Facts About
“Open the Door to a Healthy Heart”

Open the Door to a Healthy Heart is a non-profit national public service campaign. It is funded primarily through a grant by the National Association of Margarine Manufacturers (NAMM) to support the American Medical Women's Association's (AMWA) ongoing effort to educate consumers about diet and heart disease. AMWA's Education Project on Coronary Heart Disease in Women, educates physicians about the risks, prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease, including the role diet plays. A survey of women and heart disease by AMWA revealed that women (especially those under 40) generally know what it takes to eat healthfully, but are not putting that knowledge into practice, mainly because of conflicting nutrition advice.
AMWA is a national organization dedicated to promoting public health, improving the professional and personal well-being of its members, and increasing the influence of women in the medical profession through educational publications, seminars and scholarship programs, and public advocacy efforts. Founded in 1915, AMWA's membership is comprised of 10,000 women physicians and medical students, with 80 physician branches and 120 student branches.

In addition to its Education Project on Coronary Heart Disease in Women, AMWA is involved in the Women's Heart Health Initiative, a joint program with the American Heart Association and The Difference in a Woman's Heart, a national action campaign. The program's goals are: to heighten awareness through ongoing physician and patient education; to facilitate early and accurate diagnosis of cardiovascular disease in women; and to increase efforts aimed at preventing this significant health problem.

The organization is a leading advocate for women's health and social issues, including breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, reproductive health, violence against women, and gender equity within the medical profession.

NAMM, a nonprofit trade association formed in 1936, represents the manufacturers and distributors of margarine products and suppliers to the industry. For many years, NAMM has assisted in the government's promotion of National Cholesterol Education Month, an ongoing initiative of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's National Cholesterol Education Program.

The margarine industry has been a pioneer in meeting consumer needs and preferences with respect to taste, convenience, good nutrition and health. In response to today's health-conscious consumer, the consumption of total fat, saturated fat and trans fat from margarine products has been significantly reduced over the past decade - so that 40 percent less total fat, 37 percent less saturated fat, and 59 percent less trans fat are being consumed today. The industry continues to make advances with products that are designed to give consumers a wide variety of alternatives to butter that are in keeping with today's lifestyles.

Leading health organizations, including the American Heart Association, continue to recommend soft and liquid margarine over butter. The Food and Nutrition Science Alliance, a consortium of health organizations representing over 100,000 food, nutrition and medical practitioners and scientists, said in a statement, "Mortality from heart disease has declined in the U.S. over the past twenty years, partly because of the shift away from more saturated animal fats to more unsaturated vegetable oils....Consumption of margarine has been a significant factor in achieving the shift away from the more saturated animal fats."