Is olive oil really healthier than butter?

When you reach for the sauté pan, you might start with a dab of butter. But if you are like many Americans, more often you’ll be sautéing in olive oil.

This is a major shift over the past twenty-five years, according to a Washington Post story. In the late 1980’s, the typical American used just half a pound of olive oil per year. Today that figure has quadrupled, and much of the uptake of olive oil has been in place of butter.

A combination of industry marketing and dietary fads, such as the popular Mediterranean Diet, that have favored olive oil has helped propel sales, with Americans now using about 600 million pounds of olive oil annually. Butter sales have also increased, but not as dramatically.

While studies do back the healthfulness of olive oil, recent research suggest that butter’s reputation, as a heart-clogging saturated fat, may be overstated. A study last year found no convincing evidence that butter was linked with an increased risk of heart disease. Your overall diet, nutritionists say, is more important than simply your choice of fats.

Nutritionists suggest that some butter intake can be healthy, noting that people in Mediterranean countries tens to eat both butter and olive oil in moderation.