Margarine vs butter : How to choose



Fast facts on butter vs. margarine:

  • The choice is really between trans fats (margarine) or saturated fats (butter).
  • Trans fats raise bad cholesterol (LDL), whilst lowering good cholesterol (HDL).
  • Saturated fats raise bad cholesterol (less so than trans fats) and do not affect HDL.

The decision of whether to choose butter or margarine is dependent on the individual and their specific dietary needs.

Maintaining proper nutrition is a personal undertaking. What makes sense for one person might not be in the best interest of the next.

Margarine vs butter - This is interesting . .. .

butter scoop



Developed in the 1800s in France when butter was scarce and expensive, margarine has had its ups and downs, including several U.S. bans and taxes driven by the dairy industry. 

It's been called a healthier, plant-based alternative to butter, but it also faced a backlash for being artificial and having trans fats, which help keep oil-based ingredients solid at room temperature. 

Margarine is any vegetable-oil-based, butter-flavored spread that contains 80% oil; anything with a lower oil and fat content is called a "soft margarine spread."

To stay solid at room temperature, vegetable oils are hydrogenated, which creates trans fatty acids that can raise LDL, or bad cholesterol. 

Most solid sticks of margarine contain trans fats and/or saturated fat. 

These include Country Crock Spreadable Sticks (80 calories, 1.5 grams saturated fat, 2 grams trans fats), Blue Bonnet Sticks (70 calories, 1.5 grams saturated fat, 1.5 grams trans fat), Land O'Lakes Margarine Sticks (100 calories, 2 grams saturated fat, 2.5 grams trans fats), and Fleischmann's Original Stick Margarine (80 calories, 2 grams saturated fat, 1.5 grams trans fat).


 Limit your consumption overall be it margarine vs butter

What is butter

Butter is the dairy product made from churning milk or cream. The churning process separates the butterfat (the solids) from the buttermilk (the liquid). The butter we most often buy is made from cow's milk, although other varieties — made from the milk of sheep, goat, yak, or buffalo — are also available. While typically pale yellow in color, butter can range from white to deep yellow, depending on the animal's diet. And since, at its core, butter is made from one ingredient, it can be made at home.




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