Q: I am wondering which is healthier to use: Butter or light spreadable margarine, like light I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter? The latter contains palm kernel and palm oil, which I thought aren’t too healthy, but I thought that butter has more saturated fat and calories.
Joyce
A: Yes, light I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter! does have less saturated fat and calories than butter but it also contains palm oil, monoglycerides and diglycerides that aren’t so healthy.
Monoglycerides and diglycerides are emulsifiers, structurally similar to fat that are often used to combine water with soybean oil (or other fat) to make lower calorie buttery spreads. When mono- and diglycerides are manufactured in a lab, or when exposed to heat for processing and prepared foods, trans fatty acids — the least healthy of all the fats — can be formed.
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