Guide to Buying Butter
Should I get butter or margarines; should I get it in a squeeze bottle, stick or tub?
Some spreads say no trans fats while others say heart smart; which one should I get? With all the different options for a spread it may be hard to determine what is right for you. The main concern with buttery spreads is the type of fats as well as how much fat.
While margarines are not made from animal products, which eliminates the high amount of saturated fat, you may get trans fat. You may say, “Oh but my margarine says no trans fats”, well you should look a little closer. A product can be labeled “No Trans Fats” as long as it has less than 0.5 grams of trans fats.
To eliminate the intake of these not so good fats, check the ingredients list for the words partially hydrogenated oils. You do not see these words; great it is trans fat free.
When either butter or margarine are in a stick form, trans fats are in that stick too. So when buying sticks of butter/margarine check the label to see how much trans fat are in that stick.
With butter you really do not have to worry about trans fats but the consequence is saturated fats. When looking at butter pick the butter with the lowest amount of saturated fat.
The key to buying a spread is to have no trans fats, or partially hydrogenates oil, and low saturated fat.
Published 08/12/10
