Spread The Facts - I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!®

Myth
Even if you remove partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, soft spreads still contain trans fats.

Fact
Trans fats occur naturally in some foods, such as butter, meat and full-fat dairy products and milk. While a trace amount is present in all liquid vegetable oils, by removing partially hydrogenated oils as an ingredient — the main source of trans fats in processed foods — our soft spreads contain no artificial trans fats.

Myth
Margarine and soft spreads are for spreading and butter is for cooking and baking.

Fact
Now there's a better choice than butter for cooking and baking. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® Sticks bake like butter and taste like butter, but are made with a blend of nutritious oils, including soybean and canola, so they have 50% less fat than butter, no cholesterol and 0g trans fat* and provide an excellent source of Omega-3 ALA per serving.**

* I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® Sticks 79% vegetable oil spread contain 11g of fat (3.5g sat. fat, 0g trans fat, 100 calories) per serving.
** A blend of soybean and canola oils. Contains 500mg of omega-3 ALA per serving; 38% of the daily value of ALA (1300mg).

Myth
Butter is more nutritious than soft spreads.

Fact
Butter is not more nutritious than soft spreads. In fact, butter is higher in saturated fat and cholesterol than soft spreads. Butter contains 7 grams of saturated fat and 30 mg of cholesterol in one tablespoon, whereas a soft spread, like I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® contains 0 grams of trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol and 2 grams of saturated fat per serving.* In addition, butter also contains more calories than most soft spreads.
Both butter and soft spreads contain vitamin A. Furthermore, soft spreads may be enriched with a variety of other nutrients such as vitamins E and D, and calcium; butter only contains traces of these nutrients.

*Vs. butter. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® 58% vegetable oil spread contains 8g of fat (2g sat. fat, 0g trans fat, 70 calories) per serving.

Myth
Margarines and soft spreads are the same.

Fact
Margarine and soft spreads are similar, yet not the same. People tend to use these words interchangeably and often the dairy case in the grocery store is labeled as "margarine." By FDA standards of identity, margarine must contain at least 80% fat and this fat can be from oils such as corn, safflower, soybean or sunflower. Margarine must contain at least 10% vitamin A and may include optional ingredients such as vitamin D. Margarine products on the market differ widely in fat content and fat composition. Soft or tub spread typically contain between 50-60% fat and are made with a blend of vegetable oils like canola, soybean, olive and sunflower. Spreads may also contain other nutrients such as vitamin E and may be enriched with vitamin D and calcium.
In general, soft or tub spreads are a better nutrition option than margarine because they are lower in total fat and trans fat. Vegetable oil spreads are commonly termed soft spreads, soft margarine or "tub margarine", and contain less fat than regular stick margarines. Moreover they have a better fat composition. Soft spreads such as I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® also contain the essential fats, omega-3 ALA* and omega-6 fatty acids linoleic acid, and have no cholesterol and 0 grams trans fat per serving.**
Margarine and soft/tub spreads labeled as reduced fat must contain at least 25% less fat than the reference or regular food whereas foods labeled as low fat contain 3 grams or less fat per serving. Foods labeled as fat-free are less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.

*Vs. butter. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® 58% vegetable oil spread contains 8g fat (2g sat. fat, 0g trans fat, 70 calories) per serving.
**A blend of soybean and canola oils. Contains 460mg of omega-3 ALA per serving; 28% of the daily value of ALA (1300mg).

Myth
Margarine and soft spreads are one molecule away from being plastic.

Fact
It is an urban myth that margarine and soft spreads are one molecule away from being plastic. Soft spreads are made from a blend of nutritious vegetable oils such as canola, soybean, corn, sunflower and/or olive oil. By selecting oils that are lower in saturated fat and rich in essential fats such as Omega-3 ALA, we are able to make soft spreads that are nutritious as well as tasty and convenient to use.

Myth
All soft spreads are rich in saturated fat and trans fat.

Fact
Soft spreads are generally made with vegetable oils that are low in saturated fats, contain no cholesterol and are rich in monounsaturated fats and essential polyunsaturated fats. Soft spreads, such as I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® actually contain 0 grams of trans fat per serving* and only 2 grams of saturated fat per serving.
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® has 70% less saturated fat than butter. In one tablespoon, butter contains 7 grams of saturated fat and 30 mg of cholesterol.

* Vs. butter. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® 58% vegetable oil spread contains 8g of fat (2g sat. fat, 0g trans fat, 70 calories) per serving.

Myth
The major source of trans fat in the American diet is from margarine and soft spreads.

Fact
Trans fats have always been part of the U.S. diet and are found naturally occurring in a wide range of foods including beef, and full-fat dairy products such as cheese, butter and milk. Another source of trans fats in the diet is artificial trans fats — found in certain oils used for frying and baking, processed foods and bakery products. According to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the artificial trans fats found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils account for more than 80% of the total intake of trans fat in the American diet. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® soft spreads contain no hydrogenated oils and no trans fat per serving.*

*I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® 58% vegetable oil spread contains 8g fat (2g sat. fat, 0g trans fat) per serving.

Spread the Facts - There are a lot of myths and rumors going around about margarine and spreads. Get the true story and real facts right here. Now you know better.