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By Diane Hanson
Which is better, butter or margarine? Butter versus margarine is definitely not a new debate. In fact, argument over “butter is better than margarine” has been going on for years ever since the buzzword – trans fats – took center stage.
My main reason to resurrect this issue again is, I overheard a mom telling her daughter
to pick a tub of margarine and not butter because “it’s plant-
Yes, she’s right to a certain extent. Margarine is manufactured from vegetable oils
and therefore it has no cholesterol. Additionally, margarine is also higher in “good”
fats – polyunsaturated and monounsaturated – which keep your arteries healthy and
help decrease “bad” cholesterol or low-
On the contrary, butter is manufactured from animal fat, so it contains cholesterol and high levels of saturated fat. Having high levels of saturated fats in your diet is dangerous; it puts you at higher risk for heart and circulatory diseases, such as coronary heart disease, heart attacks, angina and stroke.
Sounds logical but here’s the trap – not all margarine are made equal. Surprisingly, some may even be worse than butter.
Most margarine are processed using a method called hydrogenation whereby hydrogen is bubbled through liquid vegetable oils to render them solid at room temperature. Hydrogenation results in unhealthy trans fats.
Similar to saturated fats, trans fats increase “bad” cholesterol and your risk of
heart disease. Trans fats also decrease “good” cholesterol or high-
As a general rule of thumb, the more solid the margarine, the more trans fats it
contains. Those stick margarines are not heart-
However, margarine can be better than butter but the key is to choose the right type of margarine.
The next time when you grocery shop, choose a margarine with no or lowest trans fat content possible, with less than 2 grams total of saturated fat and trans fats per tablespoon on its nutrition label.
Also, look for liquid vegetable oil as the first ingredient on the ingredient list. Sometimes, the specific vegetable oil may be identified such as canola oil or corn oil.
For diet, “light” or trans fat free margarine (I wouldn’t use it for baking or cooking as the water content may affect the end result), you’ll see water as the first ingredient, so look for the second ingredient and make sure it’s a liquid vegetable oil instead of partially hydrogenated oil.
These days, you can also find margarine fortified with omega 3 or plant sterols. Margarine with plant sterols are said to help lower “bad” cholesterol levels by more than 10 percent. However, you need at least 2 grams daily to achieve such results.
The American Heart Association recommends foods fortified with plant sterols for
people with levels of LDL cholesterol over 160 milligrams per deciliter (4.1 mmol/L).
Omega 3 are not just good for heart, they also provide your body with a number of
diverse health-
There are numerous healthy margarine brands available to consumers today. Some of
these soft margarine and cholesterol-
Having said that, there are also other healthy alternatives to margarine and butter.
Take antioxidant-
Which is Healthier? Butter or Margarine
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