- With Mayo Clinic nutritionist
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
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Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
As a specialty editor for the nutrition and healthy eating guide, Katherine Zeratsky helps you sort through the facts and figures, the fads and the hype to learn more about nutrition and diet.
A Marinette, Wis., native, Katherine is certified in dietetics by the state of Minnesota and the American Dietetic Association. She has been with Mayo Clinic since 1999.
She is active in nutrition-related curriculum and course development in wellness nutrition at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and nutrition education related to weight management and practical applications of nutrition-related lifestyle changes.
Other areas of interest include food and nutrition for all life stages, active lifestyles and the culinary arts.
She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, served a dietetic internship at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and worked as a registered dietitian and health risk counselor at ThedaCare of Appleton, Wis., before joining the Mayo Clinic staff.
Nutrition basics (31)
- Water softeners: How much sodium do they add?
- Fat grams: How to track your dietary fat
- Yerba mate: Is it safe to drink?
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Healthy diets (10)
- Canola oil: Does it contain toxins?
- Butter vs. margarine: Which is better for my heart?
- Detox diets: Do they work?
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Healthy cooking (7)
- When the heat is on, which oil should you use?
- Moldy cheese: Is it OK to eat?
- Food poisoning: How long can you safely keep leftovers?
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Healthy menus and shopping strategies (8)
- Calories in sushi: What are the low-cal options?
- What is BPA? Should I be worried about it?
- Brominated vegetable oil: Why is BVO in my drink?
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Nutritional supplements (18)
- Ground flaxseed: Better than whole?
- Fiber supplements: Safe to take every day?
- Chocolate: Does it impair calcium absorption?
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Question
Fat grams: How to track your dietary fat
To monitor how much fat I eat each day, which should I focus on — fat grams, calories or percentages?
Answer
from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
All three are useful for determining the amount of fat (and total calories) you're eating, but if you want to use just one method then tracking fat grams is probably the easiest.
Dietary guidelines suggest that healthy adults generally limit dietary fat to no more than 20 to 35 percent of total daily calories.
To figure out how many fat grams or calories that means for you, start with the number of calories you normally eat or want to eat a day. Multiply that number by the recommended percentages to get the range of fat calories you can eat each day.
Here's an example based on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet.
- Multiply 2,000 by 0.20 (20 percent) to get 400 calories
- Multiply 2,000 by 0.35 (35 percent) to get 700 calories
How many fat grams is that? There are 9 calories in a gram of fat, so you divide the number of calories by 9.
- Divide 400 calories by 9 (calories a gram) to get about 44 grams of fat
- Divide 700 calories by 9 (calories a gram) to get about 78 grams of fat
So if you're on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, 400 to 700 calories can come from dietary fat, which translates to between 44 and 78 fat grams a day.
Use the Nutrition Facts label to find out how much fat is in the foods you eat. The Nutrition Facts label shows the amount of total fat, saturated fat and trans fat in one serving. The label also shows how many calories come from fat.
To monitor the fat in your diet, simply add up the fat grams from all the food you ate during the day and compare the total to your target range. Knowing how much fat is in the foods you eat can help you control the fat and calories in your diet, which can help you meet your health and nutrition goals.
Next questionYerba mate: Is it safe to drink?
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/DGAs2010-PolicyDocument.htm. Accessed Oct. 16, 2012.
- How to understand and use the nutrition facts label. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/NFLPM/ucm274593.htm. Accessed Oct. 18, 2012.
- Zeratsky KA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Oct. 18, 2012.
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