Switching from butter to plant-based oils like corn, rapeseed, or olive oil could significantly reduce the risk of premature death, a new study suggests.

Researchers analysed data from more than 221,000 adults over several decades and found a link between butter consumption and increased mortality risk.

During the 30- to 50-year follow-up period, 50,932 deaths occurred within the study group, including 12,241 from cancer and 11,240 from heart disease.

After accounting for other influencing factors, individuals with the highest butter intake showed a 15 per cent greater risk of death from any cause compared to those with the lowest intake.

Conversely, those with the highest intake of plant-based oils experienced a 16 per cent lower risk of death compared to those with the lowest intake.

The study indicated that each 10g daily increase in plant-based oil consumption correlated with an 11 per cent reduced risk of cancer death and a 6 per cent reduced risk of heart disease death.

Higher butter intake, however, was linked to a 12 per cent increased risk of cancer death.

The researchers proposed that substituting just 10g of butter per day with the same amount of plant-based oils could lead to a 17 per cent reduction in overall mortality and cancer death.

Writing in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, the authors concluded that “higher intake of butter was associated with increased mortality, while higher plant-based oils intake was associated with lower mortality.

“Substituting butter with plant-based oils may confer substantial benefits for preventing premature deaths.”

The data for the research was drawn from the US Nurses’ Health Study, the Nurses’ Health Study II and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.

Researchers included those from Harvard Medical School in the United States.

People’s diets were assessed by food questionnaires every four years.

Tom Sanders, professor emeritus of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London, said: “This is an important study that shows that people who chose to eat butter don’t live as long as those who choose to eat vegetable oils.

“Butter is high in saturated fat, contains some trans fatty acids but is very low in polyunsaturated fats.

“Whereas unhydrogenated soybean, canola and olive oils are low in saturated fatty acids but high in unsaturated fats.

“The take-home message is that it is healthier to choose unsaturated vegetable oils rather than butter.

“This is particularly relevant as there has been much negative publicity about vegetable oils on social media, which are based on unfounded claims of potential harmful effects, rather than deaths as described in the present study.”