You butter not!

Zhang Y, Chadaideh KS, Li Y, et al. Butter and Plant-Based Oils Intake and Mortality. JAMA Intern Med. Published online March 06, 2025. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.0205

What’s the study about?

• This study looked at whether butter or plant-based oils affect the risk of early death in U.S. adults.

Who was studied?

• Over 221,000 adults were followed for up to 33 years across three large health studies.

What did they find?

• Eating more butter was linked to a 15% higher risk of death from all causes and a higher cancer risk.

• Eating more plant-based oils (like olive, soybean, and canola oils) was linked to a lower risk of death from all causes, cancer, and heart disease.

• Replacing just 10g of butter per day with plant-based oils could reduce the risk of early death by 17%.

Why does this matter?

• Swapping butter for plant-based oils may help reduce the risk of early death, especially from heart disease and cancer.