Saturated Fat: A Beginner-Friendly Start

The fat found mainly in butter, fatty meat, cheese, cream, coconut and palm oil.

Key takeaways

• UK maximum, men: about 30g a day
• UK maximum, women: about 20g a day
• Most useful single change: Swap butter for olive, rapeseed or sunflower oil in cooking.
• Commonest mistake: Replacing saturated fat with refined carbohydrate, which achieves little.
• See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.

Why bother

Replacing it with unsaturated fat lowers LDL cholesterol, and what it is replaced with matters as much as the reduction itself.

Start here

These two first. Everything else is easier once they are habit.

• Swap butter for olive, rapeseed or sunflower oil in cooking
• Choose lean cuts and trim visible fat

Then add these

The next additions, when you are ready for them.

• Use lower-fat dairy where you use a lot of it
• Read the saturates line rather than the total fat line

The numbers, in one place

Common early mistakes

• Replacing saturated fat with refined carbohydrate, which achieves little
• Assuming coconut oil is an exception; it is high in saturated fat
• Judging a food on total fat alone

Where to go next

• Saturated Fat: Common Questions Answered
• Saturated Fat at a Glance
• Saturated Fat — the reference entry
• What the Guidance Really Says About Fruit and Vegetables
• What the Guidance Really Says About Wholegrains

When to speak to a doctor

See a GP if you have a family history of heart attack or stroke before 60, or fatty deposits around the eyes or in tendons, which can indicate familial hypercholesterolaemia. Call 999 for chest pain lasting more than a few minutes.

Where this comes from

• NHS — Fat: the facts
• NICE — Cardiovascular disease: risk assessment and reduction

How this page was put together

Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.

Medical disclaimer

This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.