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Butter not as bad as you thought, study suggests

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN

Updated 2106 GMT (0506 HKT) July 1, 2016

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The good news: Americans are consuming fewer calories. The bad news: Americans still have a long way to go in how they divvy up calories.
Photos: American diet trends
The good news: Americans are consuming fewer calories. The bad news: Americans still have a long way to go in how they divvy up calories.
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Americans in almost every age and ethnic group have been weaning themselves off soda and fruit drinks and substituting for healthier choices like water.
Photos: American diet trends
Water over sugary drinks – Americans in almost every age and ethnic group have been weaning themselves off soda and fruit drinks and substituting for healthier choices like water.
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Increasing our intake of fruits and veggies could play a part in improving the U.S. diet. There has been only a slight uptick in consumption of these healthy foods since 2003.
Photos: American diet trends
Not enough fruits and veggies – Increasing our intake of fruits and veggies could play a part in improving the U.S. diet. There has been only a slight uptick in consumption of these healthy foods since 2003.
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Americans have made huge strides in improving their diet by eliminating trans fats -- although much of that is due to changes in the manufacturing process.
Photos: American diet trends
Trans fats decrease – Americans have made huge strides in improving their diet by eliminating trans fats -- although much of that is due to changes in the manufacturing process.
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Despite all the reports of fast food's ill effects on health, Americans have been only slightly scaling back their intake.
Photos: American diet trends
No budging on fast food – Despite all the reports of fast food's ill effects on health, Americans have been only slightly scaling back their intake.
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Grain-based desserts such as cookies appear to be waning in popularity while healthier snacks like nuts are taking off.
Photos: American diet trends
Going nuts – Grain-based desserts such as cookies appear to be waning in popularity while healthier snacks like nuts are taking off.
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small portionssoda cansgrocery store RESTRICTEDfrench friesFast Food RESTRICTED 06 food allergies 0429

Story highlights

  • "A small amount of butter is not going to be a major problem," one expert says
  • There's little to no link between butter and chronic disease, a new study suggests
  • However, researchers warn that butter is still not exactly good for your health

(CNN)Have we gotten the health risks of butter all wrong?

The misunderstood dairy product often is linked to heart disease and risk of death, but a paper published in the journal PLOS ONE on Wednesday suggests that butter actually has more of a neutral association with mortality.
    In other words, it's neither terribly bad nor incredibly good for us, said Laura Pimpin, who co-authored the paper as a postdoctoral fellow at Tufts University and now is a data analyst for the UK Health Forum in London.
    "We know from recent studies that the effects of dairy fats on health are not as negative as saturated fat from other sources, so we were expecting butter to have a limited risk in causing disease," she said.
    'Good fat,' low cholesterol, may not be so good after all
    'Good fat,' low cholesterol, may not be so good after all
    The researchers collected data on butter consumpt