Margarine often tops butter when it comes to heart health. Margarine is a blend of oils that are mostly unsaturated fat. Butter is made from cream or milk. The type of fat found in animal products, such as cream, is mostly saturated fat.
Since margarine has a variable but high trans fat level, the consumption of margarine may lead to an increased incidence of heart disease, cancer, and other diseases when compared with butter. Hence, butter is considered healthier than margarines.
Pros: Margarine is much lower in saturated fat than butter, and it is made from vegetable oils, so it contains no cholesterol. Cons: Although it is lower in saturated fat, stick margarine still contains about the same amount of total fat and calories as butter.
In fact, butter is about 50 to 60 per cent saturated fat, while margarine is only about 9 per cent saturated, which is why margarine is usually the healthier choice.
As part of a healthy diet, CSIRO and Heart Foundation recommend the use of margarine / table spread over butter. Using Nuttelex Original in place of butter will reduce the saturated fat intake by 2.5kg* per year *Based on 20g of margarine versus 20g of butter per day.
Olive Oil. Olive oil is the most popular butter replacement and can be used for cooking and baking. Keep in mind that the taste of olive oil can vary, so be sure to choose a mild-tasting variety.
Try: swapping butter to vegetable oil spreads like sunflower, olive or rapeseed oil spreads.
So, what's the difference between margarine and spreads? Margarine must have a fat content of 80% or more (similar to butter). Spreads are similar to margarines, but with less fat. This is why Flora is called a spread – it contains less fat than margarine.
Margarine may contain trans fat, which raises LDL (bad) cholesterol, lowers HDL (good) cholesterol and makes blood platelets stickier, increasing heart disease risk. Margarine containing hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils contain trans fats and should be avoided.
Most margarine contains little or no cholesterol, whereas butter contains a significant amount of cholesterol. Some people may need to follow a cholesterol-controlled diet as a lifestyle change to manage heart disease or hypercholesterolemia.
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The short answer is while there is no exact rule for substituting the fats in your recipes, you'll likely be able to use butter or shortening as a one-to-one swap for margarine. In addition to butter, we're sharing some easy (and healthier swaps) for when you need a margarine substitute stat.
Scientists around the world simultaneously showed that saturated fat—the kind in butter and lard—increases both “bad” LDL cholesterol and “good” HDL cholesterol, making it similar to carbohydrates overall but not as beneficial to health as polyunsaturated fats from nuts and vegetables.
Vegetable Oil (containing sunflower oil 1o%), water, salt, emulsifiers (471, sunflower lecithin), natural flavour, vitamins A, D, E, natural colour (beta carotene).
The Best Options
The most heart-healthy options are neither butter nor margarine, but olive oil, avocado oil, and other vegetable-based spreads.
Use Avocado to Replace Butter for Toast
Avocado is healthier than butter — one avocado contains the same fat as two tablespoons of butter. It spreads well on toast and has a lot of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. It also contains a lot of potassium, which decreases blood pressure.
We found an association of shea butter consumption with lower BP, which provides the rationale for investigation through rigorous study designs to evaluate the benefits of shea butter consumption for prevention of hypertension and improved cardiovascular health.
Butter with Canola Oil contains the same amount of total fat and calories as regular butter, but has less saturated fat and 1/3 less cholesterol.
Margarine is the worst of all butters and spreads, as it is highly processed and loaded with pro-inflammatory Omega-6 fats and trans fats, which is considered the worst type of fat you can eat.” Gioffre says, “Trans fats raise your 'bad' cholesterol but also lowers your 'good' cholesterol, ultimately stressing your ...
Made with plant stanol ester, Benecol margarines are proven to lower cholesterol levels, according to the company's website. Often found in corn and rye, plant sterols and margarine with plant sterols work by partially blocking the intake of cholesterol by the gut, so less is absorbed into your bloodstream.