Benefits of Essential Nutrients

DISCOVER THE BENEFITS OF NUTRIRICH™

Written by: Laura Czerkies, MS, RDN

Following a healthy diet is critical to meet nutrient needs, achieve a healthy body weight and reduce your risk of chronic disease.¹ Experts have studied decades of research to develop recommendations on the nutrients your body needs and how to get them with confidence.²

Why the Right Fats Matter

We get it, fat has a bad reputation. That’s because it’s often associated with traditionally unhealthy foods like doughnuts and bacon. But not all fats are the same. Our bodies actually need specific fats to function properly. These essential fatty acids, also called the building blocks of fat, positively impact our heart and overall health. A well-known “good” fat is omega-3-alpha-linolenic acid, also known as Omega-3 ALA, which is found in plant-based foods like oils (soybean, flaxseed and canola) and walnuts. It’s important to get enough Omega-3 ALA and because our bodies cannot make it, we need to get it from the food we eat.³

Omega- 3 ALA is known to support your cells, give you energy, and is linked to heart health. In fact, research shows that getting enough Omega-3 ALA can help reduce total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure.⁴ With at least 20% of the recommended daily value of Omega-3 ALA per tablespoon serving, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® Original, a NutriRich™ Buttery Spread, provides an excellent source of Omega-3 ALA.

Why Vitamins Matter

Vitamins are essential for your body to function at its best. They support everything from your immune system to your energy levels, and some even help protect your cells from damage. There are several vitamins that are considered fat-soluble, such as vitamins A, D and E, meaning the fats in our diet actually help us absorb these nutrients.⁵

Vitamin A can be found in dairy products, eggs and orange and yellow vegetables, like carrots and sweet potatoes. It’s well known for its role in the maintenance of healthy vision, a healthy immune system and for the maintenance of our heart, lungs and other organs.⁶

Vitamin D also plays a big role in our bodies by supporting the immune system. You might have heard that you are not getting enough vitamin D. That’s because over 90% of adults do not consume enough of this essential nutrient, which is why the Dietary Guidelines for Americans has called out vitamin D as a nutrient of public health concern.⁷ Vitamin D is found in fatty fish, egg yolks, cheese and fortified milk.⁸ Did you know that your body can make vitamin D if your skin is exposed to the ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun? Therefore, those who live in areas that do not get a lot of sun have to pay extra close attention to their dietary vitamin D intake. In addition to vitamin D’s role in immune function, bone health also depends on vitamin D.⁹

Soybean, canola, and other vegetable oils naturally contain vitamin E.¹⁰ An important job of vitamin E in the body is to act as an antioxidant, protecting cells from damage that may be linked to certain chronic diseases. It also supports your immune system.¹¹

Vitamin B12 can be found in foods of animal origin, like meats, eggs, and dairy products. Certain enzymes in the body need vitamin B12 to be able to do their jobs, which makes this nutrient necessary for healthy blood cells and for the overall function of the central nervous system. It also plays a role in our metabolism.¹² Because vitamin B12 is not present in plants, it can be a challenge to meet requirements if you are not eating a lot of animal products or following a strict plant-based diet.

Make the NutriRich™ Swap!

Small changes, like swapping out traditional butter for I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® products that carry the NutriRich™ designation can add nutrients to your recipes, making every bite count towards meeting your nutritional goals. Per serving, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® products that carry the NutriRich™ designation are rich in vitamins A, D, E, and B12*. Furthermore, the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® NurtriRich ™ portfolio provides at least 10%-20% of the daily recommended value of Omega-3 ALA per serving*, depending on the product. Now it’s easier than ever to ensure you’re adding the essential nutrients noted above to your favorite nutrient dense recipes by simply spreading, cooking, or topping with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!®. Not only do these products offer “good” fats and select vitamins to support your healthy lifestyle , but they also have less saturated fat than traditional dairy butter** . So go ahead and make the NutriRich™ swap!

Want to learn more? Nutrition and Your GLP-1 Goals, Here’s How NutriRich™ Products Support a GLP-1 Friendly Diet

See How Our NutriRich™ Spreads and Sticks Compare to Butter

DV: Daily Value is what is used to calculate the % Daily Values seen on Nutrition and Supplement Facts labels. The DV is comprised of both Daily Reference Values and the Reference Daily Intakes, which are two sets of reference value

***Nutritional values of dairy butter from U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. Food Data Central, 2019, available at not-butter.com/dairy butter.

*Per one tablespoon serving Original contains 20% of the recommended daily value of Vitamins A, D, E and B12 and at least 20% of the recommended daily value of the essential fatty acid Omega-3 ALA. Light tubs contain 20% of the recommended daily value of Vitamins A, D, E and B12 per serving, and is also a good source of the essential acid Omega-3 ALA (10% daily value per serving).

**I Can't Believe it’s Not Butter!® Original Spread: 6g total fat (2g saturated fat), 60 calories per 1 tbsp. serving; Dairy Butter: 11g total fat (7g saturated fat), 100 calories per 1 tbsp. serving. Nutritional values of dairy butter from U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. Food Data Central, 2019, available at not-butter.com/dairybutter.

¹ U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. 9th Edition. December 2020. Available at DietaryGuidelines.gov.
² 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee: Advisory Report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and Secretary of Agriculture,(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2024), https://doi.org/10.52570/DGAC2025.
³ NIH 2024. Omega-3 Fatty Acids - Health Professional Fact Sheet Accessed August 8, 2025.
⁴ Sala-Vila A, Fleming J, Kris-Etherton P, Ros E. Impact of α-Linolenic Acid, the Vegetable ω-3 Fatty Acid, on Cardiovascular Disease and Cognition. Adv Nutr. 2022;13(5):1584-1602. doi:10.1093/advances/nmac016

⁵ NIH 2025. Definition of fat-soluble vitamin - NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms - NCI Accessed August 8, 2025.
⁶ NIH 2025. Vitamin A and Carotenoids - Health Professional Fact Sheet Accessed August 11, 2025
⁷ U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. 9th Edition. December 2020. Available at DietaryGuidelines.gov.
⁸ NIH 2025. Vitamin D - Health Professional Fact Sheet Accessed August 11, 2025
⁹ NIH 2025. Vitamin D - Health Professional Fact Sheet Accessed August 11, 2025
¹⁰ NIH 2025. Vitamin E - Health Professional Fact Sheet Accessed August 11, 2025
¹¹ NIH 2025. Vitamin E - Health Professional Fact Sheet Accessed August 11, 2025
¹² NIH 2025. Vitamin B12 - Health Professional Fact Sheet Accessed August 11, 2025.