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Margarine vs. Butter — In-Depth Nutrition Comparison

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Important differences between margarine and butter

  • Butter has less vitamin K, vitamin E, vitamin A, polyunsaturated fat, omega-6 (Linoleic acid) and monounsaturated fat.
  • Butter's daily need coverage for saturated fat is 177% more.
  • Margarine has 13 times more vitamin K than butter. Margarine has 93µg of vitamin K, while butter has 7µg.
  • Margarine is lower in saturated fat.

The food varieties used in the comparison are Margarine, regular, 80% fat, composite, stick, without salt and Butter, without salt.

Infographic

Margarine vs Butter infographic
Infographic link

Mineral Comparison

The mineral comparison score is based on which food has a more favorable amount of each mineral. The �coverage� charts below show how much of the daily mineral needs are covered by the selected amount of each food.
Magnesium Magnesium Calcium Calcium Potassium Potassium Iron Iron Copper Copper Zinc Zinc Phosphorus Phosphorus Sodium Sodium Manganese Manganese Selenium Selenium 2.1% 0.9% 1.6% 2.3% 0% 0% 2.1% 0.26% 0% 0%
Butter
Butter
7
Magnesium Magnesium Calcium Calcium Potassium Potassium Iron Iron Copper Copper Zinc Zinc Phosphorus Phosphorus Sodium Sodium Manganese Manganese Selenium Selenium 1.4% 7.2% 2.1% 0.75% 5.3% 2.5% 10% 1.4% 0.52% 5.5%
Contains more MagnesiumMagnesium +50%
Contains more IronIron +200%
Contains less SodiumSodium -81.8%
Contains more CalciumCalcium +700%
Contains more PotassiumPotassium +33.3%
Contains more CopperCopper +∞%
Contains more ZincZinc +∞%
Contains more PhosphorusPhosphorus +380%
Contains more ManganeseManganese +∞%
Contains more SeleniumSelenium +∞%

Vitamin Comparison

The vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins in which one food is richer than the other. The �coverage� charts below show how much of the daily vitamin needs are covered by the selected amount of each food.
Vitamin C Vit. C Vitamin D Vit. D Vitamin A Vit. A Vitamin E Vit. E Vitamin B1 Vit. B1 Vitamin B2 Vit. B2 Vitamin B3 Vit. B3 Vitamin B5 Vit. B5 Vitamin B6 Vit. B6 Vitamin B12 Vit. B12 Vitamin K Vit. K Folate Folate 0.67% 0% 273% 180% 2.5% 8.5% 0.43% 0% 2.1% 13% 233% 0.75%
Butter
Butter
4
Vitamin C Vit. C Vitamin D Vit. D Vitamin A Vit. A Vitamin E Vit. E Vitamin B1 Vit. B1 Vitamin B2 Vit. B2 Vitamin B3 Vit. B3 Vitamin B5 Vit. B5 Vitamin B6 Vit. B6 Vitamin B12 Vit. B12 Vitamin K Vit. K Folate Folate 0% 0% 228% 46% 1.3% 7.8% 0.79% 6.6% 0.69% 21% 18% 2.3%
Contains more Vitamin CVitamin C +∞%
Contains more Vitamin AVitamin A +19.7%
Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E +287.9%
Contains more Vitamin B1Vitamin B1 +100%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6 +200%
Contains more Vitamin KVitamin K +1228.6%
Contains more Vitamin B3Vitamin B3 +82.6%
Contains more Vitamin B5Vitamin B5 +∞%
Contains more Vitamin B12Vitamin B12 +70%
Contains more FolateFolate +200%
~equal in Vitamin D ~0µg
~equal in Vitamin B2 ~0.034mg

All nutrients comparison - raw data values

Nutrient Margarine Butter DV% diff.
Saturated fat 15.189g 50.489g 160%
Polyunsaturated fat 24.302g 3.01g 142%
Omega-6 (Linoleic acid) 21.522g 2.166g 114%
Cholesterol 0mg 215mg 72%
Vitamin K 93µg 7µg 72%
Vitamin E 9mg 2.32mg 45%
Monounsaturated fat 38.877g 23.43g 39%
Omega-3 (ALA) 0.315g 20%
Vitamin A 819µg 684µg 15%
Phosphorus 5mg 24mg 3%
Vitamin B12 0.1µg 0.17µg 3%
Calcium 3mg 24mg 2%
Copper 0mg 0.016mg 2%
Selenium 0µg 1µg 2%
Vitamin B5 0.11mg 2%
Protein 0.16g 0.85g 1%
Fats 80.71g 81.11g 1%
Iron 0.06mg 0.02mg 1%
Zinc 0mg 0.09mg 1%
Folate 1µg 3µg 1%
Choline 12.4mg 18.8mg 1%
Calories 717kcal 717kcal 0%
Weight per 100 calories 14g 14g N/A
Unsaturated / Saturated Fat ratio 4.2 0.52 N/A
Vitamin C 0.2mg 0mg 0%
Net carbs 0.7g 0.06g N/A
Carbs 0.7g 0.06g 0%
Magnesium 3mg 2mg 0%
Potassium 18mg 24mg 0%
Sugar 0g 0.06g N/A
Sodium 2mg 11mg 0%
Manganese 0.004mg 0%
Vitamin B1 0.01mg 0.005mg 0%
Vitamin B2 0.037mg 0.034mg 0%
Vitamin B3 0.023mg 0.042mg 0%
Vitamin B6 0.009mg 0.003mg 0%
Trans fat 14.89g N/A
Tryptophan 0.012mg 0%
Threonine 0.038mg 0%
Isoleucine 0.051mg 0%
Leucine 0.083mg 0%
Lysine 0.067mg 0%
Methionine 0.021mg 0%
Phenylalanine 0.041mg 0%
Valine 0.057mg 0%
Histidine 0.023mg 0%
Omega-3 (DPA) 0.006g 0g N/A

Macronutrient Comparison

Macronutrient breakdown side-by-side comparison
81% 17% 2%
Protein: 0.16 g
Fats: 80.71 g
Carbs: 0.7 g
Water: 16.52 g
Other: 1.91 g
Butter
Butter
3
81% 18%
Protein: 0.85 g
Fats: 81.11 g
Carbs: 0.06 g
Water: 17.94 g
Other: 0.04 g
Contains more CarbsCarbs +1066.7%
Contains more ProteinProtein +431.3%
~equal in Fats ~81.11g
~equal in Water ~17.94g

Fat Type Comparison

Fat type breakdown side-by-side comparison
19% 50% 31%
Saturated fat: Sat. Fat 15.189 g
Monounsaturated fat: Mono. Fat 38.877 g
Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 24.302 g
Butter
Butter
0
66% 30% 4%
Saturated fat: Sat. Fat 50.489 g
Monounsaturated fat: Mono. Fat 23.43 g
Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 3.01 g
Contains less Sat. FatSaturated fat -69.9%
Contains more Mono. FatMonounsaturated fat +65.9%
Contains more Poly. FatPolyunsaturated fat +707.4%

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References

All the values for which the sources are not specified explicitly are taken from FDA’s Food Central. The exact link to the food presented on this page can be found below.

  1. Margarine - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173585/nutrients
  2. Butter - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173430/nutrients

All the Daily Values are presented for males aged 31-50, for 2000-calorie diets.

Data provided by FoodStruct.com should be considered and used as information only. Please consult your physician before beginning any diet.