A major study of 221,000 adults finds consumption of the foodstuff has been associated with increased mortality
Neil Shaw Assistant Editor (Money and Lifestyle) and Robert Rowlands Deputy editor, money and lifestyle, content hub
15:00, 21 Mar 2026
A man looking inside his refrigerator for something to eat(Image: Getty)
A recent study has revealed that a widely consumed food could increase the risk of dying. Researchers analysed data from over 221,000 adults, tracked for 30 to 50 years, and discovered that butter appeared to elevate mortality risk.
During this period, 50,932 deaths were recorded within the cohort, including 12,241 from cancer and 11,240 from heart disease. After accounting for various factors, participants with the highest butter consumption showed a 15% greater risk of dying from any cause compared with those consuming the least.
By contrast, those with the highest intake of plant-based oils such as corn, olive and rapeseed experienced a 16% reduced risk of death, relative to those with the lowest consumption. The study indicated that every 10g per day increase in plant-based oil consumption was linked to an 11% lower risk of cancer death and a 6% lower risk of heart disease death. Conversely, higher butter consumption was associated with a 12% increased cancer death risk, reports the Mirror.
Replacing 10g per day of butter with an equivalent portion of plant-based oils was linked to an estimated 17% reduction in death from any cause and a 17% reduction in cancer death. In the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, the authors stated that “higher intake of butter was associated with increased mortality, whilst higher plant-based oils intake was associated with lower mortality.
“Substituting butter with plant-based oils may confer substantial benefits for preventing premature deaths.” The research drew upon data from the US Nurses’ Health Study, the Nurses’ Health Study II and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. The research team included experts from Harvard Medical School in the US.
Participants’ dietary habits were evaluated through food questionnaires completed every four years. Professor emeritus of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London, Tom Sanders, commented to say: “This is an important study that shows that people who chose to eat butter don’t live as long as those who choose to eat vegetable oils.
“Butter is high in saturated fat, contains some trans fatty acids but is very low in polyunsaturated fats. Whereas unhydrogenated soybean, canola and olive oils are low in saturated fatty acids but high in unsaturated fats.
“The take-home message is that it is healthier to choose unsaturated vegetable oils rather than butter. This is particularly relevant as there has been much negative publicity about vegetable oils on social media, which are based on unfounded claims of potential harmful effects, rather than deaths as described in the present study.”