Is margarine better than butter when trying to lower cholesterol?
Yes. Butter is high in saturated fat, which raises your blood cholesterol more than anything else that you eat. Most margarine is made from vegetable oils that are hardened through a process called “hydrogenation.” Hydrogenation forms a type of unsaturated fat called “trans” fat that appears to raise blood cholesterol more than other unsaturated fats but not as much as saturated fats. There is now margarine available that contains no “trans” fats. You can also read food labels and choose margarine that contains liquid vegetable oil as the first ingredient (rather than hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil) and the least amount of saturated fat.
