Source: The Mercury, 28 November, 1998, p.7 Source: The Mercury, 28 November, 1998, p.7
AUSTRALIAN researchers have confirmed margarine is better for your health than butter- but some margar- ines are healthier than others. The CSIRO's human nu- trition unit in Adelaide com- pared the effects of four types of margarine on blood choles- terol and found all of the spreads reduced the level of LDL, the bad cholesterol, in the blood by up to 15% compared with butter. Dietitian Manny Noakes said such a reduction in LDL cholesterol translated to a fall in the risk of heart disease between 20 and 30%. But the researchers were surprised to find that mar- garines without a substance called bans fatty acids were even better than margarines with bans fatty acids. "The margarine high in polyunsaturates and low in bans fatty acid lowered LDL- cholesterol a further 6% com- pared to other margarines," Ms Noakes said. "Based on our data, the fall in heart disease risk could be reckoned to be 13% greater with the polyunsaturated margarine without bans fatty acids than a similar spread with bans fatty acids." Ms Noakes said bans fatty acids were a class of monoun- saturated fats that were be- ing phased out of food prod- ucts in Australia and worldwide following rising concern about the link be- tween heart disease and nu- trition. About half of the margarines on the Australian market now contain bans fatty acids.
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