Until recently, the distinction between food fats was limited to saturated and unsaturated. Today, new theories clearly establish the importance of the ratio of unsaturated fats among each other.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated are two types of unsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats are found in large amounts in many land plant foods, including olive oil, peanuts, avocado and canola oil. It is recommended that 15% of our required caloric intake come from monounsaturated fats.

Polyunsaturated fats are mostly present in plant foods such as sunflower, corn, and soy oil. It is recommended that about 7% of our caloric intake come from polyunsaturated fats. There are two types of polyunsaturated fatty acids: Omega-3 series fatty acids, present in marine life and in some land plants, and Omega-6 series fatty acids concentrated in land-based vegetable foods such as sunflower and corn oil. To perform their vital roles in our body, these two groups of fatty acids must be balanced; that is, for each Omega-3 gram in our body there should be 5 to 10 grams of Omega-6s
(Omega-3: Omega-6 = 1:5).