Trans fats - Margarine versus Butter

Have the urban legends about the dangers of margarine scared you into eating butter instead? Here’s an update to an age-old controversy.

Weight Control
Butter and margarine have the same calorie value - they are both fats and are very high in calories at about 100 Calories per Tablespoon (15 grams) or 35 Calories per teaspoon (5 grams). Trying to lose weight? Use all fats carefully - use them to bring out the flavor of other foods, not drown them! Try diet margarine or diet butter - they have a higher water content than regular fats and have fewer calories per serving. The problem is that most people simply eat too much margarine and butter  plus they eat other high fat foods as well - and much of the fat we eat is hidden in foods, not added as a spread. How much butter or margarine should you eat? Our PersonalDiets program gives you a balance of the right types of fats from all types of food so that fat content is optimized for health and weight control, using scientifically supported guidelines.

Good and Bad Fats
The controversy over butter vs. margarine is mostly over the actual fat content.  Both are high in total fat, but many people choose butter because they believe it is healthier because it is a natural fat and hasn’t been chemically processed like  margarine. Here are some thoughts to consider:

1. It is a common belief that butter and other animal fats do not contain  trans fats and that trans fats only occur as a by-product of hydrogenation, a chemical process used in making margarine from oils. This is not the case. Butter contains about 0.5 grams per tsp. of naturally occurring trans fat. Trans fats are naturally produced in the stomach of cows and other ruminants and are not just produced during manufacturing processes.

2. Not all margarine contains trans fats. Many brands of soft tub margarines are free of trans fats (or contain less the .5 grams of trans fats) and are very low in saturated fat. However, since some margarine brands are high in saturated fat and trans fats making them worse than butter, avoid hard margarines and read labels. Best choice: look for soft tub margarines that are labeled “trans fat free”.

3. Since butter is an animal fat, it contains both saturated fat and cholesterol  as well. Margarine is made from plants, so it is cholesterol-free.

4. Now there are many margarine brands that have a better balance of heart healthy fats. Instead of being made only from polyunsaturated fats, many margarine brands contain canola or olive oil, which are monounsaturated fats and are considered superior for hearth health. If you like butter but are working on heart healthy goals, there are butter spreads that blend butter with olive oil and other fats. Pesticides in butter and margarine If you choose real butter because you think it is healthier, consider that animals are fed hormones and eat grasses that contain pesticides. Pesticides and chemicals are stored in fatty tissue so when you eat butter and animal fat, chemical residues are concentrated as you go up the food chain (higher in mammals, lower in plants).  This is another good reason to keep total fat intake, especially animal fat lower in your diet. It’s a great argument for eating a vegetarian diet, or at least buying  organic pesticide free foods whenever possible.
 

Bottom Line
Keep all fats in check - use spreads sparingly to bring out the flavor in food.  On a lower fat diet, the type of fat you choose becomes less important because you are eating smaller amounts of all fat. However, to optimize heart health, choose fats that are trans-fat free and avoid saturated fats as much as possible. Ideally, choose fat spreads that are mostly monounsaturated fats and replace spreads like butter and margarine with olive oil or canola oil instead. Since there are so many brands and choices for both butter and margarine, read labels for these important ingredients: total fat, saturated fat and trans fats.

Choosing butter or margarine and figuring out the right balance of fat is just one of the many decisions that PersonalDiets considers when creating a complete, healthy plan so that our clients reach their personal health and weight goals.