Recent Guidelines

As research further explores the role fat plays in the diet, government and leading health organizations have released updated dietary guidelines that recommend increasing consumption of "quality" fats - monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, while reducing saturated and trans fats.

Below is an at-a-glance chart for quickly comparing dietary guidelines:

At-A-Glance: Fat
Recommendations from Top Dietary Guidelines
  United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA) Dietary Guidelines, 2005 		Institute of Medicine
Dietary Reference Intakes (IOM DRI), 2002 		American Heart
Association (AHA) Dietary Guidelines, 2006 		AHA Dietary Guidelines
for CVD Prevention in Women, 2007 		National Cholesterol
Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III), 2001
Total Fat 20-35% 20-35% 25-35% Does not specify 25-35%
Monounsaturated Fat (MUFAs) Most fat should come from
MUFAs and PUFAs 		Most fat should come from
MUFAs and PUFAs 		Up to 15% Does not specify Up to 20%
Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFAs) Most fat should come from
MUFAs and PUFAs 		10% (5-10% from omega-6
PUFAs; 0.6-1.2% from omega-3 PUFAs) 		Up to 10% As an adjunct to the diet,
omega-3 supplementation may be considered in women with heart disease. 		Up to 10%
Saturated Fat <10% As low as possible <10% <10% in general women
population
<7% for women at high
risk for heart disease. 		<7%
Trans Fat Limit intake As low as possible Limit intake As low as possible (e.g.
<1% of energy) 		Keep intake low

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