In this issue of the journal, Williams and colleagues report the results of their study of nineteen twoto five-year old healthy children who received three grams of stanol in a margarine or five grams of wheat fiber in breakfast cereal for one month periods in a randomized crossover design [1]. Stanol margarine reduced total cholesterol by 12.4% and LDL cholesterol by 15.5%, while wheat bran re...

Intake of trans fatty acids unfavorably affects blood lipoproteins. As margarines are a major source of trans, claims for the advantages of margarines over butter need to be scrutinized. Here we review dietary trials that directly compared the effects of butter and margarine on blood lipids. We identified 20 studies in which subjects had stable body weights, and margarine and butter were exchan...

The effect of diets containing 50% of fat calories from butter, butter enriched with mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and margarines with and without trans fatty acids on the serum lipids of 38 healthy men in a free-living condition have been determined. Serum lipid responses to the high level of individual dietary fats were unexpectedly small. The butter diet produced a small, but signif...

Bile acids and fatty acids may promote colon cancer by inducing colonic hyperproliferation. Dietary calcium inhibits the promoting effects of bile acids and fatty acids, possibly by precipitating these surfactants and lowering their cytolytic activity. Because bile acids and fatty acids are products of fat digestion, their effects may be dependent on the type of dietary fat. The effects of the ...

Introduction In 1963 Brown, McKenzie and Yudkin examined the nutritional knowledge of housewives in a London suburb. Subsequently the findings of national studies on the subject were reported (McKenzie, 1965). Further major studies have been conducted on a fairly regular basis since that date (Margarine and Shortening Manufacturers Association, 1969; British Nutrition Foundation, 1973). However...