Butter vs. Margarine

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 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

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.

Hi there,

To continue on with this subject....

I am the main cook in my house and what I put on the table is what my sons and husband will be eating for most meals.

All of us take this responsiblility very seriously. I put out margarine because as I said before my husband had a heart attack and he was only 41.

Now I know that butter was not the reason he had a heart attack. It was the cholesterol that broke off and caused a blockage.

Canola margarine has no cholesterol, whereas butter has plenty.

Butter or margarine is just one food item, but it is still required on the table by most of us feeding our families. And because both are so high in calories, it is important to make the best choice.

Any other thoughts?

Connie Lynn