Butter, margarine, and cooking oils

Which should you use -- margarine or butter? Well... neither is ideal, because butter is loaded with saturated fat, and almost all margarines have some saturated fat and trans-fatty acids. However, if you must use one or the other, look for trans-fat free margarines.

Here are some guidelines:

• Use oil, such as olive or canola instead of butter or margarine as often as you can and whenever you cook.
• Always choose trans-fat free margarines and avoid any product that contains trans fat. Look to the ingredients, avoiding any products that list "partially hydrogenated" or "hydrogenated oil" in their ingredients.
• If you have high cholesterol, talk to your doctor about using margarines made from plant sterols or stanols. These substances, made from soybean and pine tree oils, can help lower your LDL cholesterol by as much as 6 to 15%. The AHA recommends further study for children, pregnant women, and those without high cholesterol, however.

Health Content Provider

06/01/2025

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, for Health Content Provider (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics. This site complied with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information from 1995 to 2022, after which HON (Health On the Net, a not-for-profit organization that promoted transparent and reliable health information online) was discontinued.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language. © 1997- 2025 A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

© 1997- 2025All rights reserved.