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Fact Buster
Q: Butter or margarine: which is better when it comes to fat?
A: Margarine - most margarines have less saturated fat and no synthetic trans-fats (but you need to read the label).
Published 06/08/2008
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Conditions of Use
The butter versus margarine debate is confusing. In one corner, butter lovers say their spread is a natural and healthier alternative; in the other are those who argue butter is loaded with saturated fats and has no place in a healthy diet.
At the heart of the issue is fat and more specifically three types: saturated, unsaturated and trans-fats.
Saturated fat occurs naturally in animal foods such as butter. Saturated fat raises LDL (bad) cholesterol levels in your blood, which can clog arteries and lead to heart disease.
Unsaturated fats include monounsaturated fats (predominant in plant-based foods such as canola and olive oil), and polyunsaturated fats (the major type in sunflower and safflower oils as well as omega-3 varieties found in fish and linseeds). These fats lower the level of LDL (bad) cholesterol, and can help prevent heart disease, especially when they're used in place of saturated fat.
Trans-fats occur naturally in meat and dairy products, but the problematic one is a synthetic trans-fat that is sometimes produced when vegetable oils are hardened in the presence of hydrogen.
There are several ways of hardening oils. One is partial hydrogenation, which produces the nasty trans-fat called elaidic acid. Another is complete hydrogenation; this doesn't produce elaidic acid but it increases saturated fat content.
The synthetic trans-fat is much more potent than saturated fats: it raises your LDL cholesterol while lowering your HDL cholesterol.
Butter, margarine and spreads
Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton says we shouldn't eat too much butter, margarine or similar yellow spreads as they all contain saturated fats and are high in calories.
Butter is almost 60 per cent saturated fat but has no synthetic trans-fat, and while it's okay to eat occasionally, people with any risk of heart disease need to avoid it.
Some people believe the trans-fat found in some margarines makes butter a healthier alternative, but this isn't the case in Australia as most of our margarine makers no longer use the manufacturing process that creates the trans-fat.
Stanton says some of the cheaper imported margarines or those made by smaller companies may contain some trans-fat, so you need to read the label and make sure there's less than 1 per cent trans-fat when buying margarine.
Margarine usually has less than half the saturated fat of butter and products labelled as 'polyunsaturated' or 'monounsaturated' must have a minimum percentage of unsaturated fats and a limited amount of saturated fat.
Stanton says the products most of us call margarines are actually spreads. These are made with less overall fat (more water) and much less saturated fat than butter, straight margarine or cooking margarine.
There are also dairy spreads that combine butter with liquid vegetable oils; this reduces the saturated fat content but it's still higher than that of vegetable-based spreads.
Saturated fat levels
The best way to choose the healthiest butter, margarine or spread is to look at the label and compare the nutritional value of the products.
Stanton says butter, margarine and other yellow spreads usually contain the following amounts of saturated fat:
- Butter has 52 grams of saturated fat per 100 grams
- Dairy spreads have 19 to 35 grams of saturated fat per 100 grams
- Margarines or spreads labelled as 'polyunsaturated' or 'monounsaturated' have saturated fat levels that may be as low as 11 grams per 100 grams, but may be higher so check the label
- Cooking margarines have 35 grams of saturated fat per 100 grams
- Vegetable shortening (such as copha) may have as much as 98 grams of saturated fat per 100 grams.
Of course, there are healthy alternatives to butter and margarine such as avocado, nut butters or hummus on your sandwich, and vegetable oils for frying, but sometimes a recipe will only work with butter or margarine.
In this case, you can substitute a product containing a high level of saturated fat with the same amount of a product that contains a lower level of saturated fat. But if this approach offends your taste buds, consider these items as rare treats and enjoy them in small amounts.
Dr Rosemary Stanton is a nutritionist. She was interviewed by Claudine Ryan.
More Questions »
Comments (64)
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Vince :
21 Aug 2008 1:14:12am
The important fact listed in the article was that margarine lowers HDL. In one of the ABC Health Report showed a high HDL had more important role in reducing heart disease than just a low LDL.
Next look at the ratio of omega 3:omega 6, in butter it is around 1:1 or about 2%. In margarine omega 6 can be as high as 60%. The level of omega6 in the diet is at astronomical levels. Has the trend to using vegetable oils with high levels of omega 6 caused many of the diseases we see today? When I was at school (60s) asthma was not common, about 1 in a class of 30, peanut allergies where unheard of and allergies in general where much less serious. The first cases of peanut allergies seemed to occur in the children girls who where brought up on fast foods, cooked in vegetable oils.
A Catalyst show a few years ago covered research on omega3/omega6 on metabolism. This show seemed to point the finger at the lack of omega3 and excess in omega6 causing diabetes and allergies.
That show scared me as my mother had diabetes so I started taking flaxseed oil as an omega3 supplement. After 3 months I has some blood tests, fasting blood sugar, and LDL cholesterol down but HDL went up. The Doc was very supprised at the drop to 4.3. We should think of the trans-fats in margarine as catalyst, the effect many times higher than the relative level of saturated fat.-
ABC (Moderator):
21 Aug 2008 9:33:01am
To clarify: as explained in the article, it is not *margarine* that lowers HDL, but the synthetic trans fats produced in a process called partial hydrogenation, which is used to produce some kinds of margarine.
The article also explains that most Australian margarine makers no longer use this manufacturing process, so most Australian margarines have very little trans-fat.
Check the label to make sure there's less than 1 per cent trans-fat when buying margarine.
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Ross :
13 Aug 2008 1:08:22pm
Is there a third way? I eat this table spread, as they call it, and available in health food stores. Detail of what's in it and how it's made is on their website (no, i don't work for them).It's basically a combination of canola and flaxseed and/or sunflower (I think0 oils and supposedly made without hydrogenation but by a completely different process to margarine. Is this a healthy alternative or is it not significantly different/better than margarine? what do the 'experts' say?
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ABC (Moderator):
13 Aug 2008 6:53:57pm
The production of spreads and how they compare to margarine is discussed in the article above.
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CP :
14 Aug 2008 2:04:42pm
There has been some interesting research into the link between canola oil and Macular Degeneration, a form of blindness. It's not widely publicised, I guess we have a big canola industry in Australia.
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White :
13 Aug 2008 8:29:10am
There seem to be three things of importance in this debate.
The first and most important is" Which is better for your health"? You can debate all you like about "Butter is full of saturated fats" or "Margarine is yellow because they put dye in it". The fact remains that there have been no well conducted, prospective reasearch studied done using human subject to answer the question. The question cannot be answered.
The second question is that of "Taste". This is a matter of personal preference and should be of little concern. No matter how much we argue we cannot change a person's taste preference. I would say that there is no place in this discussion for the view "I can't believe that something that tastes so bad can be good for you". Science should be free of personal bias.
The third thing that nobody seems to have mentioned is "Which is less fattening"? If my memory is correct there is little calorific difference between the various fats and oils so neither buttor or margarine can claim an advantage.
It's up to you look at the scientific facts available, check your tastebuds and eat either sparingly. -
Claire Hudson :
11 Aug 2008 4:32:04pm
The elephant in the room that no one is talking about is how the oils and fats are extracted and derived in the first place. With Canola, for example, a petrol derivative is used, as more oil can be extracted using chemical means. Also,at least overseas, the oil is pumped into the hulls of large ships that are used to carry a variety of fluids, and in some places they only require 10 non toxic loads beforehand, I witnessed the canola oil extraction and processing in Germany a few years ago while on a study tour, and stopped eating margarine immediately after. I have since found the use of petrol derivatives to extract more oil is common, hence you should also choose only the first cold pressing in extra virgin olive oil, etc. We were advised that residual benzol does stay in the product, but the amounts are thought to be too small to worry about. I wonder what that means!!!
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dkril :
11 Aug 2008 4:13:13pm
Butter all the way! I used to make margarine for a living; the only reason it's yellow is because they dye it yellow!
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fatty Carbuckle :
11 Aug 2008 12:44:04pm
I Know this is off subject but has anyone considered which of the spreads is more carbon friendly.
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Murray :
11 Aug 2008 10:11:29am
Why worry about which is better? We are all going to die sooner or later. I wouldn't eat margarine for quids. EXERCISE and eat what you like (within limits!) will probably leave you happy and content. Nutrition experts are mainly scare mongers at worst and biased at best. If they are to be believed, I should have died long ago.
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alma ries :
11 Aug 2008 10:01:06am
last year i decided to stop eating margarines, and go back to butter as it is 'natural'. didn't change intake amount. cholesterol went from healthy to unhealthy range, got rid of butter, now back within healthy cholesterol range using plant sterol margarine.
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Peter :
11 Aug 2008 9:55:59am
I found this very interesting reading. I use Cholestrol reducing margarine, but only sparingly. I have a home made breakfast of oats, oat bran, sultanas and linseed seeds with fresh banana and blueberries (when I can get them) and pour over with some light soy milk. I also have my vitamins at this time.
After giving time for all this to digest, about 1 hour later [second breakfast] I have tea and toast. (reason: tea blocks iron and plant sterols capture soluble vitamins). -
henalf :
11 Aug 2008 8:24:24am
As an old age pensioner, I can say that as things are going with "Give Away" Rudd,we will not be able to afford butter or margarine.
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jh :
11 Aug 2008 10:04:13am
Oh for God's sake, even butter is Rudd's fault now? Only a bitter loser could turn table spread into a "chicken little-esque - the sky is falling" political comment. You lost - get over it. Most of us will have a decent superannuation thanks to the last Labor PM. So I can look forward to butter on my table well into my dotage. Margarine is awful.
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Hayward :
11 Aug 2008 6:55:58am
Butter as a spread and in cakes and first pressed Australian Olive oil for cooking most of the time. But sometimes mustard seed, grape seed or sesame oil depending on what style of cooking.
As noted by an earlier contributor margarine a good substitite for grease!
One exception, I forgot you cannot beat suet for the best Xmas pud! -
Poida :
11 Aug 2008 6:03:08am
Horses for courses. Butter tastes better (am I the only one that reckons margarine tastes like kero?!?), so butter goes in my gob.
Margarine is also a good thing; it stops my car's wheels from rusting! -
JohnnyS :
09 Aug 2008 11:13:54pm
If I hapen to ingest some margarine then a couple of hours or so later you will find me with a bad case of the "trots" so I never eat anything spread that might have used it. Sandwiches are therefore a "no-no". Having been a butter eater for about 80 years I am prepared to take my chances with continuing to be a butter eater, after all it is a natural product, not manufactured, proven by having made it in my home simply by churning fresh cream.
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NeilE :
09 Aug 2008 10:37:13pm
I think everybody should read, The Oiling of America, by Mary Enig.PhD. and Sally Fallon.
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Tom Riddle :
09 Aug 2008 5:46:08pm
As a kid our mum always used butter. We never knew what margarine was. My wife has used margarine all her life and thinks butter tastes funny.
We came to an agreement long ago. There is always both butter and margarine in the fridge :) -
David :
08 Aug 2008 8:57:21pm
We used to eat Margarine until there was a newsreader who stated that he was going blind as a result of eating vegetable oils (I can't remember his name now). We eat Butter now, however I have read that Coconut Oil is better than both butter and vegetable oil - especially for cooking as it lowers cholesterol and boosts metabolism (although you may have to get used to the different taste). What do you think?
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L :
08 Aug 2008 6:15:18pm
Health is not just about cholesterol. Plant oils can be good or bad also for their content of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, whose imbalance is the cause of many illnesses.
As for animal fats, it depends what the animal was fed. Grass-fed cows produce healthy butter with high content of Omega 3 f.a. which lowers blood LDL. Grain-feeding gives less healthy milk and meat. -
Mim :
08 Aug 2008 5:56:39pm
I'm fortunate to have okay cholesterol readings so don't fuss about what I eat. No margarine for me. Butter and lots of it. Would be different if I had a different set of genes.
When I die I'll go happily fed, even if I could have maybe stretched the time out a bit longer by denying myself the enjoyment of yummy food :) -
Benny :
08 Aug 2008 3:34:54pm
As a "foodie" who loves to cook, it can only be butter. Margarine in baking just doesn't cut the mustard.
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Rod :
08 Aug 2008 3:31:16pm
Only butter butters!
Just don't use too much! -
km :
08 Aug 2008 3:22:04pm
So far as I'm concerned butter is the only way to go. It was no contest really when I learned that margerine is only one blink away from being plastic. Why would anyone want to eat plastic?
For the small amount of butter I eat each day I'll take the risk re heart disease/high cholesterol, and trust that since my daily consumption of fruit/veg is way over the suggested 7 pieces, I'm as protected as I can be.-
tc :
09 Aug 2008 6:00:34pm
"one blink away from being plastic" I take it KM you are referring to that mind boggling email that has done the rounds of the internet for the past 10 or so years. God help you if this is how you 'learn' stuff and if you actually believe it!! The email claims that, "Margarine is one molecule away from being plastic". Well, guess what, thousands of completely different products share very similar molecular structures and by making the slightest molecular variation it can make a world of difference to a product. So all in all the statement about margarine being a blink away from being plastic is meaningless.
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Kazbah :
10 Aug 2008 11:19:00pm
Open a container of margarine and put it outside in a sheltered spot. Animals and insects don't touch it. Have a look at it a week later. Give me butter any day.
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myx :
11 Aug 2008 3:40:55am
hydrogenating vegetable oils denatures all teh principal benefactors in an oil. there is absolutely nothing good about margarine, and i don't even eat butter unless it's an essential ingredient in a cake.
i have medirannean heritage and and olive oil runs through my veins.
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Olive Oyl :
08 Aug 2008 3:00:45pm
I generally use olive oil spread, and occasionally switch to butter on bread and jam as a special treat.
Is using olive oil spread different to normal margarine? -
helendamnation :
08 Aug 2008 12:21:03pm
Possibly the real issue is that we are getting just a bit too precious about health and diet, and how we live our lives. The unfortunate reality is that whatever we do we are all going to pop our clogs. Eat healthily, certainly, and accept the direct results if you don't...however! As we age things aren't going to be as well-functioning as they were when we were twenty.
I would suggest that, if taken in healthy quantities, neither should be impacting overall health to the extent it becomes something of concern. Therefore - eat whichever you prefer and enjoy.
Mind you - who ever heard of good old fashioned pastry made with marg??? Gimme that lard and butter pastry any day (but not too much!!) -
S.B. :
08 Aug 2008 10:40:28am
If you look at the research by a leading microbiologist Dr Robert Young you will see that butter and margarine do not alkaline the body. Avocado and hommus are better.
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Tony :
08 Aug 2008 9:24:39am
I get the impression from looking at most of the comments so far that this article seems to attract the sort of people who mostly prefer to eat butter.
Now that would be an interesting little piece of research to find out why this website attracts these sort of people. I eat a Cholesterol-lowering spread - Margarine, BTW. -
Bruni :
08 Aug 2008 12:24:46am
I remember reading a not so old research that people who have heart attacks with a high LDL cholesterol have a better chance of surviving the heart attack than those who have taken medication or made changes to lower their cholesterol.
My grandparents both lived into their mid 80's + and they ate butter. As another respondent mentioned, what are they doing with our foods today that makes it less nutritious (now takes 3 apples to get the vitamins 1 apple used to give). Organic seems the way to go.
What/Who is an expert? As Buddah so aptly said; "Listen to your teachers, but do not believe them. Do your own research if it then proves beneficial to you or others, take it into your life." Regards, Bruni-
Engineer :
11 Aug 2008 5:01:22pm
You ask who is an expert. I must suggest that nutritionists are trained in the field and are thus potential experts. Rosemary Stanton has been active for many years as well as having the qualifications... I suppose that she is thus an expert.
I use extra virgin olive oil wherever oil/fat is called for as far as possible; otherwise, either nothing (sandwiches) or a little butter.
On the basis of taste and naturalness, margarine has no place in my home, despite the undoubted expertness of the opinion which started all of this.
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Melanie :
07 Aug 2008 11:11:10pm
When cows evolve (not GM) to produce margarine I might give it a go. I dont find it very useful to make the 100g comparision given I never finish a 500g pack of butter before it expires. Therefore my intake is negligible and i am happy to live life on the edge eating cow butter as opposed to chemist butter. Besides who wants to live a few years longer eating margarine - what would be the point?
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Franco :
07 Aug 2008 8:03:19pm
People that eat margarine are alien to me and very strange. Try mashing an anchovy with butter and spreading it on rye bread toast. Don't laugh! Just try it :)
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Anne R :
07 Aug 2008 6:52:51pm
I'm happy with my Canola spread. But have heard that heating margarine (e.g. for frying) forms trans-fats. Is this true, please?
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Joyce Parkes :
07 Aug 2008 6:42:38pm
I've been using butter as a special treat only and do completely without margarine. The taste of margarine makes me feel nauseus.
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Rosemary Stanton :
07 Aug 2008 6:14:21pm
I have already been asked by several people if I consume margarine. The answer is no. There is no margarine in my house.
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AT :
07 Aug 2008 5:41:43pm
If you think that butter is better for you in comparison with margarine - you are right. But is conventional butter good for you - not so sure. Apparently it has nothing to do with real butter, taking into consideration conventionally produced milk as a product of intensive farming with the use of antibiotics, growth hormones, genetically modified grains, feed of animal origin and other nasties that end up in the milk and consequently in butter. So if you care for your health, cows and prefer a natural product go for organic butter. I do...
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Calochilus :
07 Aug 2008 5:25:39pm
Isn't it time this old furfey was put down and given a decent burial. Look to the work of Mary Enig among many. See http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/cvd_index.html
and many others for a more balanced look. -
Ralph :
07 Aug 2008 4:56:24pm
Strange that there's no mention of plant sterols which are in a number of margarines - at a greatly increased price - I would like to know if they're of value and worth it.
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Rosemary Stanton :
08 Aug 2008 2:02:25pm
Plant sterols can attach to unabsorbed cholesterol and we then excrete them along with the attached cholesterol. Unfortunately plant sterols also attach to some fat-soluble vitamins and to carotenoids - many of which appear to have anti-cancer action when consumed from their natural sources (vegetables and fruits). Manufacturers of plant-sterol enriched spreads can add the fat soluble vitamins to their products and CSIRO has found that adding an extra serving of fruit and vegetables to the daily diet will make up for the loss of at least some of the carotenoids (they didn't test them all -there are over 600 carotenoids that are potentially useful). The problem is that most Australians don't even manage to eat the minimum recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables, so it's unlikely that they will add an extra serving.
Other ways of reducing blood cholesterol include cutting back on saturated fats and reducing excess weight. The problem is that few people know where saturated fats are - over 40% now come from processed vegetable fats used in commercial frying and added to processed foods.-
Col :
10 Aug 2008 7:01:29am
Thanks Rosemary for your helpful and instructive insights.
I use neither butter nor margarine as a spread. Partially this is because the debate seems to be about which is worse (i.e there seems to be little benefit in either). Partially it is also because I inevitably want another spread on bread anyway (e.g. jam or honey) or salad etc. and the taste of the better or margarine seems to detract from these and not add to it. Also, partially as I have seen people in other countries live simpler lives without butter and margarine.
I try to encourage my family to also avoid these as spreads (without success) - we rarely ever have butter in our house.
We tried the "cholesterol reducing" margarines on the advice of a Doctor/Uncle. However the price is rather prohibitive to many people.
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SJ :
07 Aug 2008 4:52:19pm
Definitely butter, only use it very rarely and sparingly, never use margarine. The other day I had a small crust of yummy organic bread with a good dolp of organic butter, in heaven. But that was a rare treat.
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konzie :
06 Aug 2008 9:48:10pm
Well said, Nugget. When we found out years and years ago what margarine was made of, we crossed it off our "edible" list.
The banning of trans fats is now underway in the U.S. and soon in Australia. Perhaps we were correct in feeling misled by all the hype about how healthy Magarine was. I am so glad we and our children have had only butter all these healthy years.
Oh, check out Propylene Glycol ---- it's anti freeze, great for adding to your radiator. To go one step further towards healthy eating drop the bread and spread altogether, and cut back on grains. Apart from Celiac disease, research shows that grains are responsible for the "Diabetic Epidemic". The carbs in grains are converted to sugar in the body.......... Drop the toast and sangers and maccas and enjoy a new level of healthiness.-
Chookie :
07 Aug 2008 4:52:44pm
I am definately a butter person as well. How can anyone with any biochemical and nutritional knowledge say that margarine is "better than butter". Sure, it has less saturated fat, but when will people realise that it is the hydrogenated VEGETABLE OILS that are responsible for our chronic disease epidemic! Everything from type 2 diabetes to macular degeneration can be stopped in its tracks, if we eat natural fats - yes that includes saturated fats. Coconut oil is probably the most health giving oil we have on our planet -it too is saturated (nature intended it to be that way as it is grown in the tropics!) That is its protection from going rancid. Let's all get back to eating food naturally, like it was intended to be consumed. Say NO to all rancid, plastic, newfangled fats!! That way we will all live longer and healthier. Perhaps there is no money in that though???
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Chris L :
10 Aug 2008 11:22:58am
Although grains are not the best thing around, it is absolutely not the cause of the diabetic epidemic!!
The latter is caused by the ever-increasing and insiduous amounts of SUGAR in everything. At the beginning of the 20th century an individual (in western world) ate approx 5kg sugar @ annum; now the average is 60 - 75kg!!!
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Nugget :
06 Aug 2008 9:19:01pm
I am a Butter person. butter contain's only Cream Salt and Water
Margarine Contain's
Edible Fats
Potassium Chloride
Ascorbyl Palminate
Butylated Hydroxyanisole
Tert-Butylhydroquine
Mono-& Diglycerides of Fat,
Forming Fatty Acid's,
Disodium Guanlate,
Diacetyl Tartaric & Fatty Esters of Glycerol,
Propyl Otctyl or Dodocyl Gallate,
Tocopherols,
Propylene Glycol Mono-Di-Esters,
Sicrose Esters of Fatty Acids,
Curcumin,
Annatto Acids,
Tartaric Acid,
3,5,Trimethyhexanal,
B-apo-Carotenoic Acid,
Skim Milk Powder,
Xanthophylls,
Canthaxanthin,
Vitamins A and D.
and you want us to eat this you have to be joking, Margarine is made from hydrogenated Canola Oil, Canola Oil is a light Industrial Oil, Change one more molecule and it becomes plastic , try this simple test, leave a open tub in your garage an see what happens ,rats, mice, ants,cockroaches, nothing will eat it, mould will not grow on it, it has no nutritional value whatsoever Why??? because it's almost plastic thats why-
acm :
07 Aug 2008 6:02:04am
This informsyion, though well-intended and in line with current trends, may be leading to a serious deficiency of the fats necessary for our bodies to process vital nutrients
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MAB :
07 Aug 2008 11:17:50am
ACM defiencies in what Fats? If you are so worried about it why not supplment with Fish Oil or even better, Macadamia Oil in your diet! If margarine is your primary source of fats then i believe you need to re evaluate your dietary approach in life!
Konzie, youve hit the nail on the head with your points. This country is over carbed and underfit its not funny.-
dave :
07 Aug 2008 11:17:19pm
how cares eat wat you want to eat or have to eat if your at risk of heart disease you wont eat butter no good it tastes.
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amanda c :
08 Aug 2008 11:29:14am
I love butter and don't even want to touch the lid of a marg container. Their is no better tatse than heaps of butter and jam on toast. ever body needs a "bit'o butta".
if the world ran out of cows.....i just would have bread!!! -
Greenie :
11 Aug 2008 9:33:27am
A lot of well considered replies...I can only add by saying that as so many people in this world don't have the resources to eat the 5/2 ratio ...and last week according to "The Guardian " newspaper , people in Haiti are eating cakes made of clay (without either butter or marjerine !!!)...then I'm happy to have any thing to eat at all . Think on that.
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doug :
13 Aug 2008 11:57:10am
amen to that!
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Kali :
14 Aug 2008 12:36:41pm
I am sold on macadamia oil it tastes great in cooking and I bought mine in bulk 20L at $5.00 per L thats cheaper than most of the better oils. If I could make a spread for it if I knew how ???? I have been a butter convert for ages it tastes better.
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David :
18 Aug 2008 6:11:34pm
I tend to avoid butter or margarine on bread except when I have plain bread with (say) boiled egg. Then I use light cream cheese spread. How does that compare?
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