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| Butter versus marg |
Are spreads any healthier than butter – and what’s in them?
BECAUSE BUTTER SEEMS a more natural product, with a shorter
ingredients list, many people assume it’s the healthier choice. ‘Butter
is made from milk fat, while margarine is derived from plant oils and
fats,’ explains HFG nutritionist Amanda Ursell. But the main type of fat
in butter is saturated and overall it contains far more fat than most
spreads.
WHAT IS MARGARINE?
By law, a product labelled as margarine must have a
similar fat content to butter and contain a minimum of 80% fat. Most of
the products we see on the shelves these days are actually called
spreads, so by law they can contain anything between 10% and 90% fat! In
reality, most contain much less fat than you’d find in butter
(typically 60% or less), and low-fat spreads can have as little as 19%
fat. Some are also fortified with nutrients such as vitamins or
cholesterol-lowering plant sterols. Check the labels for the percentage
of fat, plus the amount of total fat and saturates in 1tsp – the amount
you use on a slice of bread.
Spreads, on the other hand, may be manufactured and may contain
preservatives, but they’re based on natural, monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated oils, such as olive, sunflower or soya, which we
commonly use in cooking.
Fighting cholesterol
‘Because they spread more easily than block butter, the average
serving size is smaller, too,’ says Amanda. The vast majority of spreads
in the UK are no longer made with the processed fats known as
hydrogenated vegetable oils (HVOs) and therefore are free from
artificial trans fat (but do check labels – look for the words
‘hydrogenated vegetable fats or oils’).
There’s no evidence that spreads are harmful – but there is evidence
they can make a positive change to health when substituted for butter,
for example by reducing blood cholesterol levels.
WHAT IS MARGARINE?
By law, a product labelled as margarine must have a
similar fat content to butter and contain a minimum of 80% fat. Most of
the products we see on the shelves these days are actually called
spreads, so by law they can contain anything between 10% and 90% fat! In
reality, most contain much less fat than you’d find in butter
(typically 60% or less), and low-fat spreads can have as little as 19%
fat. Some are also fortified with nutrients such as vitamins or
cholesterol-lowering plant sterols. Check the labels for the percentage
of fat, plus the amount of total fat and saturates in 1tsp – the amount
you use on a slice of bread.
