This Easy Food Swap May Cut Your Risk of Early Death by 17%

You know what they say: You are what you eat—and so is your health and well-being.

As doctors have told us time and time again, the foods you consume can influence everything from blood sugar levels to cancer risk to cognitive health over time. So really, it's no surprise that some dietary choices can help you live longer than others.

But just as some foods promote longevity, others may have the opposite effect—including one everyday staple that’s universally loved. Fortunately, new research from Harvard University and Mass General Brigham has identified a similarly common alternative that tastes just as good—and could boost your lifespan by years.

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Published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the study followed 221,054 adults over 33 years, using data from three massive long-term studies. Participants were free of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and neurodegenerative disease at the start. After measuring dietary intake with detailed diet surveys every four year, the researchers tracked who died, when and from what cause using death certificates and medical records.

Related: These Are the 60 Healthiest Foods in the World

This Easy Diet Swap May Cut Your Risk of Early Death by 17%

As for what they found? It's unfortunate, but knowledge is power: Simply put, butter increases risk of death. More specifically, participants who ate the most butter had a 15% higher chance of dying during the study period. The most common cause of death was cancer.

Alternatively, people who consumed more plant-based oils like olive oil had a 16% lower risk of dying, as well as a reduced risk of heart disease and cancer over all. According to the study, the oils with the most significant health benefits were olive oil, soybean oil and canola oil.

Translation? Swap your butter for olive (or another plant-based) oil whenever possible, since the research concluded that replacing two teaspoons of butter with plant-based oil could lower your risk of premature death by 17%.

Related: Canola Oil vs. Olive Oil: RDs Share the Healthiest Choice

Why Does This Mean For Me?

While the proteins and vegetables you eat matter for health, so do the fats you cook them in: Choosing olive, soybean, or canola oil as opposed to butter can help you live longer and lower your risk of cancer and heart disease.

“People might want to consider that a simple dietary swap—replacing butter with soybean or olive oil—can lead to significant long-term health benefits,” said corresponding author Dr. Daniel Wang, MD, Sc.D., who is an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard's Chan School and an associate member at the Broad Institute. “From a public health perspective, this is a substantial number of deaths from cancer or from other chronic diseases that could be prevented.”

This research also disproves the common misconception that butter is "neutral" for health, when such is not the case. However it supports evidence from health organizations like the American Heart Association, which have historically recommended replacing saturated fats like butter with unsaturated fats like olive oil.

If you don't think you can completely cut butter, that's OK too. As we know from previous nutritional research, balance and moderation are what matter most. "Even cutting back butter a little and incorporating more plant-based oils into your daily diet can have meaningful long-term health benefits," Wang concluded.

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Sources

• "Butter and Plant-Based Oils Intake and Mortality." JAMA Intern Med.

• Dr. Daniel Wang, MD, Sc.D., study author, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard University Chan School and associate member at the Broad Institute

• "Saturated Fat." American Heart Association.