Low Sodium & Low Fat Confusion! ;o)

MzOnree · May 2013

I imagine if I searched long enough I would find answers to the following questions. I choose to come to the professionals, my MFP family, because so many of you are extremely knowledgeable and better than any wickipedia or google search out there. I normally don't buy low sodium, no sodium, low-fat, or no fat products because I assume other ingredients (that I cannot pronounce) are being added to make the food item taste as normal as it can. I do read the labels; however, at times I become so overwhelmed!

I shouldn't say I never buy anything low-fat. I do buy-low fat yogurt and cheese. I've tried low-fat mayo and mayo with olive oil and wasn't impressed. I guess it is an aquired taste.

I'm curious about butter. Is margarine better or is real butter better? I read that real butter is better because it has fewer ingredients and is natural. See, I just realized that I do buy light butter. I'm starting to see that I buy more light items than I thought I did, lol! I like butter but have never tried no salt butter.

I guess my brain spins in circles when I try and understand everything all at once. As I said above, I get so overwhelmed and would just like some advice from my MFP friends. I do read the labels but between media hype, commercials, magazine articles, someone's opinion, etc. what are we to believe? I know I should follow what I feel best but just throwing these questions out there.

Thank you for your time and any advice you can give me! Thanks! :bigsmile:

marcuscross104 · May 2013

don't really have a answer for you, so i guess this just a fancy way of saying "bump"!

:blushing:

dbmata · May 2013

unsalted butter is generally of higher quality, as the salt added is used to mask off flavors and extend shelf life.

Sweet cream butter is also the same as unsalted butter.

Markguns · May 2013

My 2 cents

> Light, Reduced Fat usually = Chemical Mess / Marketing Garbage.... . Buy low fat or non fat & reduced sodium, if NA is a concern for you. You are better off buying Whole foods and counting the calories than buying into the diet, light marketing hype. .....
You said : " I normally don't buy low sodium, no sodium, low-fat, or no fat products because I assume other ingredients (that I cannot pronounce) are being added to make the food item taste as normal as it can." You are Correct!

If I have to read more than 5 or 6 in ingredients, I usually don't buy it.

Go here: http://eatthis.menshealth.com/home (sign up for a daily/weekly news letter from Eat This Not That)
There may be info for you on Women's Health. http://www.womenshealthmag.com/

Read this: http://eatthis.menshealth.com/content/125-healthiest-supermarket-foods

& look at this: http://www.webmd.com/diet/printable/healthy-grocery-shopping-list

Oh I use regular butter (not for cooking), olive oil, sesame oil and canola oil. :bigsmile:

edit note on butter:
Salt is a preservative, and salted butter can last two to three months longer in the refrigerator than unsalted butter. So this actually means that salted butter is often much less fresh than unsalted, and sometimes has been made from cream that is less fresh as well. Overall, it's best to buy and use only unsalted butter for cooking and baking, especially since you can't even reliably determine how much salt is in any given stick. Ochef gives an estimate of as much as 3/4 teaspoon can be in a stick of salted butter, but this varies depending on brand and place of origin.

---> So you're better off with unsalted, except for your morning toast and muffin. To keep it fresh longer, you can always store it in the freezer.

meshashesha2012 · May 2013

it's always better to eat real stuff rather than the fake made in a lab.

if you're really interested you can also make your own butter. it's pretty easy to do

http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-to-make-butter/

dbmata · May 2013

it's always better to eat real stuff rather than the fake made in a lab.

if you're really interested you can also make your own butter. it's pretty easy to do

http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-to-make-butter/

I ran a small test. Made some butter, salted it, and aged it on the counter for a 6 week period. Tasted it a few times, it didn't change much in flavor except for getting tangier. I then did it with unsalted butter and it went rancid quickly. I took the rancid butter and then threw it in my neighbor's yard.

I hated that neighbor.

MzOnree · May 2013

Thanks you so much for the responses so far! ;o)

MzOnree · May 2013

it's always better to eat real stuff rather than the fake made in a lab.

if you're really interested you can also make your own butter. it's pretty easy to do

http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-to-make-butter/

I ran a small test. Made some butter, salted it, and aged it on the counter for a 6 week period. Tasted it a few times, it didn't change much in flavor except for getting tangier. I then did it with unsalted butter and it went rancid quickly. I took the rancid butter and then threw it in my neighbor's yard.

I hated that neighbor.

LOL about your neighbor! ;o)

Francl27 · May 2013

Margarine is super nasty. Stick to butter. I avoid low fat stuff too except cheese and yogurt.

mikester66 · May 2013

We used to use a lot of margarine until some one pointed out that if you leave margarine on the counter flys won"t even eat it. Well if flys don"t then i probably shouldnt either lol

MzOnree · May 2013

Thank you everyone! ;o)

xeyda · May 2013

We used to use a lot of margarine until some one pointed out that if you leave margarine on the counter flys won"t even eat it. Well if flys don"t then i probably shouldnt either lol

Flies won't eat vegetable oil either, and that is what margarine is made of, mostly. Margarine is just as safe and effective to use for a smart dieter/chef as any "real butter".

BeachIron · May 2013

I prefer bacon fat but I'll use butter in a pinch

Low Sodium & Low Fat Confusion! ;o)

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