WASHINGTON: A recent study conducted by researchers in Boston University in the United States has revealed that decades of medical warnings that saturated fats, such as butter and margarine, affect heart health and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes were inaccurate.
The study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, included around 2,500 men and women over the age of 30. They were followed for years, monitoring their dietary patterns and incidence of diabetes and heart disease, in an attempt to understand the relationship between butter or margarine consumption and heart health.
The study results showed that consuming at least 5 grams of butter per day, roughly equivalent to one teaspoon, reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 31 percent. It was also found that butter raises levels of good cholesterol in the blood and contributes to reducing harmful fats known to cause clogged arteries, heart attacks, and strokes.
These findings contradict decades of dietary recommendations based on previous research linking saturated fats to heart disease. These warnings began in the 1960s, when researchers observed a link between Western dietary patterns and increased rates of heart disease, leading to calls to reduce animal fat consumption.
In this context, the results showed that margarine, which has been considered a healthy alternative to butter for decades, was associated with a more than 40 percent increased risk of diabetes and a 30 percent increased risk of heart disease. Researchers believe this is due to older margarines containing unhealthy trans fats.
The new study adds to a series of recent studies reconsidering these hypotheses and suggesting that some components of butter may be beneficial for heart health.
