Heart Healthy Buttery Spreads?

Benecol margarine is a supposedly heart healthy spread “proven” to lower bad cholesterol. It can make this claim because they add plant sterols to the product - not because the spreads have ever been shown to decrease bad cholesterol. The label also claims that the product is “trans fat free.” But take a look at the ingredients:

Liquid Canola Oil, Water, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, Plant Stanol Esters, Salt, EMULSIFIERS (VEGETABLE MONO AND DI-GLYCERIDES, Soy Lecithin), HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid and Calcium Disodium EDTA to Preserve Freshness, Artificial Flavor, DL-alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Colored with Beta Carotene.

Any type of hydrogenated oil contains trans fats. And vegetable mono- and di-glycerides also contain trans fats but do not have to be included in the total fat content listed on the label because they are not tri-glycerides, the type of fat molecule commonly found in nature.

So while the plant sterols may have a cholesterol lowering benefit, the manufacturer found a way to sneak in significant amounts of detrimental trans fats while still adhering to labeling laws. Any potential benefit of the added plant sterols will be easily off-set by this.

Margarine has been shown time and time again to be much worse for your heart than butter. So the industry changed the name of their product to “buttery spreads” and made an artificial distinction between the effects of hard “stick” margarine and softer “tub” spreads. The only difference between the two is the amount of saturated fat in the product. But when eating margarine the saturated fat content is the least of your worries.

To be safe, I’m going to follow the advice of Dr. Andrew Weil and avoid all foods that have labels!