Butter is better than low-fat spreads: expert

Butter should be eaten instead of low-fat spreads, according to a leading heart specialist who says that dairy products and fat may actually protect the heart rather than harm it.

The risk from saturated fat in foods such as butter and fatty meat is overstated, according to the British cardiologist.

However, the Irish Heart Foundation has stressed that two thirds of all adults here eat more fat than their body needs for health, thereby increasing their risk of high cholesterol.