Aaron Hartman, MDFunctional Medicine Specialist | Clinical Researcher

The American Heart Association Pushed Margarine Over Butter for 40 Years #shorts

14 Jul 2026 · 2 min

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1:59

In this short video, Dr. Aaron Hartman critiques a decades‑long public health narrative promoted by the American Heart Association (AHA) that favored partially hydrogenated vegetable oils—commonly found in margarine—over butter. He explains that products like Crisco are crystallized cottonseed oil, a type of “plastic” fat, and argues that the AHA’s endorsement contributed to rising heart disease, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. Hartman highlights that heated, expeller‑pressed seed oils (e.g., canola, sunflower, cottonseed) become rancid and may exacerbate obesity, metabolic dysfunction, and women’s hormonal and infertility problems. He notes that the AHA reversed its stance in January 2026, labeling the prior guidance a medical blind spot, and urges viewers to seek reputable information, trust common sense, and suggest other blind spots for investigation.

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Do you remember when margarine was good for you and butter was bad for you? Do you remember when you were told, don't eat butter, it'll give you heart disease, eat this partially plasticized vegetable oil that's solid at room temperature, you know, like this plastic table, that's better for you? And that was actually pushed by the American Heart Association for 40 years. The American Heart Association pushed consuming partially plasticized fats for 40 years. What is Crisco? Crisco is crystallized cottonseed oil. Crisco is cotton— crystallized cottonseed oil. The idea that these bad fats are good for you was pushed by the top physicians in our country for not quite half a century. And what was the result? Increasing heart disease, obesity. Now it's common knowledge, pretty common knowledge, that heated expeller-pressed seed oils, which include canola, sorghum, sunflower, cottonseed, that are rampant, rancid in our throughout life, throughout our health, health system, actually can increase obesity and metabolic syndrome. And this is actually reaching into the women's health world. We're realizing actually women with hormonal issues, weight issues, infertility issues, some that can be driven by consumption of rancid fats. Big change from, you know, heart-healthy margarine to going back to real fat, real healthy sources. The point is sometimes our healthcare system doesn't just get things kind of wrong, it's some flat-out straight wrong, and we preach it like the gospel. This is truth, and it's actually not truth. So what's the point? The point is get educated, learn from reputable sources, use your common sense, trust your gut. These might potentially save your life and help avoid medical error, um, or these medical blind spots which are still common throughout there. And this one medical blind spot, BAPI back, we literally just reversed that January of 2026, so not too long ago. So I'd love to hear if there's a medical blind spot you feel like needs to be addressed. Please share below. I'd love your ideas. Maybe we can take some research and learn together and uncover that blind spot in our healthcare systems.