World Heart Federation - Bad Fats

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Which fats are bad?

Saturated and trans fats raise the level of
LDL-cholesterol (known as bad cholesterol) in your
blood, which harms your heart.

Saturated fats

Saturated fat usually comes from animal sources and is generally solid at room temperature. It is found in lard, butter, poor quality margarine, cheese, whole milk and anything that contains these ingredients, such as cakes, chocolate, biscuits, pies and pastries. It is also the white fat you can see on red meat and underneath poultry skin.

Trans fats

Trans fats occur naturally in milk, beef and lamb, but most of the trans fats we eat have been industrially manufactured by partially hydrogenating oils. They are found in processed food like shop-bought cakes, biscuits, pies, pastries and many other everyday products. Trans fatty acids provide no known benefit to human health.

Know Your Fats

Q: Fat is bad for us. True or false?

We should eat less of the bad fats...

It’s obvious that for better health we should eat less bad fats and more of the good fats. So, which foods are high in which type of fats? What should you eat less of? Take a look at the list on the right for some answers.

Now find out about good fats

Main Sources
of Bad Fats

  • Fatty Meats, e.g.
    • Cuts with fat showing within or
    • on the edge of the meat
    • Fatty mince
    • Fatty stewing meat
    • Duck
  • Processed Meat Products, e.g.
    • Sausages
    • Bacon
    • Salami
    • Pâté
  • Whole Milk and Cream
  • Butter
  • Cheese, especially hard and
  • full-fat varieties (Brie, Gouda)
  • Baked Goods, e.g.
    • Cookies
    • Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Pies
  • Palm and Coconut Oils
  • Milk and White Chocolate
  • Fast Food, e.g.
    • Burgers
    • Fried Chicken
    • Kebabs
    • Chips
    • Pizza
  • Other processed foods,
    including many ready-meals
  • Fried Foods, e.g.
    • Doughnuts
    • Chips
    • Other Savoury Snacks