#4 – Stick Margarine
Stick margarines, which are widely available, are high in saturated fats and trans-fats, which are not healthy at all. Saturated fats give stick margarines the ability to be more solid than other, healthy mono-saturated fats, which are contained in oils like olive oil. Saturated and trans-fats can cause health issues, such as obesity, bad cholesterol, heart problems etc. Other varieties of margarines can be lower in those bad fats and even free of it, but they are still high in calories. Butter is also not a necessary better solution, although it’s a more natural product.
According to the American Health Association, soft, trans-fat free spreads are a better alternative to butter and stick margarine. Thus, reading nutrition labels carefully in order to choose the product that has lower amounts of saturated and trans-fats, is necessary. Also, a lot healthier alternative is high quality olive oil and other high quality vegetable oil or oil-based spreads. Avocado and pure nut butters are also a healthier option.