Not all fats are equal when it comes to health. Fats from animals (meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs) are higher in saturated fatty acids than most fats from plants. Higher intake of saturated relative to unsaturated fatty acids is associated with higher risk for cardiovascular disease. The fats in plants (grains, nuts, seeds, non-tropical plant oils, and some veggies/fruits like avocados) are made up mostly of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, both of which have been found to be heart healthy.
A prospective cohort study that analyzed data on 175,650 women and 231,881 men found that higher intake of fats from plants (especially grains and vegetable oils) was associated with lower risk of death both overall and from cardiovascular disease (like heart attack and stroke). Higher intake of fats from animals on the other hand, was associated with higher risk.
The researchers estimated that replacing five percent of caloric intake from animal fat with the same number of calories from plant fat could lower risk of death by four to 24 percent, and risk of death from cardiovascular disease by five to 30 percent. This suggests that swapping out three slices of bacon on your breakfast plate or BLT with half an avocado would be a good practice to adopt. Shifting from butter to plant-oil or plant-oil based spreads is also a change in the right direction. Simple swaps like this throughout the day will add up in the long run.