A question commonly asked by many of my patients is what should they use margarine or butter? Margarine is a vegetable oil based substitute for butter with added chemicals to make it tastier and easier to spread.  Hydrogen has been added to the vegetable oil to make it a more spreadable product, producing an unhealthy product. The processing involved to harden the margarine makes trans-fatty acids which can contribute to heart disease, increase risk of cancer and lead to inflammation in the body.

Butter is by far a better choice. Butter is much closer to a whole food than margarine but is a saturated fat that can raise blood cholesterol level and increase your risk for developing heart disease. Thus it is important to limit the amount of saturated fat you consume.

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