western diet is often loaded with omega-6s, creating an unhealthy imbalance between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.
Excessive intake of omega-6 fats leads to oxidative stress and inflammation, which causes your body to produce more cholesterol to repair the damage. Over time, this chronic inflammation contributes to heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers.
Key Sources:
Soybean oil
Corn oil
Sunflower oil
Processed foods (chips, crackers, snack foods)
Why They’re Bad: Omega-6 fats trigger inflammation and oxidative stress, which forces your body to produce more cholesterol as a protective antioxidant. The typical diet's imbalance between omega-6 and omega-3 is a major driver of chronic disease.
How to Avoid Them: Limit processed foods and reduce your use of seed oils like soybean and corn oil. Opt for healthier fats like olive oil or butter when cooking.
Trans Fats: The Worst Fat for Your Health
Trans fats are artificially created fats found in processed foods. These fats are hydrogenated to make them more stable, but they wreak havoc on your health, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other chronic conditions.
Trans fats are particularly harmful because they cause significant oxidative stress, triggering an inflammatory response in your body. As a result, your liver produces more cholesterol to combat this damage, leading to clogged arteries and an increased risk of heart disease.
Key Sources:
Processed snacks and baked goods (cookies, crackers, pastries) Fried fast foods
Margarine and shortening
Packaged foods containing "partially hydrogenated oils"
Why They’re Bad: Trans fats are the most damaging type of fat. They create oxidative stress, leading to chronic inflammation and forcing your body to produce more cholesterol. This, in turn, increases the risk of heart disease and other life-threatening conditions.
How to Avoid Them: Always read labels and avoid products that list “partially hydrogenated oils” in the ingredients. Many countries have banned trans fats, but they can still appear in some processed foods.
How Bad Fats Lead to Oxidative Stress and Higher Cholesterol
Consuming unhealthy fats like trans fats and excessive omega-6s causes oxidative stress in your body. Oxidative stress occurs when there’s an imbalance between free radicals (unstable molecules that cause damage) and antioxidants. This stress damages your cells and tissues, prompting your body to produce cholesterol as an antioxidant to fight the damage.
Cholesterol isn’t inherently bad—your body produces it to help repair cell membranes and reduce inflammation caused by oxidative stress. But when your body is constantly under attack from bad fats, it has to produce more and more cholesterol to repair the damage, leading to higher blood cholesterol levels and an increased risk of heart disease.
In contrast, eating healthy fats like saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, and omega-3s doesn’t cause oxidative stress. This means your body doesn’t need to ramp up cholesterol production, leading to lower cholesterol levels and a reduced risk of heart disease.
Conclusion: The Power of Choosing the Right Fats for Your Health
Understanding fats can seem overwhelming in a world where we’re constantly bombarded with conflicting health advice. For decades, fats were vilified as the main cause of weight gain, high cholesterol, and heart disease. However, recent research has illuminated a more nuanced truth: fats are essential to your health, and the real issue lies in the types of fats you consume.
The truth is that fats aren’t the enemy—they’re a vital part of a healthy diet, fueling your brain, supporting cell growth, and providing long-lasting energy. The key is knowing which fats nourish your body and which cause harm. Healthy fats—like monounsaturated fats, omega-3s, and even saturated fats in moderation—are beneficial and critical to your body’s optimal functioning. These fats reduce inflammation, support heart and brain health, and—perhaps most surprisingly—help regulate cholesterol in a way that protects your health rather than harms it.
Conversely, bad fats—such as trans fats and excessive omega-6 fats—trigger oxidative stress and inflammation, forcing your liver to produce more cholesterol to combat the damage. This leads to higher cholesterol levels, clogged arteries, and an increased risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer.
It’s crucial to understand that cholesterol is not the problem; it’s your body’s natural response to damage caused by bad fats. By shifting your diet toward healthy, whole-food sources of fats, you reduce the need for your body to overproduce cholesterol as a defense mechanism. This can help lower your cholesterol levels naturally while promoting overall well-being.
So, how can you start making these changes? It doesn’t have to be complicated:
Swap out processed snacks and foods high in trans fats for whole foods rich in monounsaturated fats, such as nuts, avocados, and olive oil.
Reduce your omega-6-heavy seed oils like soybean or corn oil and replace them with healthier options like coconut oil, butter, or avocado oil.
Incorporate more omega-3s into your diet by eating fatty fish like salmon, flaxseeds, or walnuts.
Embrace saturated fats in moderation, especially from natural sources like grass-fed butter or coconut oil, without fear of the outdated idea that all saturated fats are harmful.
You can transform your health by making small, consistent changes to your diet. Your heart will thank you, your brain will function more efficiently, and your body will no longer need to produce excess cholesterol to combat oxidative stress.
This isn’t just about avoiding fats or cutting calories—it’s about empowering yourself with the knowledge to choose the right fats that fuel your body, protect your cells, and enhance your longevity. When you prioritize healthy fats, you’re not just improving your diet—you’re taking proactive steps toward a future of sustained wellness, more energy, and reduced risk of chronic diseases.
It’s time to change the narrative around fats. They aren’t something to fear—they are something to understand and embrace. By choosing the right kinds of fats, you can manage your cholesterol levels and build a foundation for a healthier, more vibrant life.
Now is the time to make that change. Each meal is an opportunity to nourish your body with the right kinds of fats, and every smart swap is a step closer to better health. Start small, be consistent, and watch your body respond with more energy, clearer thinking, and a stronger heart. Your journey to better health begins with the simple decision to fuel your body wisely, and fats—when chosen correctly—can be one of your most powerful allies in this journey.