A Review of Butter Substitutes

A review of butter substitutes and their nutritional information can make you surprised at how very healthy these substitutes can be. For many, butter is perhaps one of the most loved ingredients that we eat everyday in some dish or the other. Many people begin the day with butter on their toast. However, the overuse of butter can cause many health problems like obesity and high cholesterol. Consequently, it is important to use butter substitutes instead.

Margarine is the most common butter substitute. Unfortunately, margarine is not one of the more healthy options that you can purchase. Contrary to popular belief, margarine is very fattening and does little good to people who wish to avoid butter for nutritional reasons. Margarine has about 45% trans-fats in it. This is harmful because the human body cannot use theses fats and they can be the cause of high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, and heart ailments.

Butter substitutes like cooking oil and olive oil are a much wiser alternative. Cooking oil can be used for frying instead of melting butter in your pan. The same can be applied in the case of baking. Cooking oil has no carbohydrates, has about 19% fats, no sodium or potassium, and also does not have any proteins. Olive oil can also be used as a butter substitute. Sprinkle olive oil instead of butter on salads or even on toast. Olive oil has been linked to possibly lowering the risk of heart disease. It also helps to reduce the LDL cholesterol level, lowers blood pressure, and lowers blood sugar. That apart, olive oil helps to increase the absorption of quite a few vitamins like A, D, E, and K, and all this while keeping the great taste of the food intact.

Many people also depend on the newer butter substitutes, such as I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and Smart Balance. These products boast that they are a much more health conscious option to butter. It has been shown that these butter substitutes are obtained by a method that takes away the water and fat from the butter extract. These products are said to contain absolutely no fat and cholesterol. However, ingredients such as maltodextrin, corn syrup solids, salt, natural flavorings, buttermilk and cornstarch are present in most of these butter substitutes. These products have about 10 calories per spoon as compared to the 33 calories per spoon in butter.

If you want to depend on some healthy and hassle free butter substitutes, you can just be a little innovative and find great butter substitutes that you can make yourself. Use vegetable purees on your toast instead of butter and have a great breakfast! The nutritional value will no doubt be great with the health benefits of the vegetables being present. Put some of your favorite veggies in the blender, add water or skim milk and toss in a dash of salt and pepper-and there you have your own butter substitute. Using this substitute will ensure that you remain healthy and not partake in the overuse of butter.