Better butter cuts cholesterol in first trial

12.00 pm - By EMMA CHAMBERLAIN

Initial trials of a new type of butter have shown it can reduce cholesterol levels by as much as 10 per cent - a drop the Heart Foundation says lowers the risk of heart disease by 15-20 per cent.

Researchers from Auckland University's Human Nutrition Unit ran the nine-week trial, during which 20 healthy men aged 18-35 ate the new butter as part of a moderate fat diet.

The men lived at the unit's headquarters in Mt Eden throughout the study and all their meals were prepared for them.

In the first three weeks, they ate meals made with standard butter.

In the last three weeks they ate the same meals, but this time made with the new modified butter, which contains 54 per cent saturated fats. Ordinary butter contains 70 per cent saturated fats.

In the middle three weeks the men went home and were allowed to eat whatever they wanted.

The modified butter is made from milk produced by cows that had been fed a particular type of grain mixed with a vitamin supplement. For commercial reasons, the formula remains a closely guarded secret.

The leader of the research and director of the unit, Dr Sally Poppitt, said during the trial each man's total cholesterol level dropped between 5 and 10 per cent when they ate meals made with the modified butter. The average drop was 7.9 per cent.

LDL cholesterol - a type of cholesterol considered bad because at high levels it can lead to plaque build up on artery walls - dropped by an average of 9.5 per cent.

In contrast, there was no change to the men's cholesterol level when they ate meals made with the ordinary butter.

Dr Poppitt said typical margarine is expected to lower cholesterol by about 10 per cent.

"As part of a healthy diet, this new butter is better than normal butter and it looks like it has a similar effect to margarine."

But the Heart Foundation's national dietician, David Roberts, said the new butter's level of saturated fat was still too high.

A diet high in saturated fats is a risk factor for heart disease. Mr Roberts said spreads like margarine with a saturated fat content of about 15-22 per cent were more acceptable.

But in the context of a three-week trial, Mr Roberts said the results looked promising.

He said a drop in cholesterol of 5-10 per cent was quite significant because for every 10 per cent drop in cholesterol, the risk of coronary heart disease drops by about 15-20 per cent.

But if a person made other "heart healthy" changes to their diet - like eating more fruit, vegetables, pasta, fish and whole grains - they would reduce their blood cholesterol levels by up to 35 per cent as well as combating other risk factors such as blood pressure and body weight, he said.

"If you just change what fat you eat, you only see a small reduction in blood cholesterol."

Dr Poppitt said it was particularly interesting that cholesterol decreased in the young, normal- weight men involved in the first trial.

This group is thought to be the most resistant to improvements in health through dietary change, she said.

The unit has begun trials with men at greater risk of heart disease. The men in this group are aged between 23 and 64 and have a slightly raised LDL cholesterol level.

Mike Harley, spokesperson for New Zealand Milk Products, a subsidiary of milk producers' cooperative Fonterra, said it was too early to say when the butter might appear in supermarkets and what it might cost.

The modified-butter milk was developed at the New Zealand Dairy Institute in Palmerston North, a research centre owned by Fonterra.

"It's still very early in the overall process. Can we produce it in global commercial quantities? Can we do it at a price that people can afford? We don't know that yet," Mr Harley said.

The research at the University of Auckland was sponsored by the New Zealand Dairy Board, Uniservices Ltd. (a subsidiary of Auckland University that administers its commercial research) and the Maurice and Phyllis Paykel Trust.

Findings were published last month in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

nzherald.co.nz/health