Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) are those fats that contain monounsaturated fatty acids. MUFA can be cis or trans, in this article we will focus on healthy fats in natural cis form, trans fats are covered here. MUFAs are liquid at room temperature (melting at higher temperatures than PUFA but lower than saturated fats) and are less prone to oxidation than PUFAs. They come mainly from plant sources but are also found in some animal sources (along with saturated fats).
Individual fatty acids differ in chain length (number of carbons) and omega parameter. The vast majority of MUFA is ω-7 (nuts, dairy products, avocados) or ω-9 (vegetable oils, animal fat). MUFAs are not essential.
Most important MUFA dietary sources:
- olives, olive oil
- avocado
- rapeseed oil (unprocessed, unrefined, low on erucic acid) – along with PUFA
- nuts, kernels, seeds (along with PUFA)
- red meat (fat) and whole milk products (containing mainly saturated fat)
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