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E-BRAND-AID
A grocery guide to healthy brands
Butter vs. Butter Substitutes – Which is Healthier?
by Kerry McLeod, The Brand Doctor
Butter or butter substitute? It’s an age-old debate that remains a very hot topic for health-minded consumers.
The staunch butter backers wouldn’t dream of touching the fake stuff.
Meanwhile, hard-line supporters of wanna-be butters are more convinced than ever that the real thing will harm your health!
The food sleuths at eBrandAid have crossed party lines and learned that whether you’re shopping for butter or a butter substitute there’s plenty of margarine for error!
Okay, so we promise to never repeat that bad pun again…but only if you promise to read on about the "great butter debate." Be sure to spread the news to your friends and loved ones!
The Great Butter Debate
For the past 50 years or so, butter has been blackballed by the many consumers who believe it causes heart disease or worse, because it contains high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol.
Margarine was introduced – and accepted – as a healthier alternative with less saturated fat and cholesterol.
Turns out, these wanna-be butters were packed with trans fats (eek!) which we think are actually worse for your
health than saturated fats. In fact, as butter consumption ebbed, heart disease boomed!
Fast forward to present day: The dairy cases are jam-packed with “healthy spreads” touting
zero trans fats and other smooth-as-buttah claims.
Unfortunately, many of these butter alternatives are packed with additives and preservatives.
The question still churns: Is butter really as unhealthy as we once thought? Let’s take a look.
Reality Check
True, “getting back to basics” is a popular cry of the times. Guess what? Our food sleuths found that adage applies to butter too!
From a flavor standpoint, butter tastes pretty darn yummy! In our book, there is no savory substitute. But should we steer clear of this spread?
The short answer is NO!
Plain butter is an all-natural food that is made up of only two ingredients - sweet cream and salt. Surprisingly, it comes naturally packaged with many nutrients that can help protect us from chronic disease. Butter contains:
A rich source of easily absorbed vitamin A - needed for a wide range of body functions, from maintaining good vision to keeping the endocrine system in top shape.
Fat-soluble vitamins like E, K and D – all of which play a role in helping to maintain the proper functioning of the heart and cardiovascular system.
Lecithin - a substance that assists in the proper assimilation and metabolism of cholesterol and other fats.
Antioxidants - that protect against the kind of free radical damage that weakens the arteries.
Wow – all that plus it tastes yummy! Okay, that all sounds great, but what about the high calorie content, saturated fats and cholesterol… hmm?
Well, you may not know it, but whipped butter contains half the calories, half the saturated fat, and half the cholesterol of regular stick butter but still provides all the great taste!
But don’t take our word for it. See for yourself.
Case-in-Point: Land O' Lakes Sweet Salted Whipped Butter
1 tbsp, 50 calories, 6g fat (3.5g saturated fat), 40mg of sodium, 15g of cholesteral
INGREDIENTS: Pasteurized Cream, Salt.
Bottom line: Butter in moderation is not as unhealthy as once thought. The whipped varieties offer less saturated fats and cholesterol, but retain all that awesome buttery taste. Sometimes meeting in the middle actually pays off!
Kerry McLeod is the chief Brand Doctor at eBrandAid.com.
Kerry's mission in life is to teach food shoppers how to cut through the clutter at the grocery store in order to find
the truly healthy brand-name foods. If smart food shopping appeals to you, click here to subscribe to eBrandAid.com's free newsletters.
Also, receive for free an e-Report of eBrandAid’s Grocery Store Survival Guide.
*The opinions stated aren't necessarily those of MommaSaid or its principals. Seek professional advice before beginning any health program.
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