Should we switch back to butter?

[unitarian]

DH & I have been using low fat spreads (Benecol or Flora) since 1987 with no discernible difference in cholesterol levels.

Is it worth sticking with low fat spreads? Can anyone give me chapter and verse on whether or not they are healthier than butter?

Current thinking seems to be that butter is actually better.

Some research indicates that saturated fat isn't as bad as once thought.

Ditto

Butter is a natural product. Spread is not. I went back to butter a couple of years ago. My cholesterol has actually come down a bit.

I've gone back to butter most of the time, but also buy Flora light. I do use an awful lot of butter in cakes and baking .

Having read what goes into margarine a while ago we ditched it in favour of butter as we'd rather have something more natural.

I do get through a lot of butter in a week with baking etc, but it's so much nicer!

I have been on butter for the last couple of years, I don't know about cholesterol but have not put weight on
I was put off after reading what was in marg but is it true of the lurpack spreadable or similar or the olive oil spreads?
I would quite like to find a cheaper alternative for baking

I read a while ago that the closest thing to margarine was paint and not even flies would lay their eggs on it.

Butter all the way, margarine is practically plastic from what I've read recently

Thanks for the replies.

When I had my cholesterol checked in 1987 after my father died of heart disease it was found to be extremely high. The GP recommended margarine and we switched to using Benecol or Flora but since then successive tests have shown my cholesterol is still very high and I'm now on statins.
We eat a healthy diet and are both quite slim but DH has arteriosclerosis despite the healthy diet and regular exercise so I'm nervous about changing but frustrated that there's been no discernible benefit.

I don't expect a straight answer from the GP because the screen in the waiting room shows what amounts to a Benecol advert on a continuous loop!

Went back to butter about 15 years ago. Cholesterol has always been (and remains) the low end of normal.

Father died of ischemic heart disease at 48 so have got to be aware, but I rather think it was the 40 a day habit rather than greasy food that caused that.

Yes, butter is better.

This is a good book about Cholesterol and why it really doesn't matter.

I wasn't trying to lower my cholesterol (as I don't believe it's a health marker) but I was low carbing last year - eating more cream, avocado, cheese & butter than I have ever eaten in my life. My blood pressure dropped, my cholesterol dropped, my weight dropped.

Thanks for the link, Latte. I'll follow that up. It's interesting that he uses the Benecol branding colours!

I'm past caring about my cholesterol and somewhat cynical if it hasn't lowered in all this time. I'm also disturbed by the obvious marketing on the GP waiting room screen. It's DH's condition that I'm more concerned about but he is also now cynical and we switched to butter a week ago whilst on holiday. It is very nice!

I borrowed it from the library and found it really interesting. As is John Briffa Escape the Diet Trap. It's about a lot more than diets, you might find it interesting. Both are 'easy reads'.

I didn't bother with benecol when I worked out that I needed to use far more 'spread' than I would normally use, to get enough of the plant sterols that are supposed to help - didn't make sense.

Eat more nuts (esp almonds & walnuts) oats, and pulses. Use a variety of vegetable oils in your diet.

Use decent butter, preferably from grass fed cows and not the cheap rock-hard stuff that tastes like marg.