Expert advice
Expert advice
In this section you will find some useful advice from Australia's leading organisations, so you can make healthier spread choices.
For their full details, please click on each of the website links below.
Dietary Guidelines for Australians - A Guide to healthy eating
This is a set of recommendations on making healthy food choices.
The recommendation on fats and oils in our diets has evolved with each new revision of the guidelines, to the current recommendation for Adults, Children and Adolescents: Limit saturated fat and moderate total fat intake. NOTE Low fat diets are not suitable for infants
For more information visit the National Health and Medical Research Council website.
A major review recently undertaken by the Heart Foundation highlighted that Australians are consuming too much saturated fat.
This review highlighted a number of ways Australians can reduce their saturated fat intake. One way is to:
Swap butter for a margarine spread – just by doing this with your daily toast and sandwich you will save 2.85kg of saturated fat from your diet in one year*. (*Based on a daily 20g serve)
For other ways to reduce your saturated fat intake, and for independent healthy eating advice click here to visit the Heart Foundation Website.
What's the best type of fat for a healthy heart?
Answer: As with all healthy eating, the key is moderation. Enjoy moderate amounts of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.
To help you do this try to use:
Margarine spreads instead of butter or dairy blends at the table and in recipes
A variety of oils for cooking - some suitable choices include canola, sunflower, soybean
Also try to avoid saturated fat and trans fats. To help you do this try to use:
Lean meat
Low fat dairy
Limited amounts of extra foods such as biscuits, pastry and chips
Use margarines that list trans fat as <1 g per 100g
Click here for more information or to find an Accredited Practising Dietitian in your local area.
Polyunsaturated margarines can be an effective substitute for butter.
Fast facts
CSIRO carries out research to find dietary strategies for improving health
These include, using polyunsaturated margarines instead of butter
Look for margarines with low (less than two per cent) or no trans fatty acids
For more information click here to visit the CSIRO website.
Heart Foundation
A major review recently undertaken by the Heart Foundation highlighted that Australians are consuming too much saturated fat.
This review highlighted a number of ways Australians can reduce their saturated fat intake. One way is to:
Swap butter for a margarine spread – just by doing this with your daily toast and sandwich you will save 2.85kg of saturated fat from your diet in one year*. (*Based on a daily 20g serve)
For other ways to reduce your saturated fat intake, and for independent healthy eating advice click here to visit the Heart Foundation Website.
Dietitians Association of Australia
What's the best type of fat for a healthy heart?
Answer: As with all healthy eating, the key is moderation. Enjoy moderate amounts of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.
To help you do this try to use:
Margarine spreads instead of butter or dairy blends at the table and in recipes A variety of oils for cooking - some suitable choices include canola, sunflower, soybeanAlso try to avoid saturated fat and trans fats. To help you do this try to use:
Lean meat Low fat dairy Limited amounts of extra foods such as biscuits, pastry and chips Use margarines that list trans fat as <1 g per 100gClick here for more information or to find an Accredited Practising Dietitian in your local area.
CSIRO spreads the facts about margarine
Polyunsaturated margarines can be an effective substitute for butter.
Fast facts
CSIRO carries out research to find dietary strategies for improving health These include, using polyunsaturated margarines instead of butterLook for margarines with low (less than two per cent) or no trans fatty acids For more information click here to visit the CSIRO website.