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Apr 15, 2008 9:59 pm US/Pacific
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Good Question: Butter vs. Margarine
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
You can exercise and watch what you eat, but when it comes to slathering something tasty on your toast or English Muffin, you probably still ask what's better for me: Butter or margarine?
We've heard conflicting reports over the years, so what's the latest research?
"Really, it depends," says Manual Villacorta. "Butter contains saturated fat. As we know, saturated fat increases LDL, which is the bad cholesterol. Now, margarines do not contain saturated fats but they do have trans fatty acids, which is even worse than saturated fats."
So if you're just comparing regular butter to regular margarine, butter wins. But of course, it's not that simple.
"You can find margarines that are trans fats free, they call it. No trans fatty acids."
Those are the new products like Smart Balance or Take Control Active. But read the labels carefully!
"The FDA has given the okay to say zero trans fats if they have 0.5 grams or less per serving. So people still need to look at the ingredients for hydrogenated oils, which means transfatty acids."
So, trans-free margarine is still recommended over butter. Now, here's a tip from the Cleveland Clinic: The more solid margarine is at room temperature, the more trans fat it contains. For example, stick margarine contains the most trans fat, while tub or liquid margarine is much better.
As for butter, one tablespoon of butter has more than 7 grams of saturated fat, and you're only supposed to eat 10-15 grams a day.
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