Butter, Margarine or Spreads:
Which Should I Choose?

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Last week I was eating dinner with a girlfriend and she asked me “which do you use, butter or margarine? Some margarines have trans fat, other margarines say they don’t and they do. I’m so confused. What should I buy?”

Even though margarine is made from oil, in stick margarine a large part of that oil is in the form of trans or hydrogenated fat. As the science of nutrition has progressed, we know now that trans fat is as dangerous or more so to our health as saturated fat.

Remember that the words trans fat and partially hydrogenated fat are talking about the same thing. On the Nutrition Facts label, you will see ‘Trans fat’ listed under ‘Total Fat’. If you then read the ingredients, trans fat is listed as partially hydrogenated since hydrogenation is the process of making trans fat.

Here’s a tip: stick margarine, because it’s solid at room temperature, will be higher in both fat and trans fat than tub margarines so it’s typically the LEAST healthy of all margarines.

Tub margarine contains less oil than stick margarine so that means it’s lower in fat. It can be significantly lower in fat if it’s a margarine labeled reduced fat (25% less fat) or light/low fat (typically 50% less fat).

For a light, low fat or fat free product, guess what the first word on the ingredient label usual is? That’s right, water. This is one way of lowering the fat content but I don’t recommend baking or cooking with these products as the water content will affect the product outcome.

What about spreads with plant sterols and stanols? You may have heard of these under names like Take Control or Benecol. These plant derivatives help lower blood cholesterol and can be a great addition to your diet if you’re trying to bring your cholesterol level down. Here’s an important tip: these spreads must be used daily (about two-three tablespoons) to get the cholesterol lowering benefit. Because of the two-three tablespoons needed for the health effect, look for the light version.

Pump and spray products tend to be very low in saturated fat and trans fat. They work well as a topping or for sautéing but not for cooking.

If you love butter, check out the spreadable butters with canola oil. So far, I haven’t seen a low fat version so they are full fat and a blend of butter and canola oil. Because of the added canola oil, the fat profile has a slight bit more monounsaturated fat than saturated fat yet retains the flavor of butter. These spreads have around 100 calories per tablespoon and are great for baking and cooking. Since they tend to be full fat, the saturated fat content can be fairly high so it’s better as a treat versus daily use.

Read the labels, find the options that work best for you, and then do the taste test.