title: Butter increased total and LDL cholesterol compared with olive oil but resulted in higher HDL cholesterol compared with a habitual diet.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Butter is known to have a cholesterol-raising effect and, therefore, has often been included as a negative control in dietary studies, whereas the effect of moderate butter intake has not been elucidated to our knowledge.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We compared the effects of moderate butter intake, moderate olive oil intake, and a habitual diet on blood lipids, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), glucose, and insulin.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was a controlled, double-blinded, randomized 2 × 5-wk crossover dietary intervention study with a 14-d run-in period during which subjects consumed their habitual diets. The study included 47 healthy men and women (mean ± SD total cholesterol: 5.22 ± 0.90 mmol/L) who substituted a part of their habitual diets with 4.5% of energy from butter or refined olive oil.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Study subjects were 70% women with a mean age and body mass index (in kg/m²) of 40.4 y and 23.5, respectively. Butter intake increased total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol more than did olive oil intake (P < 0.05) and the run-in period (P < 0.005 and P < 0.05, respectively) and increased HDL cholesterol compared with the run-in period (P < 0.05). No difference in effects was observed for triacylglycerol, hsCRP, insulin, and glucose concentrations. The intake of saturated fatty acids was significantly higher in the butter period than in the olive oil and run-in periods (P < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Moderate intake of butter resulted in increases in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol compared with the effects of olive oil intake and a habitual diet (run-in period). Furthermore, moderate butter intake was also followed by an increase in HDL cholesterol compared with the habitual diet. We conclude that hypercholesterolemic people should keep their consumption of butter to a minimum, whereas moderate butter intake may be considered part of the diet in the normocholesterolemic population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark saraengel@nexs.ku.dk.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7026-2741
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Engel
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Tine
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8893-6783
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tholstrup
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D002079:Butter / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology*; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000069463:Olive Oil; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012307:Risk Factors; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D007328:Insulin; D000069463:Olive Oil; D010938:Plant Oils; D002079:Butter; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D002784:Cholesterol
keywords: blood lipids; butter; cholesterol; dairy; olive oil