Effects of margarine compared with those of butter on blood lipid profiles related to cardiovascular disease risk factors in normolipemic adults fed controlled diets123

• Published in: The American journal of clinical nutrition 1998-10, Vol.68 (4), p.768-777
• Main Authors: Judd, Joseph T, Baer, David J, Clevidence, Beverly A, Muesing, Richard A, Chen, Shirley C, Weststrate, Jan A, Meijer, Gert W, Janet, Wittes, Lichtenstein, Alice H, Montserrat, Vilella-Bach, Schaefer, Ernst J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: blood lipids; butter; cardiovascular disease risk factors; humans; lipoproteins; Margarine; polyunsaturated fatty acids; table spreads; trans unsaturated fatty acids; ulcerative colitis surgery
• ISSN: 0002-9165; 1938-3207
• DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/68.4.768

Effects of butter and 2 types of margarine on blood lipid and lipoprotein concentrations were compared in a controlled diet study with 23 men and 23 women. Table spreads, added to a common basal diet, provided 8.3% of energy as fat. Diets averaged 34.6% of energy as fat and 15.5% as protein. Each diet was fed for 5 wk in a 3 × 3 Latin-square design. One margarine (TFA-M) approximated the average trans monoene content of trans fatty acid–containing margarines in the United States (17% trans fatty acids by dry wt). The other margarine (PUFA-M) was free of trans unsaturated fatty acids; it contained approximately twice the polyunsaturated fatty acid content of TFA-M (49% compared with 27% polyunsaturated fatty acids). The tub-type margarines had similar physical properties at ambient temperature. Fasting blood lipids and lipoproteins were determined in 2 samples taken from the subjects during the fifth week of each dietary treatment. Compared with butter, total cholesterol was 3.5% lower (P = 0.009) after consumption of TFA-M and 5.4% lower (P< 0.001) after consumption of PUFAM. Similarly, LDL cholesterol was 4.9% lower (P = 0.005) and 6.7% lower (P< 0.001) after consumption of TFA-M and PUFAM, respectively. Neither margarine differed from butter in its effect on HDL cholesterol or triacylglycerols. Thus, consumption of TFA-M or PUFA-M improved blood lipid profiles for the major lipoproteins associated with cardiovascular risk when compared with butter, with a greater improvement with PUFA-M than with TFA-M.