To give you some perspective, here’s a breakdown of some of the most common brands on the market: Like what you see? Regular margarine eg Meadow Lea (12 ingredients) As always, people need to base their decision on their family and medical history and obtain advice from their dietitian or GP. Find out about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Many people are concerned that margarine is brimming with harmful trans fats – but truth is, in Australia at least, margarine contains just 0.2 grams of trans fats per 100 grams, whereas butter contains 4 grams! Now this public perception seems to have been reversed, and reality cooking shows seem to use butter in every recipe. A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites. Butter, derived from dairy milk, is mainly saturated fat, and the main saturated fats are palmitic acid (about 31 per cent) and myristic acid (about 12 per cent). These types of fats help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or … Italian for 'twice-cooked', ricotta is similar to cottage cheese but is smoother in texture with … And no, we promise we won't spam you. It’s margarine by a margin! For decades, margarine was considered a far healthier choice than butter, since it’s much lower in artery-clogging saturated fats. This is why Flora is called a spread – it contains less fat than margarine. If coconut oil is used the margarine will be mainly saturated fat, if sunflower oil is used it will mainly be a polyunsaturated fat, and if olive oil or canola oil is used it will mainly be a monounsaturated fat. But here’s a harsh reality check: with more than 50 per cent saturated fat, it isn’t the healthiest choice for your heart, because it can raise LDL (read: bad) cholesterol. This article was originally published on The Conversation. These provide the taste of butter while reducing saturated fat intake to half, and they are easier to spread. Learn more. A big concern for many is the trans fat content (which can clog arteries) of margarine, but as McGuckin explains, modern plant-based spreads are much better than they used to be. It is most often used as an inexpensive butter substitute. It’s best to read the nutrition information panel to determine which margarine is highest in monounsaturated fats. Margarine was first developed in France by Napoleon as a substitute for butter to feed the armed forces and lower classes. Image: iStock.Source:BodyAndSoul. Margarine, on the other hand, has a much more favourable nutrition profile and can come with extra benefits, like added plant sterols that work to lower cholesterol. The health differences between butter and margarine are based on the presence of different types of fats. Rebel Wilson hits weight loss goal of 75kg, Rebel Wilson ate less than 1500 calories a day to lose 74kg, This grilled prawn salad is basically summer in a bowl. Choose whipped or light butter, or a dairy blend. I’d recommend a margarine with a high percentage of healthy oils, like olive or canola. If your butter-loving heart is now broken, but you still can’t stand the thought of using margarine, I hear you. Made of just cream and salt, many people think butter is a more natural choice. That’s why reduced-fat spreads are called spreads, not margarine. Here's your handy guide. Another option to consider would be the butter blends. But whether this is significant will largely depend on the amount you consume each day. But the healthiest option is not strictly called butter or margarine – it’s a “spread”. Image: iStock.Source:BodyAndSoul. The Good Housekeeping Institute's nutrition director, Delia Hammock, M.S., R.D., offers tips on how to decide which margarine … ... health-wise. Light margarine – 40 to 45 calories with 4.5 to 5 grams of saturated fat in one tablespoon Light margarine contains less saturated and trans fat than regular margarine. Butter (3 ingredients) Cream, water, salt. Is butter really healthier than margarine? 7. The difference between these lies in their chemical structure. bodyandsoul.com.au may receive an affiliate commission if you buy through our links. Exclusive TV sneak peeks, recipes and competitions, What's best to spread on your toast, butter or margarine? While there is debate in the scientific world about the relative contributions of saturated fats (and the different types of saturated fatty acids) to heart disease, the consensus is that replacing saturated fats with monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats will lower the risk of heart disease. The Australian Dietary Guidelines and World Health Organisation recommend the lowering of saturated fats to below 10 per cent of daily energy intake. Soft margarine is a nutritious and safe product that has been part of suggested healthy diets and healthy eating plans for years. As margarines are made from healthier oils, they are much higher in healthy mono- or poly-unsaturated fats that support heart and brain health. How to lose weight: Why some find it harder to shed the kgs ... Game Of Thrones: The 9 hottest sex scenes. The World Health Organisation recommends a person’s diet consist of no more than 10 per cent saturated fat which works out to be 10g of saturated fat for every 100g of food eaten. The NHMRC recommends replacing foods that contain mostly saturated fats such as butter, cream, cooking margarine (e.g. The healthiest butter and margarines in Australia. Trans fats are found in margarine but in Australia, we’re lucky because our margarine has incredibly low levels of trans fats. If you’re opting for butter as an occasional treat, that’s totally fine, but if you insist on sticking with it for day-to-day use, at least choose an unsalted variety. Ricotta. Euromonitor International is … Do we still need to be concerned about butter’s links to heart disease, and is there any evidence to suggest butter is better for our health compared to margarine? In fact, some brands of margarine include a blend of both plant and animal-derived ingredients—and even margarine that is 90 percent plant-based might have a non-vegan component in the mix. Important - Refrigerated items are perishable and tend to have short shelf lives - some of these can be as little as two weeks from the date of receipt - if you are ordering a large quantity, or are otherwise concerned about expiration dates, consider a frozen product. Before I delve into dairy-free spreads, I want to draw your attention to margarine. So many situations undermine healthy eating, and instead push energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods. Not all food additives are bad: a quick guide for label readers. Australian margarine spreads have some of the lowest levels of trans fat in the world and significantly less trans fat than butter. I’ve written an entire post about why I choose not to use margarine here.If you’ve not read this article, I HIGHLY recommend you jump over there first as this post … Here are some simple tips for weight loss including exercise, portion control and healthy eating. As you can see, butter is butter – there’s not much variety in terms of nutrition amongst brands, excluding the sodium content. Margarine is often recommended as a heart-healthy replacement for butter. Using olive-oil-based margarines is going to contribute very little to your daily intake of extra-virgin olive oil. The cream is churned until the liquid (buttermilk) separates from the fat solids. Besides making everything delicious, butter has specific functions in baking. Health wise, it looks like margarine … Margarine or butter — which side are you on? There is strong evidence extra-virgin olive oil (a monounsaturated fat) provides strong benefits for heart disease protection – but there isn’t enough extra-virgin olive oil in margarine products to confer this benefit. The significant nutritional difference actually lies in the fatty acid profiles of the two products. But what about vegan butter and margarine? Confused about which margarine to buy? Margarine (/ ˈ m ɑːr dʒ ə r iː n /, also UK: / ˈ m ɑːr ɡ ə-, ˌ m ɑːr ɡ ə ˈ r iː n, ˌ m ɑːr dʒ ə-/, US: / ˈ m ɑːr dʒ ə r ɪ n / ()) is a spread used for flavoring, baking and cooking. Ingredient comparison. Choose margarine with a healthy amount of oils. Only 20 years ago butter was the public villain – contributing to raised cholesterol levels and public concern over an increased risk of heart disease. You can connect with her at www.honestnutrition.com.au or on Instagram @honest_nutrition. New study finding fat isn’t as bad as carbs misses the point. 'Fairy'), coconut oil and palm oil with foods that contain mostly (healthy) polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats such as oils, spreads, nut butters and avocado. Instead, margarine has been touted as the ‘healthier choice’ for decades, but now, the tables are turning and many people are reverting back to butter. Healthy eating is essential for your child's good health, growth and development. Find out about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. So when you’re buying margarine look for margarine that contains less than one per cent (or less than one gram per 100 grams). A serve being about 2 teaspoons. According to a dietitian. If reducing your cholesterol is a priority, these heart-healthy margarine brands will steer you in the right direction. To answer this we first need to look more closely at the make-up of butter and margarine. As most spreads now have less fat than this, they can't be called margarine and still comply with labelling regulations (unless they're called margarine spreads). Margarine can be made from a number of different oils. What Butter Does in Baking . This difference is largely insignificant in a usual daily intake of 8700kj/day. Australian spreads now have on average 0.2g trans fat per 100g, compared to 4g per 100g in butter. Made of just cream and salt, many people think butter is a more natural option. Butter is a natural food made from milk, while margarine is a processed … The Heart Foundation recommends eating 2-3 grams of plant sterols a day, from plant-sterol enriched foods. You're not alone. The Heart Foundation saves lives and improves health through funding world-class cardiovascular research, guidelines for health professionals, informing the public and assisting people with cardiovascular disease As for margarine, given it is plant-based, it is much higher in mono- and polyunsaturated fats than butter, which are essential for maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. Some recipes, like butter cookies, rely on the butter for a flavor, but in many recipes, butter is being used to add moisture and texture, and to help create flaky layers. Nothing beats a thick slathering of butter on a warm slice of fresh bread – but for years we’ve been told that’s not the best thing to do, health-wise. These fat solids are then rinsed, a little salt added, and shaped to form the butter we all love. Another point of difference between butter and margarine is that margarine may contain plant sterols, which help reduce cholesterol levels. Is the food industry conspiring to make you fat? All times on this site are AEDT (GMT +10). The difference between butter and margarine is that margarine is made with a base of vegetable oil. Claimed to contain at least 65% less saturated fat than butter, Olive Grove is said to be the first spread in Australian supermarkets to be made with olive oil. In the domestic market more people buy margarine than butter, with 27 per cent of respondents in an ABS survey eating margarine the day before, and 15 per cent consuming butter. The dairy industry is in despair. How to choose the healthiest spread. Plant-based milks are giving it a run for its money, dairy factories are closing and reopening as nut-based milk companies, and major ice-cream companies like Ben & Jerry’s and Breyers are rolling out vegan flavors galore. Healthy eating in childhood means they will have less chance of developing chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and some cancers. MARGARINE. Margarine is made from vegetable oils, so it contains unsaturated "good" fats — polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. What I’d recommend is to leave butter for special occasions, and opt for the following non-margarine alternatives instead: Melissa Meier is a Sydney-based Accredited Practising Dietitian. Margarine usually tops butter when it comes to heart health. Vitamins A and D are also added to the same level present in butter. Read the original article. Yes butter’s more natural with only three ingredients compared to margarine’s 12 or so. There are three types of fats in our food: saturated fat, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. D.H. Morris, M. Vaisey-Genser, in Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition (Second Edition), 2003. Sign up to our bodyandsoul.com.au newsletter for more stories like this. Studies have shown these raise blood cholesterol levels. Role of Margarine in the Diet. It joins brands like MeadowLea and Gold’n Canola as one of the names under the Goodman Fielder Group to produce spreads and oils, as … (GLOBAL 2000 via Flickr), Episode guide | Adam Liaw's Road Trip for Good, Episode guide | Palisa Anderson's Water Heart Food, 19 very tasty ways to use up festive leftovers, Step aside, ham sambos: 9 tasty ways to use up your Christmas ham. To set the record straight on what’s truly the healthier choice, here’s what you need to know. Margarine must have a fat content of 80% or more (similar to butter). The structure of saturated fats has no double bonds in between the carbon atoms, monounsaturated fats have one double bond between the carbon atoms, and polyunsaturated fats have two or more double bonds between the carbon atoms. Nationwide News Pty Ltd Copyright © 2020. ... Not keen on margarine? But the healthiest option is not strictly called butter or margarine - it's a 'spread'. Of course, if you consume lots of butter, swapping for a low saturated fat margarine is your healthier option – perhaps reserve the butter for special occasions. There are hundreds of vegan foods easily available in supermarkets, greengrocers, bakeries and other shops around Australia. Margarine is recognized by health professionals and consumers alike as a healthy table spread and a cheaper alternative to butter for use in cooking and in food preparation. Evangeline Mantzioris, Lecturer in Nutrition, University of South Australia. Margarine has long been peddled as the healthy alternative to butter, but is it really? And which margarine is the healthiest? It will also mean they feel better, look better and enjoy life more. Butter is made from the processing of cream. 25% less fat than marg: Margarine and butter both have 80 per cent or more total fat – the regulations specify this. Any diet app will tell you margarine has about 10-15 per cent fewer kilojoules than butter. Spreads are similar to margarines, but with less fat. The debate over whether carbs are better than fats is shadowing the real question: what foods are we getting them from? These subtle differences in structure lead to differences in the way our body metabolises these fats, and hence how they affect our health, in particular our heart health. Country Crock Margarine, 5 Gram -- 300 per case. But between 2000 and 2010 however, it gradually became clear that the trans fats found in most commercial brands of margarine are actually even more health damaging than saturated fat. If you’re concerned about saturated fat levels in your diet, you should read the nutrition information panel to determine which margarine is lowest in saturated fat, regardless of which oil is used in the product. Which additives are natural and safe to eat? Under the Food Standards Code, margarine is a spread that contains at least 80% fat. Fewer Australians are buying margarine than they were five years ago, but the two most popular brands, Flora and Meadow Lea, have remained favourites, according … For cholesterol lowering, the best choice is a margarine with added sterols (eg Logicol, Pro-activ) that block cholesterol absorption. Depending on the overall quality of your diet and intake of saturated fats, you may need to swap your butter for margarine. All was not lost, however. You will find spreads dominate the shelf these days and there are few products called margarine. On today’s episode of The Perfect Bite, host Andrea Jenna is joined by registered dietician Samara Foisy. As well as margarine, there are also cereals, yoghurt and milk products enriched with plant sterols to reduce cholesterol. The Weekly investigates which is better, butter or margarine, and how our toast spread could be damaging our health. Not to mention the high sodium content of salted varieties... By comparison, margarine contains an average of just 12 per cent saturated fat. SBS acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia. At the end of the day, if you consume butter only occasionally and your diet closely adheres to the Australian guidelines for healthy eating, there is no harm in continuing to do so. But what has caused this shift in perceptions and is it based on scientific evidence? | Australian Women's Weekly content brought to you by Now to Love But here’s our dietitian's harsh reality check. International health organisations such as the World Heart Federation, as well as many national health authorities, recommend it. They taste test five popular margarine brands and give you the skinny on what reigns supreme when it comes to health and taste. Health wise, it's a step in the right direction. And this is why it’s confusing for the consumer – despite a margarine being labelled as being made from olive oil, it may contain only small amounts of olive oil and not be as high in monounsaturated fats as expected. The health differences between butter and margarine are based on the presence of different types of fats. This equates to about 2-3 serves of margarine a day. Margarine is made from vegetable oils, beta-carotene (added for colour), emulsifiers (to help the oil and water mix), salt and flavours (which can include milk solids). Written by Lancey Morris from SweetLancey.com, this guide concentrates on what groceries to buy to prepare your own delicious, healthy, plant-based meals. A national nutrition survey indicates the average person over 19 years consumes 20 grams a day of spreads (either butter or margarine), which equates to a difference of 100kj. 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