Q&A: How much "good" fat should I eat?

How much "good" polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat should I eat? —J.F.M., Milton, Del.

That depends on your overall calorie intake. Recent guidelines suggest that you can get up to 35 percent of your daily calories from fats. For a person on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, that amounts to a high of about 78 grams of fat (since 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories). A vast majority of those—at least 60 grams—should come from the heart-healthy unsaturated fats you cited. (Artery-clogging saturated fats should account for no more than 7 percent of calories—about 16 grams for a 2,000-calorie diet—and trans fats, no more than 1 percent, or about 2 grams.) Good sources of unsaturated fat include fish, nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils.