Rochester — butter, butter blend, or margarine. Which one do you prefer for a toast in the morning? Researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health conducted a comparative study to find the best options for cardiovascular health.
“What we found is that margarine has become a better health option than butter in the U.S. market today,” says Celia Weber, lead author of the study. “In the past, there was a lot of debate about which products were better for you, but now that trans fats have been removed from margarine, margarine is the best choice from a heart health perspective.”
In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of partially hydrogenated oils from foods such as margarine because they are bad for cardiovascular health. Partially hydrogenated oils are an artificial form of trans fat that can raise LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and increase your risk of heart disease.
Researchers examined fatty acids in 83 margarines, margarine-like products, and butter blend products and compared them to butter. They found that after the FDA ban, margarine and butter blended products had less saturated fat and cholesterol than butter. was also low in fat.
When it comes to cardiovascular health, choosing margarine in tubes and squeeze tubes is the wisest choice because it contains the lowest amount of saturated fat and is softer than stick products at room temperature, study authors say.
The study is published in the journal Public Health Nutrition.
The American Heart Association website supports these findings. Liquid margarine or tub margarine is cited as the healthiest option. Check out their website for information on what constitutes a heart-healthy diet.
follow us
health fusion
podcast
apple,
Spotify
When
podcast. For comments and other podcast episode ideas, email Viv Williams.
vwilliams@newsmd.com.
Or on Twitter/Instagram/FB @vivwilliamstv.
