Fats are definitely not all the same,” says Tania Ferraretto of the Dietitians Association of Australia, “and the key to good health is to eat the right amount of the right kind. On average, an active, healthy woman needs 60 to 70 grams of fat a day.”

The phat fats
Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, such as sunflower, olive, canola, linseed or flaxseed oil, deep-sea fatty fish (like sardines, mackerel, tuna, salmon), nuts, seeds, olives and avocados are the fats you should be eating. “Our bodies need them in order to produce hormones and maintain cell function, as well as keeping cholesterol levels and the heart healthy,” says Ferraretto. “You should also be having one to two tablespoons a day of oil or margarine, or a substitute such as a handful of nuts, half an avocado or some olives (one olive equals one gram of fat), and try to eat two deep-sea fish meals a week.”

Less is best 
Go easy on saturated fats, found in salami and sausages, the skin on poultry, red meat, butter or cooking margarine, high-fat dairy products and palm oil, found in pastries, biscuits and cakes. “An absolute maximum of a third of your total daily fat intake should come from saturated fats,” says Ferraretto. “And you still want those fats to come from healthy sources, such as lean red meat and low-fat dairy products.”

Be gone with it
Avoid man-made trans fats, found in commercial biscuits, cakes, pastries, chips and fried food. “Trans fats are more dangerous on their own than saturated fat,” says Ferraretto. “An important point, however, is that less than one per cent of the fat we eat in Australia comes from trans fats because we have lower levels in our food than other countries do. The difficult thing is that there’s no compulsory labeling for trans fats, so it’s best to just reduce your intake of the foods that may contain them.”