By Richard Harkness
Enquirer contributor

Question: Relative to cholesterol levels, I note that you have written about the benefits of Benecol and Take Control as butter substitutes. We use Smart Balance. How does it stack up?

Answer: Smart Balance is a margarine-type spread that is free of trans fat, a definite health benefit.

Traditional margarines, made from polyunsaturated vegetable oils, once were seen as better for the heart and arteries than the saturated fat present in butter, but this idea has lost its luster. The reason is that, in the manufacture of margarine, a process known as hydrogenation is used to make the vegetable oil solid at room temperature. Hydrogenation produces trans fat, a mutant form of saturated fat that may be more harmful than natural saturated fat. Like saturated fat, trans fat raises cholesterol levels and is linked to the development of heart disease and possibly cancer. Trans fat also may reduce the body's production of important substances called prostaglandins and may be associated with other types of damage we don't know about.

In order from good to bad, the types of fat are as follows: monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated, trans.

Smart Balance is composed of polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat and saturated fat. One serving contains 9 grams total fat, 2.5 grams of which is saturated fat. For the "light" version, it's 5 grams and 1.5 grams respectively.

Benecol and Take Control are composed mainly of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats with very little trans fat. A serving of Benecol contains 9 grams total fat, 1.5 grams of which is saturated fat/trans fat. Take Control contains 6 grams total fat, 1 gram of which is saturated fat/trans fat. Both products also come in "light" versions with less fat.

All three spreads are healthier substitutes for butter and most traditional margarines.

Benecol and Take Control offer the added benefit of actively lowering cholesterol levels.

The active ingredient in Benecol is sitostanol, a plant stanol that comes from pine trees. Take Control contains a plant sterol extracted from soybeans called sitosterol. These spreads work by preventing the absorption of cholesterol in the digestive tract.

Placebo-controlled clinical trials involving people with borderline high total cholesterol levels (200-240 mg/dl) found that Benecol lowered their LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) by about 14 percent. To get this benefit, participants consumed three pats of Benecol daily. The same amount of Take Control appears to lower LDL cholesterol by about 10 percent.

These are fairly substantial improvements that can help many people get their cholesterol into a desirable range, especially when added to a healthy diet.

E-mail rharkn@aol.com.