Should We Be Cutting Out Butter To Live Longer Lives? Here's What The Experts Say

Yahoo

12-03-2025

You may have noticed some headlines in recent weeks about butter and cheese taking days and even weeks off our lives if they're eaten too often.
Now, let me be the first to say, a life without cheese is not one I particularly fancy living and restricting — or entirely cutting out — food is something that you should discuss with your GP, as it's often not advised.
However, is there any weight to these stories? Should we start to consider a life without these delicious sources of fat?
Well, the most recent stories come from a study published in JAMA which looks at butter and plant based oils intake and mortality. According to the study, higher butter intake was associated with increased total and cancer mortality, while higher intake of plant-based oils was associated with lower total, cancer, and cardiovascular disease mortality.
Basically: plant-based oils such as olive oils are much better for your body than saturated fats such as butter.
Don't go chucking out the golden goodness in your fridge just yet.
Prof Sarah Berry, Professor of Nutritional Sciences, King's College London, said: 'This research is very timely. Social media is currently awash with influencers promoting butter as a health food and claiming that seed oils are deadly.
'This large-scale, long-term study finds the reverse. The authors produce further evidence that seed oil consumption is linked to improved health and that butter – delicious as it is – should only be consumed once in a while.'
'In a sane world, this study would give the butter bros and anti-seed oil brigade pause for thought, but I'm confident that their brand of nutri-nonsense will continue unabated.'
Dr Louise Flanagan, Head of Research for the Stroke Association, said: 'This study covered a wider range of plant oils than previous research to find that greater consumption of rapeseed oil, soybean oil or olive oil is associated with an overall lower risk of death. It is positive to see other plant oils being considered in this way as olive oil has been a focus of much research in the past.
'The suggestion to switch from butter to plant oils is achievable for many people. However, it was only olive oil that was associated with a lower risk of death due to cardiovascular disease, including stroke. Olive oil is typically more expensive than other oils like rapeseed which means that its potential health benefits could be out of financial reach for some.'
However, she does urge that research should be a little more nuanced when we consider people's dietary and budget restrictions: 'The study didn't consider what eating both butter and plant oils means in terms of health risks, which is likely to be what many people naturally do. This is potentially something which could be considered in future studies.'
Well, yes. Have you seen olive oil prices lately?!
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