The Butter Debate

by: AndreaDow
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Word Count: 205

Monday, February 11th

Still wondering whether butter or Margarine is better to eat? The answer seems to keep changing....first it was margarine (too much saturated fat in butter), then it was butter (too many trans fats in margarine), now we are back to margarines. Why? Read on....

The bottom line is butter is still very high in saturated fats (7g per tbsp) while margarines have ditched their unhealthy trans fats. Very few brands of margarine still contain any hydrogenated oils while the rest are using both soy and canola oil (unsaturated fats) to replace trans fats. Even some sticks of margarine like Promise have zero grams of trans fat!

According to the Nutrition Action Healthletter, butter lovers can find better options with whipped butters. Land O'Lakes makes Whipped Light Butter and Light Butter with Canola Oil. There is still more saturated fat in these products compared to margarine, but they are better than regular butter. A cooking note: the whipped and light butter options are not meant for cooking since they have added air or water. They should, however, spread on toast and melt with no problem.

Pass the butter, I mean margarine, please!

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