It has now been revealed that full fat butter is better for you than margarine and similar low fat spreads.
While some of these products claim to be lighter options, they are in fact, worse for you.
Online healthy food retailer MuscleFood.com says products marketed as “healthy choices” can be packed with hidden sugar, fat and calories.
The “healthier” spread for your toast and sandwiches are in reality full of far worse types of fat than butter, the website claims.
“Spreads and margarine are full of hydrogenated oils or trans fats which are bad for your cholesterol and heart,” MuscleFood.com said.
“Butter is a better choice, but remember, everything in moderation.”
The retailer has also revealed a number of other “healthy swaps” that are actually stopping consumers from achieving weight loss.
For example, popular coconut oil is good for you – but very high in fat so when swapping you need to use small amounts.
Granola and breakfast cereals, they claim, are packed with sugar, with the experts recommending a wholegrain cereal as a good alternative.
Darren Beale from MuscleFood.com said: “We’ve all done it – headed for the healthy food aisles in the supermarket and come out laden with smoothies, trail mix and other tasty treats.
“Look closely though and you’ll see that they can be packed with calories, sugar and fats. There are a few simple changes you can make.”
Darren recommends making a smoothie at home instead of buying one at the shops.
He also says sushi fans should stick to sashimi rather than other choices with lots of sauces and unrefined white rice.
It has also been revealed recently that white bread is could be better for you than brown.
A study has discovered no overall benefit to health in eating brown bread over white.
In the study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, they discovered that for some people eating the latter could actually be healthier.
This is because people react differently to different foods.