Some types of saturated fat in your blood—especially from processed carbs—are linked to higher diabetes risk, while others from dairy are linked to lower risk.

The artificial trans fats found in fried foods and margarine don’t seem to raise the risk of type 2 diabetes when looked at on their own, which surprises many people who think all trans fats are bad.

Eating saturated fat doesn’t always make you more likely to get heart disease or diabetes—it depends on what foods contain the fat and what you eat instead of it.

Eating saturated fat doesn’t always make you more likely to get heart disease or diabetes—it depends on what foods you’re getting it from and what you’re eating instead.

A fat called trans-palmitoleic acid was once thought to protect against diabetes, but when scientists accounted for other similar fats in dairy, the link disappeared — meaning the earlier belief was probably wrong.

Not all trans fats are the same — some dairy fats lower diabetes risk, one dairy fat raises it, and artificial trans fats don’t seem to matter at all. What matters most is the exact molecular shape, not whether it’s natural or artificial.