Butter Beats Margarine?
A decades-long study finds a daily dab of butter may protect your health, while margarine could do the opposite.
For years, butter was the bad guy.
We were told it clogged our arteries and expanded our waistlines.
So we swapped it for margarine.
Plastic-looking, lab-made, “heart healthy” margarine.
But now? The tables have turned.
A decades-long study from the Framingham Offspring cohort followed more than 2,500 people and found something that might make your toast do a little happy dance…
Just 5 grams of butter a day, that’s one teaspoon, was linked to a 31% lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
That’s not a typo. Butter may protect your metabolic health.
Even better?
These butter-lovers had:
Higher HDL (that’s the good cholesterol)
Lower triglycerides
Better insulin sensitivity
Boom. A metabolic triple win.
Now brace yourself…
The folks who stuck with margarine, especially the old-school types packed with trans fats, didn’t fare so well.
Just 7 grams of margarine a day was linked to:
A 29–41% higher risk of type 2 diabetes
A 30% higher risk of heart disease
Yikes. So much for "heart healthy."
Yes, today’s margarines have fewer trans fats. But the damage may already be done—to their reputation and your arteries.
So What Does This Mean for You?
This was an observational study, not a controlled trial.
It doesn’t prove cause and effect.
But it sure adds weight to what many of us already believe:
Whole, real foods beat fake, franken-foods.
Butter. Eggs. Meat. Veggies. Movement. Sleep. Sunlight.
That’s your real health insurance policy.
Try This Today:
Trade the tub for the real deal.
Melt a bit of butter on your broccoli.
Add it to your morning eggs.
Toss the margarine once and for all.
"Don’t fear the butter. Fear the fake."
Now go enjoy that golden pat with zero guilt and full flavor.
We’re not doctors or psychologists.
We’re people who were broken…physically, emotionally, spiritually… and found our way back through simple, natural habits. We share what worked for us, and what’s worked for thousands of others in the RiversZen community.
What we share isn’t medical advice. It’s lived experience.
What you do with it? That’s up to you.