Posted on 12/13/2021 10:57:11 AM PST by Red Badger
Credit: CC0 Public Domain
In the U.S. the year-end holidays are here, which not only makes it the season of joy and celebration, but also of butter as many Americans make batches of cookies and creamy comfort foods to celebrate. In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned partially hydrogenated oils from food products such as margarines in order to reduce the amount of heart-damaging trans fats people consume. A new study from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health recently compared the nutrition composition of margarine products to butter to see which is now the healthier choice in terms of cardiovascular health.
"What we found is that in the U.S. marketplace today, margarines are now a better option than butter for your health," said study lead author and public health nutrition student Cecily Weber. "In the past there was a lot of debate about which product was better for you, but now that trans fats have been removed from margarines, they're the best choice in terms of heart health."
The study, led by Weber and co-authored by Professor Lisa Harnack, is the first to comprehensively look at margarine versus butter since the FDA ban went into effect. The details of the study were recently published in the journal Public Health Nutrition.
Weber examined the fatty acid profiles and relevant vitamin and mineral content of 83 margarine/margarine-like and butter blend products available in the U.S. marketplace in 2020 and compared them to butter. Weber collected the information using the Food and Nutrient Database from the University of Minnesota Nutrition Coordinating Center (NCC), which is a database detailing the nutritional content of thousands of foods. Harnack is the director of the NCC.
The study found:
Following the ban, margarine and butter blend products contain substantially less saturated fat and cholesterol in comparison to butter, and contain no man-made trans fat.
Softer tub and squeeze-tube margarine products were found to contain less saturated fat than stick margarines, making them the better nutritional choice among margarine products.
"The findings are particularly important for registered dietitians and other nutrition-related health professionals so that they can update their advice and offer people the best options in order to promote heart health," says Weber.
Weber says the news is also important for consumers so that they know it's nutritionally wisest to choose tub and squeeze-tube margarines in particular over butter when shopping for food. Tub and squeeze-tube margarines typically contain the least amount of saturated fats, which makes them softer than stick products at room temperature. Weber also added that food manufacturers are to be commended for reformulating their products to eliminate trans fats and maintain their taste and quality while keeping their saturated fat content low.
"It's a public health success story," says Weber. "Consumers no longer have to worry about reading product nutritional labels to see if they contain hydrogenated oils and trans fats. They can just know that they no longer do."
Explore further
Consumer health: Butter, margarine and your heart
More information: Cecily Weber et al, Nutrient comparisons of margarine/margarine-like products, butter blend products and butter in the US marketplace in 2020 post-FDA ban on partially hydrogenated oils, Public Health Nutrition (2021).
DOI: 10.1017/S1368980021004511
Journal information: Public Health Nutrition
[[Nonetheless, butter is generally consumed in small amounts,]]
I slather it on everything- mashed potatoes- squash- rice, toast of course- pop corn- hamburgers- I likely eat way more than i should- but foods just aren’t as good without it in my opinion- nothign like potatoes dripping with butter, loaded with black pepper and a little salt-
Yup- Agree!
Right. Sure it is. Uh huh.
Shall we call it Bill Gates butter while we’re at it?
And then there’s their dessert course’s dessert course: cheese!
If butter is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
And lard is the secret to a perfect pie crust. Vegetable shortening just doesn’t cut it.
And duck fat makes everything it touches better.
Ive tried that brand and its ok but prefer kerryGold and Anchor (cannot locate it anymore) and we go through 2-4 lbs on an average week
Nope.
Cabot’s is great butter.
Two-four sticks of butter a week? You must have a restaurant, and a very good one.
If margarine is STILL industrial lubricant with food coloring added, then no thanks!
...and so the Green New Deal continues. Hard to have butter after you drive out cattle from our diets.
LOL, it's true! I'm glad they stopped the seesaw on coffee that went on for a while (some decades back). Coffee is bad for you ..... Coffee is good for you .... Coffee is bad for you .... Coffee is good for you. Honestly, it was like that. I never gave up drinking coffee; but, it was frustrating.
Hubby and I tried Kerrygold Butter from Ireland (grass fed cows), and we have never turned back. The flavor of this product cannot be matched by the butter I have been using for years from U.S.
Butter is natural and tasty.
Butter never claims "I can't believe it's not margarine."
Who knows how they torture it before putting it in their processed food through.
Butter, coconut, lard and quality olive oil are the oils in my kitchen currently.
YumYum!
Wow....two “no puns intended” in one sentence! Congrats....
I find Kerrygold to be richer and less watery than standard butter.
The higher price is justified in my opinion because it just goes further.
Agreed... But in the liberals mind you must consider the poor cow.
Don't eat meat, or meat bi-products, or wear animal skins on your body. Always go with the GMO foods. And FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, get in line and get your jab so YOU TOO can become a genetically modified organism... (spit)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.