The nutritionist named the pros and cons of butter and margarine

Butter made from milk is considered natural, while margarine is processed. Therefore, the first product should be healthier for people. Nutritionist Gillian Kubala tried to resolve the dispute over which sandwich would be healthier for the body.

Butter is a dairy product, while margarine is usually made from vegetable oils and water, often with the addition of emulsifiers and flavorings.

“I think most people think margarine or butter substitutes are better health choices because they’re lower in saturated fat, which isn’t necessarily true,” nutritionist Jillian Kubala told Fox News. She adds that “fat is often misunderstood and oversimplified even by medical professionals, which has led to a general demonization of fat and fear of it. The truth is that fats are very complex, and their physiological effects depend on their composition, source, and more.”

Kubala provided nutritional information for butter using the USDA Central Database. As she explained, a typical serving of butter is one tablespoon, which provides 102 calories, 11 grams of total fat, and 7 grams of saturated fat. Margarine, respectively, has 84 calories, 9 grams of total fat and saturated fat – 2.34.

“If you replace butter with a more nutrient-dense and antioxidant-rich option, such as avocado oil or olive oil, it can have a positive impact on your health. However, if you replace butter with a highly processed product such as margarine, it may have the opposite effect,” the nutritionist said.

Margarine is lower in total fat and saturated fat than butter, but not all low-fat foods are necessarily “better” for health. Margarine, for example, can be made from oils high in omega-6 fats.

According to the Journal of the Missouri Medical Association, omega-3 and omega-6 fats are essential for health and are consumed with much higher levels of omega-6.”

The thing is that omega-6 is found in vegetable oils than omega-3, which is found in seafood and some plant foods, such as chia seeds.

“Such consumption results in an imbalance in favor of omega-6s, which tend to be more inflammatory in nature, compared to omega-3s, which have anti-inflammatory properties,” emphasizes nutritionist Kubala. She continued: “Health experts suggest that this dietary imbalance is a root cause of many chronic inflammatory diseases, including metabolic syndrome, obesity, increased risk factors for cardiovascular disease, some types of cancer and cognitive decline.”

In recent years, vegetable oils have become increasingly popular. They are usually made from a variety of coconut, soybean or avocado oils. And to make them taste more like butter and have the right texture, emulsifiers and flavorings are often added.

Kubala suggested people look at their overall intake and diet quality: “If your diet is very high in high-fat foods that are known to have negative health effects, such as fried foods and processed meats, reduce your intake of these foods and replace them “fat-rich foods known to have positive health effects, such as fatty fish, avocados, nuts and seeds.”

“And if you like butter,” Kubala added, “then eat it in small portions. In my opinion, eating a little butter is a better choice for overall health than eating highly processed butter substitutes like margarine.”