Spread It A Little Thin

One of the most common dietary changes Americans have made to lower cholesterol intake and saturated fat content of the diet is the substitution of margarine for butter. The advantage of this substitution is that most margarines are cholesterol-free (a fact that margarine advertisers are quick to proclaim). A not-so-well-advertised fact is that all margarines are not created equally and can vary greatly in the amount of saturated fat they contain. So, which product is best for heart-healthy consumers to choose? As a general rule, the softer or more fluid a spread, the less saturated fat the product contains. Before we can make a decision on which brand to buy, let's look at the variety of butter alternatives available.

STICK MARGARINES are made up of 80% vegetable oil or animal fat by weight. The convenient tablespoon markings on the wrapper are handy in baking and for people monitoring their fat intake. Stick margarines have approximately 100 calories per tablespoon. The disadvantage of a stick margarine is that it is often higher in saturated fat than a softer tub margarine. Stick margarine made with animal fats such as lard are even higher in saturated fat and contain cholesterol.

WHIPPED MARGARINES are margarines into which air has been mixed in order to make it spread more easily. This process reduces the calories to about 60 calories per tablespoon. Whipped margarines are handy to use on baked goods and vegetables. Make sure to read the labels of whipped margarines, as they may contain animal fat.

BUTTER/MARGARINE BLENDS are combinations of butter and margarine as the name suggests. They usually contain more vegetable oil than animal fat, but are not cholesterol-free. These products can contain 5-10 mg cholesterol per tablespoon. Butter/margarine combinations contain the same calories (100 per tablespoon) as butter or margarine individually.

LIQUID MARGARINES contain a higher percentage of liquid vegetable oil than stick margarines. How do liquid margarines compare nutritionally? Liquid margarines contain the same number of calories as stick margarine but a higher percentage of liquid oil and thus a lower saturated fat content. This fact make liquid margarines a healthy choice when compared with stick margarines.

DIET OR REDUCED CALORIE MARGARINES contain a large amount of water (55-60%). This allows calorie counters a butter alternative with only 60-80 calories per tablespoon. The lower calorie level is due to a lower fat content and higher water content. Be careful, however, to control portion sizes of whipped, light, or reduced calorie margarines, since it is easy to spread the margarine a little thicker to achieve the full margarine taste.

SPREADS contain less than 80% of the fat required for regular margarine. Most spreads contain 50-75% oil and thus the calorie value per tablespoon ranges from 60-80 calories.

In comparison to the butter alternatives listed above, butter is manufactured exclusively from milk or cream or both and contains not less than 80% butterfat by weight. The high level of animal fat in butter causes butter to be high in saturated fat and cholesterol (33 mg per tablespoon). Butter has the same caloric content as margarine at 100 calories per tablespoon.

The fats most often used for margarine or spreads are vegetable oils such as corn, soybean, or cottonseed oil, but according to FDA regulations it is permissible to add a small amount of lard. Although most manufacturers do not add lard, it is a good idea to check the nutrition label on any margarine package to make sure. Look for margarines with liquid oil as the first ingredient on the nutritional label, and not "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil." The process of hydrogenation, or making an oil solid at room temperature, increases the saturated fat content of the oil. Most important, use whatever brand of margarine you choose in moderation, as the total amount of all fat in the diet should be kept to a minimum.

Margarines vary in their ratio of heart-healthy polyunsaturated fat to heart-risky saturated fat. This is expressed as the P:S ratio. For example, a margarine with 6 grams of polyunsaturated fat and 2 grams of saturated fat would have a P:S ratio of 6:2 or 3:1. A margarine with equal amounts of polyunsaturated fat and saturated fat would have a P:S ratio of 1:1, and not be as healthy a choice as the first example. It is suggested that a heart-healthy margarine should have at least twice as much polyunsaturated fat as saturated fat or a P:S ratio of greater than 2:1. Listed below are a few of the popular butter alternatives as well as the fat, P:S ratio, calories and classification of these products. Values listed are based on a 1 tablespoon serving.

Comparison of Fat, P:S Ratio and Calories of Selected Margarines, Spreads and Blends

References

Goor. R., and Goor, N. Where's the Fat? Eater's Choice. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987.

Schepers, A. Margarines and Spreads: What's the Best Butter Alternative? Environmental Nutrition. 11(9): 1, 1988.

Written By:
Jean M. Zavadil, Dietetic Intern, April 1989