Vegetable oil has been known as the healthier alternative to butter but a new study has shown that butter does not reduce the risk of heart disease. New research has found that while cholesterol levels fell with people who ate more healthy fats from vegetable oil, the improvement did not translate to a drop in risk for heart disease.
Published in the British Medical Journal, the study found that people who ate lots of saturate fats were no more likely to die early. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. observe that the greatest reduction in cholesterol levels had a higher risk of death.
In a similar analysis of several trials from North Carolina University and Illinois University, researchers found no clear distinction between consuming polyunsaturated fats and a reduction in risk for heart disease. The study also claimed an overestimation of the benefits of substituting saturated fats with vegetable oils.
One of the studies observed was the Minnesota Coronary Experience (MCE), which analyzed 9,423 participants from state mental hospitals and a nursing home from 1973. One group of participants exchanged their normal diet to a diet rich in corn oil and polyunsaturated margarine. Diets high in saturated fats, which included butter and common margarines, were given to the other group of participants.
While participants on the polyunsaturated diet did not have any significant reduction to their cholesterol levels, they still experienced a higher rate of death. The study did not provide any evidence that death was related to a heart attack or heart disease, according to Daily Mail.
In the 1960s, the dangers of saturated fat gained a lot of attention. In 1983, the British were advised to reduce their fat intake to only 30 percent of total energy and to cut the consumption of full-fat milk, butter and foods high in saturated fat to only 10 percent.
Butter is known to be full of saturated fats, which raises cholesterol levels. Since high cholesterol levels increase the risk for heart disease, the acceptable logic was to swap butter for vegetable oils.
Vegetable oil and sunflower oil have been linked to a reduced risk of heart attacks. The American Heart Association even suggested using oils such as olive, sunflower, canola or corn for healthier cooking, according to The Atlantic. However, these new studies suggest that swapping butter for vegetable oil may not reduce the risk of heart attack at all.
