Margarine and butter: which is healthier?

In general, Indonesian people still find it difficult to distinguish between margarine and butter. If you are one of those who are still confused about which one is better to consume between butter and margarine, consider the following explanation.

What's the difference between margarine and butter?

Butter is a dairy product that is made by separating components that are solid from components that are liquid. Generally, butter is used for cooking or making bread. Judging from the texture, butter is mushy and melts easily if it is not stored in the refrigerator. In terms of taste, butter is even more savory and delicious than margarine.

Meanwhile, margarine was developed as a substitute for butter, made from vegetable oils such as canola oil, palm oil and soybean oil. In the process of making margarine, salt and other ingredients such as maltodextrin, soy lecithin and mono or diglycerides are also added so that the texture is denser and does not melt quickly from butter. Margarine is commonly used to make wet cakes, and it is often used for frying or sauteing food.

Fat and cholesterol content in butter and margarine

Trans fats: trans fats increase bad cholesterol significantly, while lowering good cholesterol levels. Trans fats can harden at room temperature. Therefore, the harder the texture of a margarine, the higher the trans fat content.
Saturated fats: Saturated fats can also raise bad cholesterol levels, but not as much as trans fats. Butter contains a lot of saturated fat, but contains little trans fat.
Cholesterol: Cholesterol is only found in animal products, coconut and palm oil. Most margarine contains little or no cholesterol. Meanwhile, butter contains a large amount of cholesterol.

Nutritional content of butter

One tablespoon of butter contains 100 calories, 12 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 31 mg of cholesterol, 0 grams of carbohydrates, and 0 grams of sugar. Butter is made from pasteurized (heated) milk cream. Sometimes, there are also manufacturers who add salt to it.

If the butter producers take milk from cows that are fed quality grass or eat directly from fresh grass, the resulting butter will have good quality too. The reason is, dairy products from cows like this contain high levels of vitamin K2 and omega-3 fatty acids. Both of these nutrients are important for heart health.

Not only butter, this applies to all other products that come from cows such as meat, cheese or milk. Dairy products from cows of this kind are high in vitamin K2 and omega-3 fatty acids.

Margarine nutritional content

One tablespoon of ordinary margarine which is widely sold in the market, contains about 80-100 calories, 9-11 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 1.5-2.5 grams of trans fat, zero grams of carbohydrates, zero grams of cholesterol, and zero grams of sugar. This means that on average margarine contains fewer calories than butter. But unfortunately, margarine contains trans fats.

Meanwhile, fat-free margarine contains a higher percentage of water than regular margarine, thus making the calorie and fat content lower. In general, this type of margarine contains 40 calories, 5 grams of fat, 1 - 1.5 grams of saturated fat, zero grams of trans fat, cholesterol, carbohydrates, and sugar per one tablespoon. This means that liquid margarine contains much less saturated and trans fats

So, which is better: butter or margarine?

When viewed from the basic ingredients, margarine tends to be safer for health. The reason is that margarine does not contain animal fat so that the cholesterol and fat contained in margarine are not as much as butter.

The thing to pay attention to when buying processed food products is to make sure you don't just pay attention to the nutritional content label, but also carefully read the labels of other ingredients. If the margarine label contains partially hydrogenated oil, it means that the product contains trans fats even though the nutrition label says zero trans fats.

However, the decision to choose margarine and butter depends on each individual and the specific dietary needs that are being lived.