Coronary heart disease begins when excess cholesterol and triglyceride fats form hard plaques on the inner walls of the arteries that nourish your heart, depriving it of oxygen and other nutrients. You can reduce your risk of developing heart disease by replacing butter in your diet with heart-healthy fats.
Expert Insight
The American Heart Association recommends limiting your daily fat intake to less than 25 to 35 percent of your daily calorie intake, restricting saturated fats to less than 7 percent of your calories and keeping trans fat intake below 1 percent. The rest of your fat intake should be from healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Saturated fats and trans fats raise both your total blood cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein, or "bad" cholesterol. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats can lower your blood cholesterol and heart disease risk when you keep your diet very low in saturated fat, according to the American Heart Association. Butter is mostly saturated fat.
Bad Fats
Butter, lard and solid shortening are all high in saturated fats and cholesterol that contribute to coronary heart disease. A 1 tbsp. serving of butter contains 102 calories, more than 7.2g of saturated fat and 31mg of cholesterol. Solid forms of margarine and shortening have been hydrogenated to make them more solid. The hydrogenation process creates trans fats that raise blood cholesterol levels. In general, the harder a margarine or shortening is, the more trans fats it contains, says the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
Heart-Healthy Fats
Heart-healthy fats are typically lower in saturated fat and cholesterol than butter, and higher in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Although 1 tbsp. of heart-healthy olive oil has a scant 17 more calories than the same amount of butter, it's cholesterol-free and contains less than 2g of saturated fat. Olive oil also contains more than three times the amount of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats than butter.
Substitutions
Whenever a recipe calls for butter, take a moment to consider replacing it with monounsaturated fats, such as olive, canola or peanut oil or with polyunsaturated fats, such as safflower, sesame, soy, corn and sunflower-seed oils. Instead of sauteing fish, vegetables or poultry in butter, substitute a small amount of olive oil or a couple of sprays from aerosolized canola oil. The Cleveland Clinic identifies cooking oils by their smoking points and percentage of unsaturated fat so you can make informed choices. Instead of slathering butter on toast or sandwiches, consider thinly sliced avocados that are rich in monounsaturated fats. If you do want a dairy spread for muffins, pasta or other menu items, choose soft tub margarines that are labeled trans fat-free, or those that list liquid vegetable oil as their first ingredient. You can also purchase cholesterol-lowering margarine products to spread on muffins, toast or cereal.
Considerations
Although monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are essential components of a heart-healthy diet, they are calorie-dense foods. Each 1g of fat contains 9 calories, more than twice the number of calories than 1g of protein or carbohydrate, according to the American Heart Association. Choose heart-healthy fats and use them in moderation to reduce your risk of coronary heart disease.
