If you are confused on whether dietary fat is good or bad, the internet makes it more confusing unless you know what to look for. If you open a search browser you will likely find misleading headlines such as “Reducing fat melts away unwanted pounds!” and “Low-fat diet no boon to health” or ones like “Eat all the fried chicken you want!” and “Don’t fear the fat.”

So, where do we stand on fat? Can we really eat all the fried chicken we want and disregard “healthy” fats like avocados and olive oil? Well, despite the confusing titles, the one discouraging fear of fat may be onto something — if it is understood correctly. People need to put aside the fear that fat is bad for you and realize that ‘fat,’ as a general term, is not the enemy. Fat is required for important body processes but it depends on the type. The issue that gets us into trouble is that Americans like the wrong kinds of fats. People need to banish the fat phobia and become more educated on the different fats and to understand why some are better than others.

Now, differentiating dietary fats can get confusing. Trans fats and saturated fats get a lot of attention among consumers because of studies and links with cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, and other health complications. These “bad fats” are getting most of the attention but the “good fats” should really get just as much for the benefits they promote.

Fats are first separated into two groups, saturated and unsaturated. Chemically, saturated fats have no double bonds and all of their carbons are linked with hydrogens. They are straight molecules that pack easily together, which explains why they are generally solid at room temperature. Unsaturated fats are named for their chemical structure which has one or more double bonds, which takes away a hydrogen and thus make the structure unsaturated or “not full”. These molecules generally bend due to their double bond(s) and cannot pack together easily which explains why they are generally liquid at room temperature.

Unsaturated fats are further subdivided to mono and polyunsaturated fats, categorized by whether they have only one double bond (mono) or more than two double bonds (poly). The ever praised omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids fall into the polyunsaturated fat category and are named for which carbon the first double bond is located: three, the third from the end and six, the sixth from the end. Trans fats are generally man-made by manipulation of the structure, hydrogenation and they have properties of both saturated and unsaturated fats.

There are a couple of dangers we face with misunderstanding the role of fat including missing out on the benefits of good fat, the dietary risks when we avoid fat and developing chronic conditions when we eat too much of the wrong fats. The understanding of fat is a delicate balance between not eating too much of the wrong stuff, getting enough of the “right” stuff and dispelling the long held fear of fat.

Conventional wisdom and common belief says that it is best just to avoid fat all together. This is an uninformed view of how to regulate fat in the diet. Eating fat does not make you fat and is necessary to carry out important body functions. So the first problem with this view is that those who cut out fat are robbing their bodies of an important macronutrient.

The next issue with this belief are the dietary choices that come along with it. When you cut out fat, you have to replace it and in America it is usually replaced with refined carbs and sugar. This gives no real health benefit at all. So in attempt to be healthy by cutting out fat, a plan nutritionally backfires when you add excess carbohydrates and sugars to your diet.

A third related issue with fearing fat and trying to cut it out of the diet is the tendency for consumers to eat more when they choose low-fat, no-fat or reduced-fat products. Numerous studies have shown that when consumers consciously choose these products in effort to reduce fat in the diet, they actually end up eating more because they assume that lower fat means calorie free.

Related to the three previous points, it is worth clarifying that the fats consumed should be from healthy sources, not trans fat and saturated fat foods. There is no need for to be afraid of fat when you are eating monounsaturated fats from nuts, olive oil and avocado or polyunsaturated fats from salmon, walnuts and canola oil. These fats offer the health benefits of cardiovascular disease prevention and of lowering bad cholesterol.

As Americans, it is going to take some time to train our taste buds to enjoy healthy fat foods and limit the bad ones from fried foods, cakes, cookies and other “junk” foods. But I think that we can do it and head toward a more healthy relationship with fat by balancing our dietary choices. It is going to come down to the population’s willingness to accept the critical role of fat and choosing the kinds that are beneficial to health. Don’t cut out fat, just enjoy the good ones.