Butter can be delicious, but a large new study suggests that the less you eat, the longer you can live.
Using More plants based on plants and less butter was associated with a risk of 17% lower to die prematurely and a lower risk of cancer and heart disease, according to a report published Thursday in Jama Internal Medicine and presented during the Epi / Lifestyle scientific sessions of the American Heart Association.
Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital of Boston analyzed data of more than 200,000 people who were followed for more than three decades. Participants who said that the consumption of the highest daily quantities of butter were 15% more likely to die prematurely, while people who had high consumption of plants based on plants, especially soy, canola and olive oil, were 16% less likely to die prematurely, revealed the researchers.
“The message of this study is: less butter and more plant -based oil could lead to better health,” said the main study author, Yu Zhang, a graduate student at the Harvard Th Chan School of Public Health and research assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
“We are not saying that people should completely abandon the butter,” said Zhang. “But we suggest that a small reduction in the daily consumption of butter and a Increase in plant -based oil could cause significant long -term health benefits. »»
Zhang could not say exactly how much butter would be ok to consume, but “less would be better”.
The new study examined the data of 221,054 adults who had participated in the study on the health of nurses, the study on the health of nurses and the study of monitoring of health professionals. At the beginning, the average age of people in the nursing health study and the monitoring of health professionals was 56 years; He was 36 years in the study on the health of nurses II.
Every four years, participants have fulfilled a questionnaire on the frequency of foods which included more than 130 articles. They were asked how often, on average, they have consumed each food in the past year. Participants had nine possible answers ranging from “never or less than once a month” to “more than six times or more per day”.
They were also asked what types of fats and oils they consume and which marks or types of oils they have used.
During the 33 years of follow -up, 50,932 of the participants died, 12,241 due to cancer and 11,240 due to heart disease.
After counting potentially biased lifestyle factors, such as body mass index, quantity of physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption, as well as family history of diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease, researchers have determined that people who consumed the greatest daily quantity of butter (13 to 14 grams, or about three of diesing, more likely, none).
This contrasts with a risk of 16% lower to die in those who have consumed the largest amount of plants based on plants (about 25 grams, around five teaspoons per day) compared to those who consume the least (about 3 grams per day, or 1 teaspoon).
Using a statistical model, the researchers estimated the difference in mortality rate when plant -based oils were replaced by approximately a teaspoon of butter every day and found a risk of death of 17%.
When the researchers examined the causes of death, they found that each additional 10 grams (approximately 2 teaspoons) per day of plant -based oil was associated with a death risk of 11% against cancer and a risk of death of 6% lower against cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Matthew Tomey, cardiologist at Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital in New York, said that the new study is in accordance with the current advice of the American Heart Association concerning the substitution of polyunsaturated and unsaturated fats with animal and dairy fats.
“The large size of the sample and a robust analysis provide an overview, in particular with regard to the substitution of oils based on butter -based plants,” said Tomey.
THE American Heart Association recommends obtaining less than 6% of total daily calories in saturated fat. For example, if someone consumes 2,000 calories per day, no more than 120 calories should come from saturated fats. This represents about 13 grams or less of saturated fats per day.
Does the new research mean that butter should be out of the menu?
Marie-Pierre St-Onge, associate professor of nutritional medicine at the Columbia University Vacelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, said that people should focus on the health benefits of plants based on plants.
“This should not scare them using butter,” she said, adding “there are more plant-based oil advantages that there is butter difficult.”
The only sign of butter was in the people who used them the most, she said.
It comes back to moderation. “Practically speaking, having a butter tape will not be the end of the world,” said Tomey.
It is normal to have a little butter, if you pay attention to other animal or dairy fats, said Alice H. Lichtenstein, professor of nutrition and policies in nutrition at Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at TUFTS University.
“If you do not consume a lot of meat and choose weak or non -fatty yogurt, there is room for butter,” said Lichtenstein. “You shouldn’t feel guilty about it.”
The researchers envisaged a group of plants based on plants which included soybeans and canola oil. How does it hold with the tendency of social influencers to ransacked Seeds -based oils?
“I have not seen anything in the scientific literature that suggests that we should worry about these seeds based on seeds,” said St-Onge.
Lichtenstein agrees. “The data does not show that these oils are harmful,” she said. “What the data shows is that a diet rich in seed oil and low in animal fats is associated with better results for health.”