Which is healthier: butter or margarine?

Butter and margarine both have their strengths and weaknesses. Margarine has a good deal of trans fat but it also has unsaturated (good) fat. And while butter has saturated fat, it has no trans fat. You can probably figure out which one is better for your health but the bad part of each should convince you not to have either.

A third alternative is butter substitutes such as Smart Balance. There are many others like it on the market. These substitutes are made from vegetable oils and do not have any trans fat or cholesterol.

Calorie wise they are the same as butter so you don't notice a difference in taste and shouldn't consume a lot if you are on a diet.

Make sure when buying one of these to look under the ingredients and avoid any product that contains hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils to avoid trace amounts of trans fat.