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A new independent study has found that replacing butter with plant-based oils may reduce the risk of premature death.
The research analyzed 33 years of data for 221,054 US adults and found that the people who consumed the highest amounts of butter had a higher risk of death from all causes than those who consumed the lowest amounts, including cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Those with the highest consumption of butter had a 15 percent higher risk of death than those with the lowest, while each additional 10 grams of butter (approximately one tablespoon) per day was associated with a 12 percent increased risk of death from cancer.
Conversely, the research linked the consumption of plant-based oils – particularly olive, canola (rapeseed), and soybean – with a reduced risk of premature death from all causes. Furthermore, those who substituted approximately one tablespoon of butter with one tablespoon of plant-based oil benefited from a 17 percent reduction in risk of death.
“These results support current dietary recommendations to replace animal fats like butter with non-hydrogenated vegetable oils that are high in unsaturated fats, especially olive, soy, and canola oil,” concluded the study, which was published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine earlier this month. “Further studies are warranted.”
Read more: Eating A Higher Ratio Of Plant Protein Supports Heart Health, Finds Study
Butter, animal fat, plant-based oils, and health
The publication of this new study comes as certain influencers and public figures – including US Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr – criticize plant-based fats and oils. Some people have claimed that tallow, a rendered fat from cows and sheep, is healthier.
However, the new research is not the first to find that oils from olives and nuts are preferable to dairy and other animal fats. In July of last year, Nature Medicine also published a study that found swapping saturated animal fats for unsaturated plant-based ones reduced people’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
A major review of 23 years of scientific studies, also published in 2024, found that eating more plant-based foods in general lowered the risk of heart disease and cancer. Eating more plant-based foods in general “significantly” improved people’s overall health.
Read more: These Restaurants Are Making The Switch To Beef Tallow – But Is It Really Healthier?
