Fats get a bad rap when it comes to weight loss, but healthy fats can actually help you lose weight and, more importantly, protect you from chronic disease.
Registered Dietitian Kimberly GomerAccording to Dr. MS, RD/LDN, our general fear of fat is unfounded. In fact, she recommends prioritizing healthy fats in your diet, alongside lean protein sources and nutrient-dense vegetables.
She explains that feeling full after a meal is key to successful weight loss, and that healthy fats stimulate our hunger and satiety hormones, ghrelin and leptin, to regulate our food intake. By stabilizing your cravings and feeling full, you’re more likely to burn fat and lose weight.
Of course, not all fats are equally healthy. It’s best to avoid or minimize saturated fats, which are found in things like red meat, fried foods, processed foods, some cooking oils, and full-fat dairy products.
Wondering which healthy fats are considered best for weight loss and better health? Here are the top seven sources, according to experts.
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As experts explain, it’s essential to incorporate healthy fats into our diet while avoiding those that cause inflammation. Choosing the right cooking oil—ideally extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) rather than industrial vegetable seed oils—can boost your levels of healthy monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) and antioxidants, which can ultimately contribute to weight loss and better overall health, Gomer says.
The dietitian explains that the quality of the oil usually depends on how it is produced. For example, you can imagine extracting oil from an avocado and an olive using a press, which requires minimal processing. However, vegetable seed oils such as soybean, sunflower, canola, vegetable, and corn oils must go through a complex process to make them edible.
“Oils have to be extracted and refined, bleached and deodorized before they are acceptable for human consumption. That’s where the health problems lie,” Gomer says. Better life. She adds that the seeds must be heated to extremely high temperatures, which causes their unsaturated fatty acids to oxidize, creating harmful byproducts in the process.
“All of these chemicals contribute to the negative inflammatory side effects of these oils,” Gomer says. “The end result is an energy-dense, nutrient-poor oil that contains chemical residues, trans fats, and oxidized byproducts,” none of which are helpful for weight loss.
Olive oil isn’t the only healthy cooking oil that can help you lose weight and improve your overall health. Avocado oil and coconut oil are two other examples of healthy oils that are minimally processed and high in healthy fats.
Gomer notes that these products are particularly beneficial when replacing industrially processed oils.
“Industrial oils increase our ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, which can be detrimental to the heart and gut. These seed oils are unstable, oxidize easily, and contain harmful additives. They are derived from GMOs (genetically modified crops). When these oils are repeatedly heated, even more toxic byproducts are created. They also aggravate the gut by being pro-inflammatory and can be responsible for symptoms of bloating/gas,” she notes.
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Nuts can be high in calories, so it’s a good idea to think carefully about portion sizes if weight loss is part of your goals. However, they’re also rich in valuable omega-3 fatty acids, even when eaten in small amounts.
“Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats that are incredibly healthy,” explains Jennie StanfordMD, obesity specialist and medical contributor to Drugwatch. “They are important for cognitive functioning, immune health, vision and cardiovascular health. Omega-3s are also powerful antioxidants with anti-inflammatory properties, which help reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, such as heart disease and dementia,” she adds.
Seeds, including chia, flax, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds, offer similar health and weight loss benefits to nuts. In addition to containing healthy fats, they are also a good source of protein, fiber, vitamins B1, B2, B3, vitamin E, and minerals including magnesium, potassium, calcium, plant iron, and zinc.
Although research has conflicting conclusions regarding seed consumption and weight loss, some have found that specific types of seeds, such as chia seeds, may be beneficial as part of a broader healthy diet.
“Consumption of chia seeds, combined with a low-calorie diet, may lead to significant weight loss,” says a 2023 study published in the Journal of Medical and Health Sciences“However, further research with longer intervention periods is needed to establish the efficacy and optimal dosages of chia seed supplementation for effective weight management.”
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Gomer, who has more than 25 years of health coaching experience with a focus on weight management, diabetes, and insulin resistance, also recommends eating avocados as a healthy source of fat for weight loss. They’re high in oleic acid, a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid that helps reduce inflammation, she says.
A 2021 study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that people who regularly eat avocados tend to have “lower abdominal obesity compared to non-consumers.”
“Additionally, in a longitudinal study of more than 55,000 individuals, habitual avocado consumption was associated with lower weight gain and a reduced risk of becoming overweight or obese when assessed 11 years later,” the study authors wrote.
The research team explains that nutrient-dense whole foods may serve as a non-pharmacological approach to alter body fat distribution and mitigate the metabolic effects of adiposity.
“Avocado (Persea americana) is a fruit rich in dietary fiber and monounsaturated fatty acids, two nutrients that are beneficial for metabolic health,” the study states. “Diets rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and fiber have received considerable attention for their potential to reduce obesity and decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes.”
Gomer also recommends consuming more healthy fats, including monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, from eggs. However, for this, it’s important to eat the yolk.
“All the fat in an egg is in the yolk,” explains Egg Farmers of Canada. “Not only does the egg yolk contain healthy fats, it also contains a ton of important fat-soluble nutrients like vitamins A, D, and E, as well as the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin. The healthy fats in the egg yolk also help our bodies absorb these nutrients from the yolk.”
Of course, they’re also high in lean protein, containing six grams per serving.
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Stanford suggests eating fatty fish as another healthy source of omega-3s. In fact, many experts recommend eating 8 ounces of low-mercury seafood per week for optimal health.
In addition to being an excellent source of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), they are also packed with nutrients and lean protein, which can help you reach your weight loss goals.
In fact, according to a 2019 study published in the journal Nutrition Research Reviews“Energy restriction combined with consumption of lean and fatty seafood appears to enhance weight loss.”
“The development of overweight and obesity is for most individuals the result of years of positive energy balance. Evidence from intervention trials and animal studies suggests that frequent consumption of lean seafood, compared with consumption of land-based meats, reduces energy intake by four to nine percent, which is sufficient to prevent positive energy balance and obesity,” the study said.
They add that, compared with equal energy intake, lean seafood reduces risk markers for insulin resistance and improves insulin sensitivity in insulin-resistant adults.