MYTH BUSTING: BUTTER VS MARGARINE?

These days it can be difficult to determine fact from fiction, with nutrition information being thrown at you left right and center. Unfortunately, not all claims are backed by clinical nutrition science, so it is important to always check the source of your information before making changes in your daily eating habits.

A hot topic these days is butter VS margarine. So, to clear up some confusion here are a few quick facts:

Butter is based on animal fats and is high in unhealthy saturated fats which can cause an increase in blood cholesterol levels.

Margarine is based on plant oils which are typically high in healthy mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats (except for palm and coconut oil). These healthy fats can help lower cholesterol levels and are beneficial for heart and brain health.

Trans fats area a type of fat that are produced in the processing of a healthy fat and can have a negative effect on your health in a similar manner to saturated fats. In some countries trans fats are found in margarine, fortunately Australian produced margarines contain less than 1 per cent trans fats, compared to butters that contain on average 4 per cent trans fats.

OUR VERDICT

We recommend using a a healthy Australian made mono- or polyunsaturated based margarine as your day-to-day spread.