Butter vs. Margarine

ConnieLynn

Hi there,

I had this on another post, but thought it might help others wondering about this topic.

I trust the cardiologist on this one.

On the topic of Butter Vs. Margarine, Margarine is better for you, but you need to choose the right one. See below:

This article is located at: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/butter-vs-margarine/AN00835

"Which is better for my heart — butter or margarine?
Mayo Clinic cardiologist Martha Grogan, M.D., and colleagues answer select questions from readers.
Answer: Margarine usually tops butter when it comes to heart health.

Margarine is made from vegetable oils, so it contains no cholesterol. Margarine is also higher in "good" fats — polyunsaturated and monounsaturated — than butter is. These types of fat help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad," cholesterol, when substituted for saturated fat. Butter, on the other hand, is made from animal fat, so it contains cholesterol and high levels of saturated fat.

But not all margarines are created equal — and some may even be worse than butter. Most margarines are processed using a method called hydrogenation, which adds unhealthy trans fats. In general, the more solid the margarine, the more trans fats it contains — so stick margarines usually have more trans fats than do tub margarines. Like saturated fats, trans fats increase blood cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. In addition, trans fats can lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol levels.

When choosing a margarine, try to find one with the lowest trans fat content possible and less than 3 grams total of saturated plus trans fats. Manufacturers are now required to list saturated and trans fats separately on food labels.

There are also spreads — such as Benecol and Take Control — that contain phytosterols, natural plant compounds that have been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol levels by 6 percent to 15 percent when eaten in recommended amounts."

My husband had a heart attack a few years back, so we switched to margarine from butter.

Connie Lynn

ConnieLynn

Hi there,

I had this on another post, but thought it might help others wondering about this topic.

I trust the cardiologist on this one.

On the topic of Butter Vs. Margarine, Margarine is better for you, but you need to choose the right one. See below:

This article is located at: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/butter-vs-margarine/AN00835

"Which is better for my heart — butter or margarine?
Mayo Clinic cardiologist Martha Grogan, M.D., and colleagues answer select questions from readers.
Answer: Margarine usually tops butter when it comes to heart health.

Margarine is made from vegetable oils, so it contains no cholesterol. Margarine is also higher in "good" fats — polyunsaturated and monounsaturated — than butter is. These types of fat help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad," cholesterol, when substituted for saturated fat. Butter, on the other hand, is made from animal fat, so it contains cholesterol and high levels of saturated fat.

But not all margarines are created equal — and some may even be worse than butter. Most margarines are processed using a method called hydrogenation, which adds unhealthy trans fats. In general, the more solid the margarine, the more trans fats it contains — so stick margarines usually have more trans fats than do tub margarines. Like saturated fats, trans fats increase blood cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. In addition, trans fats can lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol levels.

When choosing a margarine, try to find one with the lowest trans fat content possible and less than 3 grams total of saturated plus trans fats. Manufacturers are now required to list saturated and trans fats separately on food labels.

There are also spreads — such as Benecol and Take Control — that contain phytosterols, natural plant compounds that have been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol levels by 6 percent to 15 percent when eaten in recommended amounts."

My husband had a heart attack a few years back, so we switched to margarine from butter.

Connie Lynn

ken7

way to go ... To everyone, read the labels!! Trans fats are not your friend!!!!!!

theGuest

margarine is one chemical away from plastic.

it does not decompose, flies (not even fruit flies) will swarm it even if you leave it out in the sun.

it promotes fat storage in the body.

margarine is just as good for you as aspartame

lifesaver

I like margarine
thanks for the post!

ConnieLynn

margarine is one chemical away from plastic.

it does not decompose, flies (not even fruit flies) will swarm it even if you leave it out in the sun.

it promotes fat storage in the body.

margarine is just as good for you as aspartame

I have heard this before. What is the source? I don't think vegetable oil is plastic. This was probably started by the butter industry.

Any thoughts?

Connie Lynn

nopogal

Amen to that! I'll take a natural source of food any day over something chemically processed. Even if the numbers look better.

ken7

I thought it was!! (Margarine being 1 chemical away from plastic) Thanks!!

Nich0le

If I am going to bother with it, for toast or whatever, I am using butter. I know whats in it, where it comes from and lets face it, butter tastes better (of course this is my opinion).

Funny story, when I was about 5 my grand father asked me if I wanted butter or margarine on my toast and I asked what the difference was, his response was that if I didn't know the difference he wasn't going to waste the good stuff on me and proceeded to slather margarine on my toast. Now I know the difference and my kids have never tasted margarine.

Nich0le

Also, margarine is linked to an increase of heart disease by 53% compared to women who consumed the same amount of butter.

The more it gets away from it's natural state the worse food is for you...something to think about...keep it natural!

ConnieLynn

This margarine vs. butter controversy continues.

I would go with what the Mayo Clinic has to say and that is margarine is better for your heart.

We use Canola Harvest Non Hydrogenated margarine enriched with calcium. It contains 0 trans fats.

I also feel better when I use margarine then when I eat butter.

I am not buying the plastic thing. You need to site sources. (That is the teacher in me talking)

Anyone else want to weigh in?

Connie Lynn

maryschmidt

Butter may have trans fats, but margarine is full of toxins. I'll take butter!

MontanaGirl

My step dad had a couple of heart attacks and his cardiologist said NO margarine - mix butter 50/50 with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It's really good too!! That is my fav or just straight butter.

mydogmesa2

Margarine Ingredients: Water, vegetable oil ( liquid soybean oil. partially hydrogenated soybean oil) Tricalcium phosphate*,salt, vegetable mono and diglycerides, lactic acid (to protect quality) soy lecithin*. polyglycerol esters of fatty acids*, xanthan gum*, vitamin E, flavor, vitamin A, Beta carotene, Vitamin D3 and whey.


* Despite its rather alien-sounding name, xanthan gum is as natural as any other fermented corn sugar polysaccharide you can name. Corn syrup, anyone?

* Tricalcium phosphate is a simple salt

*The polyglycerol esters of fatty acids include large group of
closely related compounds of complex composition. However, the
individual components are found as normal constituents of the human
diet, used in many breads cakes and cookies as an emusifier.

* Soy Lecithin: Helps the Heart. With heart disease being the number one killer of both men
and women, lecithin is another way nature helps us to keep our hearts healthy. Lecithin plays a number of roles in heart health, including the lowering of total and LDL cholesterol levels. The choline delivered by lecithin can help reduce high homocysteine levels in the blood - which can be associated with artery damage.



Yes it is hydrogenated but it is also contains NO TRANS FAT which is the chief complaint with this process so whats the problem?
I fail to see where the "chemicals" are in this product. I go with margarine!

ConnieLynn

Thank you mydogmesa2. Your info. was very helpful.

I was always confused over the butter vs. margarine and that is when I checked it out at the Mayo Clinic as a source on the subject.

Margarine has changed over the years and each margarine is different, so you have to pick the right one.

We all need some truth about this subject.

Anyone else have some information from a trustworthy source.

Thanks,

Connie Lynn

songbyrdsweet

Margarine Ingredients: Water, vegetable oil ( liquid soybean oil. partially hydrogenated soybean oil) Tricalcium phosphate*,salt, vegetable mono and diglycerides, lactic acid (to protect quality) soy lecithin*. polyglycerol esters of fatty acids*, xanthan gum*, vitamin E, flavor, vitamin A, Beta carotene, Vitamin D3 and whey.


* Despite its rather alien-sounding name, xanthan gum is as natural as any other fermented corn sugar polysaccharide you can name. Corn syrup, anyone?

* Tricalcium phosphate is a simple salt

*The polyglycerol esters of fatty acids include large group of
closely related compounds of complex composition. However, the
individual components are found as normal constituents of the human
diet, used in many breads cakes and cookies as an emusifier.

* Soy Lecithin: Helps the Heart. With heart disease being the number one killer of both men
and women, lecithin is another way nature helps us to keep our hearts healthy. Lecithin plays a number of roles in heart health, including the lowering of total and LDL cholesterol levels. The choline delivered by lecithin can help reduce high homocysteine levels in the blood - which can be associated with artery damage.



Yes it is hydrogenated but it is also contains NO TRANS FAT which is the chief complaint with this process so whats the problem?
I fail to see where the "chemicals" are in this product. I go with margarine!

The hydrogenation MAKES it a trans fat.
In nature, a saturated fat is 'saturated' with hydrogen, which means all the available bonds are filled with a hydrogen; it bonds in a ''cis' position.
When you hydrogenate an oil, you 'saturate' an UNsaturated fat by pumping hydrogen through it. This artificial saturation causes hydrogens to bond in both 'cis' and 'TRANS' positions, hence the name.
If there's less than .5 g of trans fat, they can legally say there's 0. But if you're eating a hydrogenated oil, you're eating a trans fat. It's the only way to make an unsaturated fat stay solid at room tempurature, like margarine does. It's not going to kill you, but just know that they don't list trans fatty acids in the nutrition facts.

mydogmesa2

I understand the process. But theres 100 times more trans fat in the hamburger we eat, so like I said, Im not too worried about it.

A bit more info

Although the trans fatty acids are chemically "monounsaturated" or "polyunsaturated" they are considered so different from the cis monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fatty acids that they can not be LEGALLY designated as unsaturated for purposes of labeling. Most of the trans fatty acids (although chemically still unsaturated) produced by the partial hydrogenation process are now classified in the same category as saturated fats.

betterme

I don't eat anything with partially hydrogenated oil in it. It's not real food.

I don't think butter is that healthy either, so I very rarely eat it. However, if I'm going to use one or the other I will use butter rather than margarine.

The food industry and medical industry's opinions of what is healthy is always changing. That is why I like the rule of trying to keep things as natural as possible, i.e., try to only eat REAL food. Partially hydrogenated oil is not a real food. Just because there's less than 1 gram in a serving doesn't mean I'm going to put it in my body. It's still listed as an ingredient. It's still in there. If there was rat poison listed as an ingredient, but it was less than 1 gram, I still would not put less than 1 gram of it in my body or give it to my kids.

So I'll eat butter only, but only in moderation.

melathon

This is only partially on this topic but something I heard really rang true with me and I try to adhere to it (when I'm not eating Lean Pockets, ok?) :

"Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't have recognized as food."

It makes a lot of sense!

ConnieLynn

The margarine we use is: Canola Harvest which is Non Hydrogenated margarine enriched with calcium. It contains 0 trans fats.

Once again, you have to pick the correct margarine.

To quote the Mayo clinic cardiologist:

"Margarine is made from vegetable oils, so it contains no cholesterol. Margarine is also higher in "good" fats — polyunsaturated and monounsaturated — than butter is."

"Butter, on the other hand, is made from animal fat, so it contains cholesterol and high levels of saturated fat."

I don't know how margarine, made from vegetable oil, got such a bad rap. Butter on the other hand is straight from animal fat.

Debate is always a good thing!

Connie Lynn

Cowboy

The argument in that margarine is but one molecule from plastic is a popular, but untrue belief. It preys on the laymans general ignorance of chemistry. It is not true that margarine is "but ONE MOLECULE from being PLASTIC." Many items in nature are chemically similar to one another, but that doesn't make them similar in appearance or effect. For instance hydrogen peroxide (H 2O2) is "but one molecule from" water (H 2O), but I don't recommend drinking it. Similarly, Ozone (0 3) is "but one molecule from" oxygen (O 2), but the former can create serious respiratory distress, while the latter can alleviate it.
That being said, I would like to point out that butter is a natural product that has been around for centuries. No one should eat tons of butter for the obvious reasons that it is high in calories and it is saturated, but it is NOT the enemy! When it comes down to it, we need to eat REAL foods.
Even our USDA food pyramid is so politically motivated that it relies heavily on overprocessed and fake foods.
Canola oil, (which actually comes from rapeseed...there's no such thing as a "canola" that name was introduced to influence buyers to purchase this product) actually started out as a furniture polish and contains varying amounts of toxic erucic acid. No one has ever eaten rapeseed simply because it is toxic. Soy oil was unknown until the 1930's when it was developed for paint and varnishes because it hardened so nicely on the surface. Linseed (flax) oil had a similar job (ask any woodworker what they rub wood with!). Cottonseed oil is sprayed with non-food safe pesticides since it is not considered a "food crop". Both soy and canola oil, like margarine and "improved, healthy" margarines, not only don't taste very good, they are highly processed fake foods and have lost whatever claim they might originally have had to healthful properties. There are cold pressed versions of these fats, but they are so unstable that they're likely to be rancid, making them the worst fat of all. And rapeseed oil (canola) contains a little very heart-toxic erucic acid --- less than 1% is allowed by law, but why ingest any? Extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil and good old butter are not only much tastier, they're also far better health promoting choices. I certainly understand the confusion and desire to eat a supposedly more healthy choice of fat, but chemically altered and factory produced versions of fats are not and never will be a healthier choice than honest to goodness naturally produced foods. If you choose not to use butter, I certainly honour your choice...but use olive oil and herbs, or use something that is real, don't rely on "better living through chemisty". Look around and see where buying into the myth that real food is fattening and bad for you has gotten us.
Cowboy