Are Lard and Butter Bad for You? 16 Plant Oils and Animal Fats (Beef Tallow, Fish Oil) Compared by Fatty Acids, and Which to Use Every Day

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Plant oils such as salad oil and olive oil, and animal fats such as butter, lard, and beef tallow. You hear that “plant oils are bad for you,” and you also hear that “butter and lard are bad for you.”

In this article, we check the following against MEXT’s Food Composition Tables, standards from the government and WHO, and studies:

• How do plant oils and animal fats differ in what they contain (fatty acids)?
• What are the good points and the points to watch for each?
• What does research show about blood cholesterol, heart disease, and stroke?
• Which is better for everyday cooking?

Conclusions

• The difference between oils is decided less by “plant or animal” than by “which fatty acids are abundant.” Most plant oils are low in saturated fatty acids, while butter, lard, and beef tallow are 40 to 50% saturated fatty acids. There are exceptions, though: coconut oil and palm oil are plant oils high in saturated fatty acids, and fish oil is an animal fat rich in n-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA)
• Oils high in saturated fatty acids raise LDL cholesterol in the blood. Human trials have repeatedly confirmed that replacing butter with olive oil or similar oils lowers LDL cholesterol
• There is a pooled analysis of trials (Cochrane, 2020) showing that cutting saturated fatty acids reduces heart and blood vessel disease (another pooled analysis, with a different selection of trials, found no difference), and WHO (2023) also recommends cutting saturated fatty acids to under 10% of total energy and replacing them with unsaturated fatty acids such as those in plant oils. Japan’s target is 7% or less, and the average for Japanese people is about 8.3%
• On the other hand, a study of Japanese people also found fewer strokes such as cerebral hemorrhage among those who ate more saturated fatty acids. Japanese people eat less saturated fatty acids than Westerners, so it cannot be said that “the less the better”
• For trans fat, a survey found that in Japan today, butter and beef tallow contain more than margarine (the natural kind, formed in the stomachs of cattle and other animals)
• For everyday use: mainly plant oils low in saturated fatty acids (rapeseed oil, olive oil, rice bran oil, etc.), a little butter or lard for flavor, and animal fat from fish. This is a way of using fats that does not contradict the national standards, WHO, or the study results

Oils and Canned Fish Featured in This Article

The reasons for choosing them and their ingredients are explained in the later section “Everyday Oils and Canned Fish.”

Oils Differ by Their “Fatty Acids”

Most of an oil (lipid) is made of components called fatty acids. Fatty acids fall into four main groups.

The reason butter and lard harden in the refrigerator while plant oils stay liquid is the difference in how much saturated fatty acid they contain.

Comparing 16 Oils

From MEXT’s Food Composition Tables, we lined up the fatty acids of commonly used oils.

Per 100 g of oil (in g; cholesterol in mg)

Note: The n-6 and n-3 columns are the totals of each group. Oils also contain glycerin and other components besides fatty acids, so the four columns do not add up to 100.

What the Table Shows

• Most plant oils are about 10% to 20% saturated fatty acids. The lowest is rapeseed oil (7.1 g)
• Butter, beef tallow, and lard are 40 to 50% saturated fatty acids. About half of butter is saturated fatty acids
• Exception 1: palm oil (47 g) and coconut oil (84 g) are plant oils high in saturated fatty acids. Coconut oil has more than butter, and palm oil has more than lard
• Exception 2: fish oil is an animal fat, yet has little saturated fatty acid (16 g) and is rich in n-3. In this table, EPA and DHA are found only in fish oil
• Cholesterol is found only in animal fats. Butter has 210 mg per 100 g, and lard and beef tallow 100 mg. Plant oils have almost none
• Lard and beef tallow contain about as much monounsaturated fatty acid (oleic acid, etc.) as saturated fatty acid. “Animal fat” does not mean “only saturated fatty acids”

Strengths and Points to Watch

Effects on the Body: What Research Shows

LDL Cholesterol in the Blood: Trials Show a Clear Difference

Human trials have repeatedly confirmed that oils high in saturated fatty acids raise LDL cholesterol.

In the UK trial, coconut oil did not differ from olive oil, but in the pooled analysis of 16 trials, coconut oil raised LDL cholesterol more than other plant oils. One trial alone cannot show that “coconut oil is fine.”

Heart Disease and Death: What You Replace It With Matters

Even if LDL cholesterol goes down, that does not always mean fewer illnesses or deaths. Here the conclusions differ somewhat depending on how the studies are pooled.

• Cochrane pooled analysis (2020): Pooling 15 trials of 2 years or longer that cut saturated fatty acids (about 57,000 people), heart and blood vessel disease (heart attack, stroke, etc.) was 17% lower. However, there was no clear difference in deaths from all causes or from heart and blood vessel disease. The more a trial cut saturated fatty acids, the larger the drop in disease
• Pooled analysis by Japanese researchers (2025): With a different selection of trials, pooling 9 trials (13,532 people, 7 of them with a history of heart disease) found no clear difference in deaths from heart and blood vessel disease, deaths from all causes, or heart attack. The authors say, “at present, cutting saturated fatty acids cannot be recommended” (one of the authors reports owning shares in a low-carbohydrate food company)
• A US study following 220,000 people for up to 33 years (2025): People who ate the most butter had 15% more deaths than those who ate the least, while people who ate the most plant oil (safflower, soybean, corn, rapeseed, and olive oil) had 16% fewer. Replacing 10 g a day of butter with the same amount of plant oil worked out to 17% fewer deaths. However, this is an observational study, and it cannot completely remove the effects of other lifestyle habits of people who use a lot of butter
• Pooled analysis of olive oil studies (2022): In 27 studies, including follow-up studies, each additional 25 g a day of olive oil was linked to 16% less heart and blood vessel disease and 11% fewer deaths (no link with cancer)

WHO issued a guideline on saturated fatty acids in 2023.

WHO says that what you replace saturated fatty acids with matters. For studies that replaced them with refined carbohydrates, or where the replacement was unknown, WHO explains that the effect of cutting saturated fatty acids is not clear.

For Japanese People the Story Is a Bit Different: Stroke Studies

Follow-up studies of Japanese people have given results different from those in the West.

Japanese people eat less saturated fatty acid than Westerners, so the risk may be showing up in people who eat “too little.” However, these are observational studies, so it is not possible to separate the effect of saturated fatty acids themselves from that of, for example, the protein that comes with meat and dairy. The authors of the pooled analysis also say intervention trials in Japanese people are needed.

Japan’s Dietary Reference Intakes (2025 edition) set the target for saturated fatty acids for people 18 and older at 7% or less of total energy. The average for Japanese people (20 and older), calculated by MAFF from the National Health and Nutrition Survey (2023), is about 8.3%, a little above the target on average.

So for Japanese people, the direction that fits both the national target and the study results is not “bring animal fat close to zero” but replacing the part that is being overeaten with plant oils and fish.

Trans Fat: Butter and Beef Tallow Now Have More

Trans fat is a fatty acid that raises the risk of heart disease. It is formed in two ways.

• Industrial trans fat: formed by “partial hydrogenation,” which is used to harden plant oils. It has been contained in margarine, shortening, and the like
• Natural trans fat: formed by the action of microbes in the stomachs of cattle, sheep, and other animals. It is contained in beef, milk, butter, and cheese

In Japan, as food companies have cut industrial trans fat, the result is that today’s margarine (median 0.65 g/100 g) has less than butter (1.9 g, from the fiscal 2006–07 survey). Note that the figures for butter, beef tallow, and lard are from the fiscal 2006–07 survey and have not been examined since.

For natural trans fat, a pooled analysis of follow-up studies (2011) found no link with heart disease, but a study pooling clinical trials (2022) says both natural and industrial trans fat raise LDL cholesterol and other markers. WHO recommends cutting trans fat, including the natural kind, to 1% or less of total energy, and going lower still.

The average trans fat intake of Japanese people is small, about 0.3% of total energy, and the Food Safety Commission of Japan has assessed that “the effect on health is small in a normal diet.”

Dietary Cholesterol

Cholesterol is found only in animal fats (210 mg in 100 g of butter, 100 mg in lard and beef tallow).

• Japan’s Dietary Reference Intakes (2025 edition) do not set a target for cholesterol for healthy people. However, people with dyslipidemia are advised to keep to under 200 mg a day to prevent worsening
• The American Heart Association (2020) summarizes that, in observational studies, the link between dietary cholesterol and heart and blood vessel disease is generally unclear, but in most intervention trials, eating more than average raises blood cholesterol

Cholesterol in 10 g of butter (a little under 1 tablespoon) is about 21 mg.

Heating and Oxidation: The Weak Point of Plant Oils

Polyunsaturated fatty acids have many double bonds, so they oxidize easily from heat, light, and air. When heated at high temperatures for a long time, they are known to form aldehydes such as acrolein and 4-hydroxynonenal (how much forms depends on the type of oil, the temperature, and the heating time).

• Butter, lard, and beef tallow, which are high in saturated fatty acids, have the advantage of resisting oxidation
• Among plant oils, rapeseed oil, olive oil, and high-oleic sunflower oil, which are high in oleic acid (monounsaturated), oxidize less easily than oils high in linoleic acid
• Perilla oil and flaxseed oil, at about 60% n-3, are the oils that oxidize most easily. The Nippn flaxseed oil sales page also says “It is sensitive to heat, so please do not use it for cooking with heat”
• With any oil, frying oil that has been reused many times, and oil that has been open for a long time, deteriorates further. Deterioration of plant oils and the national standards are explained in the article on vegetable fats and oils

Fish Oil: Animal-Derived, but Different

EPA and DHA are found neither in butter, lard, and beef tallow, nor in plant oils including perilla oil and flaxseed oil. The alpha-linolenic acid in perilla oil and the like is partly converted to EPA and DHA in the body, but getting them from fish is the most direct way.

• Japan’s Dietary Reference Intakes (2025 edition) treat n-3 fatty acids as “essential fatty acids the body cannot make” and set an adequate intake (for example, 2.2 g for men and 1.7 g for women a day at ages 18 to 29)
• For EPA and DHA supplements, a pooled analysis of 13 trials (about 127,000 people) (2019) found slightly fewer heart attacks and the like (8%, for example), while the Cochrane review (2018) pooling trials that increased polyunsaturated fatty acids overall says there is almost no effect on deaths from all causes. Rather than supplements, eating fish first does not contradict any of these studies

Which Should You Use Every Day?

Putting this together, plant oils are the basis for everyday cooking oil. However, this does not mean “any plant oil will do” or “animal fat should be zero.”

Key points

1. Look at “is it high in saturated fatty acids” rather than “plant or animal.” Coconut oil and palm oil are high in saturated fatty acids even though they are plant oils
2. For butter and lard, “set an amount and use them for flavor” rather than “eliminate them.” In studies of Japanese people, there is also a warning sign in having too little saturated fatty acid
3. Get animal fat from fish rather than meat. You get EPA and DHA
4. Watch the amount of oil itself too. The energy target for fat is 20 to 30% of total energy, but in the 2023 survey about 37% of men and about 46% of women exceeded it
5. “植物油脂 (vegetable fats and oils)” in processed foods does not tell you what is inside. It may often be palm oil (article on vegetable fats and oils)

Everyday Oils and Canned Fish (Rakuten Ichiba)

We chose products with a single ingredient (the oil itself, or the fish only). Prices were checked on the Rakuten Ichiba sales pages on September 30, 2026 (the total with shipping when buying just one item; shipping and prices may change).

Note The products introduced here do not prevent or cure any specific disease. Every oil has about 9 kcal per gram, and using too much of any oil leads to excess energy intake.

Urayomi’s Take

• Neither plant oils nor animal fats can be summed up as “good oil” or “bad oil.” The difference is what the fatty acids are
• That oils high in saturated fatty acids raise LDL cholesterol is established by human trials. Both the government and WHO recommend replacing saturated fatty acids with plant oils and fish oil, without cutting them too far
• In studies of Japanese people, there is also a warning sign in having too little saturated fatty acid. There is no need to bring butter or lard to zero
• The weak point of plant oils is oxidation. Use fresh oil, reuse less, and do not heat perilla oil or flaxseed oil. These are easy steps that fit both the research and the national standards

Summary

• Plant oils and animal fats differ in what their fatty acids are. Most plant oils are 10 to 20% saturated fatty acids, and butter, lard, and beef tallow are 40 to 50%
• Exceptions: coconut oil and palm oil are high in saturated fatty acids even though they are plant oils, and fish oil is high in n-3 (EPA and DHA) even though it is an animal fat
• Replacing butter with plant oils such as olive oil lowers LDL cholesterol (human trials). There is also a pooled analysis of trials showing that cutting saturated fatty acids reduces heart and blood vessel disease
• In studies of Japanese people, strokes were fewer among those with more saturated fatty acids. Japan’s target is 7% or less, and the average is about 8.3%. Do not cut too far; replace the part that is being overeaten
• For trans fat, in Japan today butter and beef tallow contain more than margarine
• For everyday use: mainly rapeseed oil, olive oil, rice bran oil, and the like, a little butter for flavor, and animal fat from fish

Related: Article on vegetable fats and oils (what is in the “植物油脂” on processed foods, and a check of the claim that plant oils are bad for you) / Article on oils, dementia, and depression

Sources

• MEXT, “Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (2020 Edition (Eighth Revised)), 2023 Supplement,” Fatty Acid Tables and Main Table (updated March 27, 2026) https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/syokuhinseibun/mext_00001.html
• MHLW, “Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese (2025 Edition),” 1-3 Lipids https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/10904750/001316463.pdf
• MAFF, “Beware of Eating Too Much Fat” and “Trans Fat at a Glance,” and the survey of trans fat content (fiscal 2006–07 and fiscal 2022–23) https://www.maff.go.jp/j/syouan/seisaku/trans_fat/
• WHO, “Saturated fatty acid and trans-fatty acid intake for adults and children: WHO guideline” (2023) https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240073630
• Hooper L et al. (2020) Cochrane Database Syst Rev (pooled analysis of trials reducing saturated fat). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32827219/
• Zhang Y et al. (2025) JAMA Intern Med (butter, plant oils, and mortality). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40048719/
• Engel S, Tholstrup T (2015) Am J Clin Nutr (butter and olive oil). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26135349/
• Khaw KT et al. (2018) BMJ Open (coconut oil, olive oil, and butter). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29511019/
• Schwingshackl L et al. (2018) J Lipid Res (network meta-analysis of 13 oils and fats and blood lipids). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30006369/
• Neelakantan N et al. (2020) Circulation (coconut oil). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31928080/
• Martínez-González MA et al. (2022) Clin Nutr (olive oil). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36343558/
• Yamagishi K et al. (2010) Am J Clin Nutr (JACC Study). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20685950/
• Yamagishi K et al. (2013) Eur Heart J (JPHC Study). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23404536/
• Muto M, Ezaki O (2018) J Atheroscler Thromb (pooled analysis of Japanese and overseas studies). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29269706/
• Bendsen NT et al. (2011) Eur J Clin Nutr (natural and industrial trans fat and heart disease). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21427742/
• Verneque BJF et al. (2022) Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr (trials of natural and industrial trans fat). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33081490/
• Yamada S et al. (2025) JMA J (pooled analysis of trials reducing saturated fat, Japan). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40416032/
• Carson JAS et al. (2020) Circulation (American Heart Association: dietary cholesterol). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31838890/
• Scianò F et al. (2025) Food Chem X (aldehydes in heated plant oils). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40698373/
• Hu Y et al. (2019) J Am Heart Assoc (EPA and DHA supplements). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31567003/
• Abdelhamid AS et al. (2018) Cochrane Database Syst Rev (trials increasing polyunsaturated fat). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30019767/

Note: This article does not claim health effects for any particular food or oil. If you are receiving dietary guidance for dyslipidemia or a similar condition, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian.