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You have heard for years about the health hazards of a high fat diet. What you may not know is that fats-the right fats in the right amounts-are necessary for good health. Fats are the main form in which your body stores energy. Fats are also the chief components of cell membranes and they are also involved in productions of some hormones, components of the immune response and blood clotting. But not all fats are equal, and your choice and use of different fats can have a profound effect on your health.

It is recommended that you limit your intake of most saturated fats and you should avoid all trans fats. Trans fats are a products of hydrogenation of polyunsaturated fats. These fats are more harmful to your health than saturated fats. Saturated fats are primarily animal fats. There is recent evidence that saturated fat may not be as bad as we once thought, but there are other reasons to limit your meat intake. Saturated fats from tropical oils have been assumed to be “unhealthy”, but there is evidence that these short chained saturated fats, especially coconut oil, are healthy fats.

The polyunsaturated fatty acid, linoleic acid, is an essential nutrient found in vegetable oils such as soybean oil, safflower oil and corn oil. Linoleic acid is an omega 6 fatty acid and we know that we need to eat more omega 3 fatty acids in proportion to the omega-6s to protect us against inflammation, heart disease and possibly even strokes, some cancers and other degenerative diseases. In other words, eat more fish or take omega-3 supplements (making sure they are free of mercury and PCBs) and use less polyunsaturated vegetable oils.

Here are 7 fatty foods that are beneficial.

1. Olives, olive oil and canola oil contain monounsaturated fats, which help reduce levels of LDL’s (”bad” cholesterol) without lowering HDL’s (”good” cholesterol). They also have an anti-inflammatory effect.

2. Avocados are also great sources of monounsaturated fatty acids.

3. Fatty fish include salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, which are high in omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA). It is important, however, to consider the source of the fish you eat due to mercury contamination in many species of fish. The larger fish such as shark, king mackerel, Gulf tile-fish and swordfish have particularly high levels of mercury. Mercury is known to damage brain tissue.

4. Nuts are good sources of unsaturated fats with a healthy balance of omega-6 fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids. Walnuts are particularly good source of omega 3 fats. They also contain protein and have been found to help with weight loss when eaten daily as a snack.

5. Flax seed and flax seed oils are rich in omega-3 fatty acids as well, however, they contain EPA and not DHA (the active form) and EPA is not readily converted to DHA.

6. MCT oil, which is also found in coconut oil and palm oil (the “tropical” oils, previously maligned for their saturated fat content) has been found to have beneficial effects on diabetes, weight loss, heart disease and many other conditions.

7. Grass fed beef and milk from grass fed beef contain more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) that has anti-carcenogenic effects and may promote maintenance of muscle mass. It also is thought to be anti-inflammatory, unlike most red meats. Grass fed beef also contains more beneficial omega 3 fats than its grain fed counterparts.

Leah Gilbert-Henderson, PhD is a nutritionist/dietitian in the panhandle of Florida. She is the owner of Take Care Nutrition Consulting, LLC. She does nutrition counseling for weight loss as well as disease management and prevention. She is also a speaker and a writer on health promotion through healthy eating and lifestyle change. For more information, go to http://takecarenutritionconsulting.com or read her blog at here.