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Choosing healthy fats is an important part of healthy eating. And that's good news for a lot of reasons. Fats can add flavor and great texture to foods, boosting our enjoyment. They can help us feel fuller longer, so we don't get too hungry between meals. And, if we choose certain types of fats, they can do all that—plus be really good for us.

The key is knowing which are the "good" healthy fats, which are the "bad" unhealthy fats and how to choose healthier options when we're eating out or staying in.

"Not all fats are bad," said Yikyung Park, a nutrition researcher and professor at WashU Medicine. "Some fats are beneficial, such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These are found in most plant oils, such as soybean, canola and olive oil, as well as in peanuts, avocados, walnuts, seeds and fish oil."

Healthy fats, she said, tend to be liquid at room temperature. Unhealthy fats tend to be solid or mostly solid at room temperature.

The most common unhealthy fat is saturated fat, which is found in high amounts in foods like butter, cheese, whole milk, red meat and beef tallow. Coconut and palm oils have high levels of saturated fat, too, even though they're plant oils.

Trans fats are also unhealthy fats—and to a greater degree than saturated fats. But since 2018, they have largely been removed from foods in the United States.

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