Eat Well To Be Well

Monday, June 26, 2006

Margarine versus Butter

Today I would like to share with you a motto that I believe in and
will help you to make healthier food choices...

The closer a food item is to its natural state, the better it would be
for you. Case in point today is, butter is better for you than
margarine.

Let's look at the reasons why:

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it
killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the
research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to
figure out what to do with this product. It was a white substance
with no food appeal - so they added the yellow coloring and sold
it to us to use in place of butter.

Hmm... Doesn't sound right, does it?

DO YOU KNOW the difference between margarine and butter?

* Both have the same amount of calories.
* Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared
to 5 grams.
* Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53%
over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent
Harvard Medical Study.
* Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients
in other foods.
* Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few
and only because they are added!
* Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance
the flavors of other foods.
* Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has
been around for less than 100 years.

And now, for Margarine:

* Very high in trans fatty acids.
* Triples the risk of coronary heart disease.
* Increases total cholesterol and LDL (the bad cholesterol)
and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)
* Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold.
* Lowers quality of breast milk.
* Decreases immune response.
* Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact....

Margarine is ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC.

This fact alone was enough to make me avoid margarine for
life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen
is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

Don't believe what I'm saying about margarine? Try this yourself:

Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or
shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple
of things:

No flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that
should tell you something).

It does not spoil or smell differently because it has no nutritional
value; nothing will grow on it! Even those tiny microorganisms
will not find a home to grow.

Why? Because it is nearly plastic.

Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

Remember, the closer something is to its natural state, the
healthier it will be. However, completely natural, whole foods are best, of course!

To Your Health,

Deb
http:www.Eat-Well-To-Be-Well.com

1 Comments:

  • Yuck, who wants to eat plastic! Let’s get technical for a moment. Plastic is a polymer, whose ingredients may include polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, acrylic, silicone, and urethane. Margarine is an emulsion of naturally processed vegetable oil, water, salt, vitamins, and other functional ingredients that ensure the safety and quality of the finished product. Emulsions consist of two or more ingredients that naturally do not remain blended or “in suspension”; and need added ingredients to keep them together; think of it like oil and water. Other types of emulsified foods that you may eat include deli meats and salad dressings.

    Living a healthy lifestyle includes eating moderate amounts of various types of foods. The margarine industry has been in the forefront of reducing the amounts of trans fat, and adding more functional ingredients to its products to support health. I've been working with the National Association of Margarine Manufacturers so I've learned a lot about this particular topic. In addition, heart disease runs in my family so I have a personal interest in the subject as well.

    As for margarine containing trans fatty acids, you won’t find any soft or liquid margarine that contain trans fat, and trans fat levels of stick margarines have been greatly reduced. Margarine manufacturers continue to be the leaders in the food industry in removing trans fats from products, and they continue to innovate the market by adding healthy, functional ingredients such as antioxidants, omega fatty acids, and fat-soluble vitamins to products.

    The margarine industry has made such an impact in providing healthy product that in 2005, when the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the MyPyramid food guidance system was issued, liquid oils, and soft, trans fat-free margarine spreads were classified by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Report as helping to meet the essential fatty acids and Vitamin E needs of consumers.

    Check out the links below for more information:

    http://www.margarine.org, http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/butter.asp, http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/transfat.html#choice1 and
    http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/cholmonth/q_a.htm.

    By Blogger Emma, at 5:24 AM  

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