Is butter best?

So, yet another study, yet another bit of advice – today we are told that its fine to have butter – in fact its more than fine – butter is better than margarine for us. 

Dr Malhotra writes in the BMJ that there is too much focus on the fat content of foods and too little emphasis on the amount of sugar.

Dr Malhorta tells us that a Mediterranean diet of olive oil, nuts, oily fish, plenty of fruit and veg and a moderate amount of red wine – after a heart attack is almost three times as powerful in reducing mortality as a statin. 

However, the British Heart Disease says that reducing cholesterol through drugs or other means does lower heart risk.

So, how do we decide what advice to follow?

I suggest we use the ‘moderation in all things’ approach.  A small spread of butter on a piece of wholemeal probably won’t be a calamity, a thick spread of marg and several slices of white bread won’t do much good at all!

And check those low fat yoghurts, you will often find that there are way more calories in the low fat variety (because they needed lots of added sugar to make them palatable.  One small, plain basic yoghurt may be no worse than a low fat with added sugar complete with a sugary lot of fruit to add as well.

Some of the best things we can do to keep our hearts healthy is to take regular exercise, keep our weight down and not to smoke.  And of course, to eat a healthy, balanced diet – and if that includes a little butter – that’s probably OK.