FEBRUARY 3: CUT OUT THE MARGARINE

29 Days to a Healthier Heart

If you want to maintain a healthy heart, avoid margarine and other foods containing trans-fatty acids and partially hydrogenated oils. Margarine and other hydrogenated vegetable oils not only raise LDL cholesterol (the ‘bad’ cholesterol), they also lower HDL cholesterol (the ‘good’ cholesterol), interfere with essential fatty acid metabolism, and are suspected of being a cause of certain cancers.

Although butter may be better than margarine, the bottom line is that they both need to be restricted in a healthy diet while natural polyunsaturated oils like canola, safflower, soy, fish, and flaxseed oils should be used to meet essential fatty acid requirements. Try using ‘cold pressed oils’ from your local health food store to replace margarine or butter.

-Karen Hack BHSc, ND