Top 7 Vegan Sources of Healthy Fats and Ways to Include Them in Your Diet

Fats have long been loathed. Diet industry has long been obsessed with cutting down on fat. Although that’s still important, recent studies have shown that replacing unhealthy fats with healthy fats can also be beneficial for overall health. Thus, here’s a list of foods to help you get started and make the switch!

1.Peanuts
20% saturated fat | 50% monounsaturated fat (MUFA) | 30% polyunsaturated fat (PUFA)

Add them to your poha, dals, salads or pop them straight into your mouth! This is because peanuts are incredibly rich in healthy fats alongside other functional compounds like proteins, fibers, polyphenols, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. [1]

Just make sure you have them in moderation, a handful of peanuts with skin (for fiber) would be good to go. Avoid salted ones and they can contain excessive amounts of sodium.

Chia seeds are another great source of healthy fats. Infact, if you study the nutritional composition of chia seeds, they have just the right balance of saturated fats versus PUFA & MUFA, and also a good balance between omega-6 and omega-3. If you are unsure of these types of fatty acids, read more about them here: Types of fatty acids.

Chia seeds have adequate content of omega 6, around 18% to 20%, and higher omega 3 fatty acids, around 55% to 60%. Adding them to your diet is easy too, just keep a teaspoon of chia soaked for a few hours and have them with one of your routine meals.

Olive oil has been famous for quite a while for its health benefits. It’s because olive oil is rich in oleic acid, a primary MUFA. Studies have shown that using olive oil in place of refined oils can have heart and gut benefits. However, before you drizzle that olive oil you just bought from the market, make sure you've picked-on the labels! Always select extra virgin olive oil since that's the one with health benefits. It’s also higher in polyphenol content i.e antioxidants. [2]

Soy is another great source of healthy fats as it is abundant in omega-3 fatty acids. Moreover, soyabean is one of the best vegan sources of protein you can find. It has all nine essential amino acids in some amount. To incorporate it in your diet, you can try anything from soybean pulse curry, soybean kebabs / tikkis / seekhs, etc.

Just how paneer is made from cow's milk, soymilk can be used to make a cheese-like preparation called tofu. There are two varieties to choose from - soft or firm. Soft tofu has less amount of fat and calories as compared to firm tofu because of the higher water content, yet both provide a considerable amount of healthy fats.

Not just low in saturated fat, seeds are also one of the best vegan sources of omega-3 fatty acids. So sprinkle them on your salads, add them to your sabzi preparations, or pop them roasted! They will definitely make a difference in your diet.

The best ones to choose from -

1. Flaxseeds
2. Sesame seeds 
3. Sunflower seeds
4. Pumpkin seeds

Avocado is the most fat-rich plant food, with 77% calories coming from fat. Still, avocados manage to stay in the positive light because of the benefits of the healthy fats they contain i.e MUFAs & PUFAs. Avocados are 71% MUFA. Furthermore, as an avocado ripens, the MUFA content in it increases and saturated fat decreases. Owing to this, studies have found LDL Cholesterol to decrease in the body with consumption of avocados. [3]

Here you go! This gets us to the end of our list of top 10 vegan sources of healthy fats and ways to include them in your diet. Now all you need to do is, make a conscious attempt to give these super healthy foods a little space in your meals!