In reality, your body needs dietary fat to work properly. Your heart cells, for example, run almost entirely on fatty acids. Fat is also necessary for vitamin and mineral absorption, as well as cellular energy.

However, not all fats have the same nutritional value to your body. Trans fat found in vegetable shortenings and partially hydrogenated oils has zero health benefits. Despite its bad rap, saturated fat is safe to eat if eaten in small amounts—typically less than 10 percent of your daily fat intake. Unsaturated fats found in olive oil, plant-based foods, and omega-3 fatty acids have potentially healthy impacts on your body, including improved cholesterol, reduced joint pain, and protection against heart disease.

Eating fat is part of a balanced, healthy diet. But how much you need in your diet depends entirely on your body and your goals. Here’s some information to help you easily measure 20 grams of fat without a scale!