Top 10 High Fat Foods to Avoid

Photo of Daisy Whitbread Written by Daisy Whitbread
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Top 10 High Fat Foods to Avoid

Fat is an essential macronutrient with a range of important functions, including insulating the body, helping us absorb vitamins and acting as an energy store.

We all need to consume fat, it is an essential part of a balanced diet. Not all fats are created equal, however, and reducing your consumption of the less healthy types (trans fats and saturated fats) is extremely beneficial to health, especially when these are replaced with healthy unsaturated fats. In particular, unsaturated fats can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and other conditions associated with inflammation in the body, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

While there are healthy sources of fat you should be eating, all the foods on this list should be avoided, or at least limited to a very occasional treat.

Each gram of fat contains 9 calories, making it the most calorie-dense nutrient, and eating too much can therefore lead to weight gain.

The foods on this list contain unhealthy sources of fats, to be avoided or at least limited to a very occasional treat.

Of all the fats listed below, trans-fats are the most damaging to health and should be avoided. Read ingredient labels and avoid any trans or partially hydrogenated fats or oils.

High-fat foods to avoid include fast foods, whipped cream, fatty meats, fried foods, fatty snacks, processed meats, desserts, fatty salad dressings, animal fats, and trans-fats. (1) The daily value (DV) for fat is 78 grams per day. (2)

For more information, see the article on healthy high fat foods to eat, foods high in omega 3 fats, and the complete ranking of 200 foods high in fat.

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Printable list of high fat foods to avoid.

About the Data

Data for the curated food lists comes from the USDA Food Data Central Repository.

You can check our data against the USDA by clicking the (Source) link at the bottom of each food listing.

Note: When checking data please be sure the serving sizes are the same. In the rare case you find any difference, please contact us and we will fix it right away.

About Nutrient Targets

Setting targets can provide a guide to healthy eating.

Some of the most popular targets include:
  • Daily Value (%DV) - The daily value (%DV) is a general guideline for consumption that will prevent deficiency of a particular nutrient in most people. The %DV refers to the percentage of an amount that\'s found in a single serving of a food. It also accounts for absorption factors. It is set by the U.S. FDA.
  • Recommended Dietary Allowance (%RDA) - The RDA sets an average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97.5%) healthy individuals. It\'s more specific than the daily value, and varies by age and gender. The RDA is set by the US National Institutes of Health.
  • Reference Dietary Intake (%RDI) -The reference dietary intake is similar to the recommended daily allowance, but is specific to age and gender. The RDI for amino acids is set by the U.N. World Health Organization.
  • Adequate Intake (%AI) - This value is primarily used in reference to omega-3 and omega-6 fats. The Adequate Intake is set by the U.S. Institute of Medicine. Because there is less evidence to determine the ideal targets for consumption of these nutrients, the specific amount is considered to be less reliable. Using the term Adequate Intake, rather than one of the other terms, helps to emphasize that the ideal intake of that particular nutrient has not yet been scientifically determined.

See the Guide to Recommended Daily Intakes for more information.

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Use the ranking tool links below to select foods and create your own food list to share or print.


View more nutrients with the nutrient ranking tool, or see ratios with the nutrient ratio tool.

Data Sources and References

  1. U.S. Agricultural Research Service Food Data Central
  2. FDA on Daily Values
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