Heart surgeon calls for butter ban 'to save thousands of lives each year'

Shyam Kolvekar, of the University College London Hospital, is leading a campaign to reduce saturated fat in diets after treating patients as young as 33 for heart bypass operations.

As the Food Standards Agency launches the second stage of a campaign to boost awareness of the dangers of saturated fat today, Mr Kolvekar said reducing intake in line with Government recommendations could prevent at least 3,500 deaths per year.

He said: "Often the need for heart surgery could have been prevented by following a healthier, lower fat fat diet. Simple food swaps can make a big difference.

"In reality people don't stick to complicated diets. By banning butter and replacing it with a healthy spread the average daily fat intake would be reduced.

"This would save thousands of lives each year and help to protect them from cardiovascular disease - the UK's biggest killer."

GP Sarah Jarvis supported him, adding: "My patients are often simply not aware of how much saturated fat they're eating and the damage this causes until it's too late."