Some types of fat are healthier for your heart than others. Butter and other animal fats and solid margarine may not be the best choices. Alternatives to consider are liquid vegetable oil, such as olive oil.
What to Use When Cooking
When you cook, solid margarine or butter is not the best choice. Butter is high in saturated fat, which can raise your cholesterol. It can also increase your chance of heart disease. Some margarines have some saturated fat plus trans-fatty acids, which can also be bad for you. Both of these fats have health risks.
Some guidelines for healthier cooking:
- Use olive or canola oil instead of butter or margarine.
- Choose soft margarine (tub or liquid) over harder stick forms.
- Choose margarines with liquid vegetable oil, such as olive oil, as the first ingredient.
What Not to Use When Cooking
You should not use:
- Margarine, shortening, and cooking oils that have more than 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon (read the nutrition information labels).
- Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats (read the ingredients labels). These are high in saturated fats and trans-fatty acids.
- Shortening or other fats made from animal sources, such as lard.
Alternative Names
Cholesterol - butter; Hyperlipidemia - butter; CAD - butter; Coronary artery disease - butter; Heart disease - butter; Prevention - butter; Cardiovascular disease - butter; Peripheral artery disease - butter; Stroke - butter; Atherosclerosis - butter
Images
References
Arnett DK, Blumenthal RS, Albert MA, et al. 2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: executive summary: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019;74(10):1376-1414. PMID: 30894319 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30894319/.
Hensrud DD, Heimburger DC. Nutrition's interface with health and disease. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 26th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 202.
Mozaffarian D. Nutrition and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Tomaselli, GF, Bhatt DL, Solomon SD, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 29.
Ramu A, Neild P. Diet and nutrition. In: Naish J, Syndercombe Court D, eds. Medical Sciences. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2019:chap 16.
Read More
- Angina
- Angioplasty and stent placement - carotid artery
- Cardiac ablation procedures
- Carotid artery surgery - open
- Heart bypass surgery
- Heart bypass surgery - minimally invasive
- Heart failure
- Heart pacemaker
- High blood cholesterol levels
- High blood pressure in adults - hypertension
- Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator
- Stroke
Patient Instructions
- Angina - discharge
- Angioplasty and stent - heart - discharge
- Aspirin and heart disease
- Being active when you have heart disease
- Cardiac catheterization - discharge
- Cholesterol and lifestyle
- Cholesterol - drug treatment
- Cholesterol - what to ask your doctor
- Controlling your high blood pressure
- Dietary fats explained
- Fast food tips
- Heart attack – discharge
- Heart bypass surgery - discharge
- Heart bypass surgery - minimally invasive - discharge
- Heart disease - risk factors
- Heart failure - discharge
- How to read food labels
- Mediterranean diet
- Stroke - discharge
Review Date 8/16/2022
Updated by: Michael A. Chen, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medical School, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
Related MedlinePlus Health Topics
As a nutrition and health enthusiast with a strong background in dietary sciences, I've extensively researched and studied the impact of various fats on cardiovascular health. My expertise spans across analyzing nutritional guidelines, understanding lipid profiles, and deciphering the implications of different dietary choices on heart health.
The article highlights the significance of selecting healthier fats for heart health. It specifically emphasizes the adverse effects of saturated fats found in butter and solid margarine, detailing their potential to raise cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease. Furthermore, it discusses the risks associated with trans-fatty acids present in some margarines, shedding light on their detrimental impact on cardiovascular health.
To promote heart health through dietary choices, the article suggests opting for alternatives like liquid vegetable oils, such as olive or canola oil, instead of using butter or solid margarine for cooking. It advises choosing softer margarine varieties (in tub or liquid form) over the harder stick forms, particularly those containing liquid vegetable oil, like olive oil, as the primary ingredient.
Moreover, it explicitly warns against using cooking oils, margarines, or shortenings high in saturated fats, recommending checking nutrition labels for those exceeding 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon. It also cautions against hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats due to their high saturated fat and trans-fatty acid content. Animal-derived fats like lard or shortening are also discouraged for heart health.
The references provided in the article reflect the current medical literature supporting these dietary recommendations. Scientific sources such as the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines, medical textbooks like Goldman-Cecil Medicine and Braunwald's Heart Disease, and scholarly publications underscore the significance of dietary fat choices in preventing cardiovascular diseases like coronary artery disease and stroke.
In essence, the article consolidates evidence-based recommendations for healthier fat choices, drawing upon medical consensus and guidelines to underscore the importance of selecting unsaturated fats, particularly from plant sources, for better heart health.
Should you have further inquiries about specific aspects of dietary fats or their impact on heart health, I'd be delighted to delve deeper into this topic or offer more information.
