Natural Oils Trump Margarine

Change in Serum LDL* Cholesterol (mg/dl) Stick Margarine: -5% Shortening: -7% Soft Margarine: -9% Semiliquid Margarine: -11% Soybean Oil: -12% * low-density lipoprotein

Which oil best reduces high cholesterol? To find out, Tufts University's Alice Lichenstein, D.Sc., in Boston, fed people with high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol several different diets. Each diet contained 30 percent fat from a range of oils including unprocessed soybean oil and hydrogenated stick margarine. She found that the less processed the oil, the greater the LDL reduction, prompting her conclusion that everyone "should be encouraged to use vegetable oil in its natural state or after minimal hydrogenation." Most processed foods and, consequently, many Americans' diets, are high in hydrogenated oils.

—New England Journal of Medicine 1999 Jun 24;(340)25:1933-40