… artificial and having trans fats, which help keep oil-based ingredients solid at room temperature.
Margarine is any vegetable-oil-based, butter-flavored spread that contains 80% oil; anything with a lower oil and fat content is called a “soft margarine spread.”
Worst margarine: Sticks with trans fat
To stay solid at room temperature, vegetable oils are hydrogenated, which creates trans fatty acids that can raise LDL, or bad cholesterol.
Most solid sticks of margarine contain trans fats and/or saturated fat.
These include Country Crock Spreadable Sticks (80 calories, 1.5 grams saturated fat, 2 grams trans fats), Blue Bonnet Sticks (70 calories, 1.5 grams saturated fat, 1.5 grams trans fat), Land O’Lakes Margarine Sticks (100 calories, 2 grams saturated fat, 2.5 grams trans fats), and Fleischmann’s Original Stick Margarine (80 calories, 2 grams saturated fat, 1.5 grams trans fat).
Better: Trans-fat-free sticks
A gram or two of trans fats may not seem like a lot, but even small amounts are bad for the heart. Baker recommends keeping trans-fat intake as low as possible.
There are trans-fat-free options if you need hard butter or margarine for baking.
Promise Sticks contain 80 calories per serving, and 9 grams of fat (2.5 grams saturated). I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Sticks and Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spreads contain no trans fats, but they still have 3.5 grams and 4.5 grams of saturated fat, respectively, and the same amount of total fat and calories as butter.
Better: Soft spreads
Soft spreads packaged in a tub are generally much healthier for your heart, because they contain less saturated fat and many are trans fat free.
Some examples include Fleischmann’s Original Whipped Tub with 60 calories and 7 grams of fat (1 gram saturated) per serving, Smart Balance Original Buttery Spread with 80 calories and 9 grams of fat (2.5 grams saturated), and Blue Bonnet Soft Spread with 60 calories and 6 grams of fat (1 gram saturated).
These spreads work best for cooking, on bread, or with vegetables; however, they’re not recommended for baking, says Baker.
Healthier options
Your healthiest option may be to skip both the butter and the margarine.
Baker recommends using monounsaturated fat instead: olive oil for dipping bread or vegetable oil for cooking. “If you love the taste of butter and you want to sauté some mushrooms in it, I’m not going to say you can’t do it, but maybe try using a little less butter and a little more oil.”
Use avocado and nut butters in place of butter on sandwiches, she says. “That way you’re getting fat intake but it’s healthy fat intake.” (Calories from any source of fat add up quickly, though, so be conscious of your portion sizes as well.)