Saturated Fat Limit Calculator

About this calculator

This calculator sets a daily saturated fat limit based on two different guideline thresholds, both expressed as a percentage of total daily calories rather than a fixed gram amount, since fat needs scale with how much someone eats overall. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) sets the general population limit at less than 10% of calories from saturated fat.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends a notably stricter target of roughly 5-6% of calories specifically for people who need to lower their LDL ('bad') cholesterol or who are at elevated cardiovascular risk, reflecting the strong link between saturated fat intake and blood cholesterol levels that drive atherosclerosis and heart disease.

Dietitians and people managing cholesterol or cardiovascular risk use both benchmarks side by side — entering daily calorie intake to see the corresponding gram limit under the general DGA guideline versus the stricter heart-healthy AHA target, making it easy to see how much stricter the cardiac-focused recommendation actually is.