Smart Balance makes several vegetable oil-based spreads that can be used to replace butter and margarine in cooking, baking, frying and spreading. Regular use of the Smart Balance spreads can have a positive effect on your blood lipid profile. Although adding these spreads to your diet can promote well-being, a balanced diet and regular exercise are still essential to keep your mind and body healthy.
Nutrition
Smart Balance spreads are made with healthy vegetable oils, such as soybean, canola, flax seed and olive, which are packed with unsaturated fatty acids and are low in saturated fats. A 1 tbsp. serving, or 14 g, of the Smart Balance Original spread contains 9 g of fat, of which 2.5 g is saturated, 3.5 g is unsaturated and 3 g is polyunsaturated fatty acids. Smart Balance spreads do not contain any cholesterol or trans fats.
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that your body uses to make some hormones and as a part of cell membranes. Your body can usually make all the cholesterol it needs and thus, you do not need to get cholesterol from food. Cholesterol is transported in your blood by two major proteins; the low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, and the high-density lipoprotein, or HDL. LDL and HDL are cholesterol-carrier proteins that function in opposite ways; while LDL carries cholesterol to your body, promoting plaque buildup and atherosclerosis, HDL carries cholesterol to the liver for removal. If your blood cholesterol levels are high, it typically means that you have high blood LDL and low blood HDL levels. Only animal based foods contain cholesterol.
Unsaturated Vs. Saturated
Butter, margarine and vegetable oils contain three major types of fats; saturated, monounsaturated, or MUFAs, and polyunsaturated, or PUFAs, fatty acids. Although your body needs all three fats, you should limit your intake of saturated fatty acids because they can raise your blood LDL cholesterol and increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. MUFAs and PUFAs are considered to be the heart-healthy fats that can help to reduce your blood LDL and increase your blood HDL levels. A fourth type of fat that increases your LDL cholesterol is trans fat. Only few natural sources contain trans fats but they are abundant in hydrogenated vegetable oil products, such as margarine.
Considerations
You can help to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by incorporating MUFAs and PUFAs to your diet and by avoiding foods high in cholesterol, saturated fats and trans fats. Since Smart Balance spreads contain high levels -- over 70 percent -- of unsaturated fats, and contain no cholesterol or trans fats, they can help you lower your blood cholesterol level. However, Smart Balance spread is not a "miracle" food that reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease on its own. Regular exercise and a healthy and a balanced diet that contains less than 10 percent of your daily calories from saturated fats and does not contain excess calories is the best way to keep your blood cholesterol levels in check and your body healthy.
