First- Thank you all so much for your amazing comments on my “I’d Rather Be Chubby Post” from yesterday. I never expected such an outpouring of honesty and support. Really means so much to me and if you haven’t read it yet- here it is.
Now on to the Butter Battle. If you don’t have time to read the whole post I will summarize it for you in one sentence. Butter is good and margarine is poison.
My dad has a couple key stories he likes to tell about me to new friends, boyfriends, bosses etc. It involves me being about a year and a half old, sitting in my high chair rubbing a giant handful of butter through my hair. I imagine it was very funny at the time, given that I was a gigantically pudgy baby and all… but how many times does the story have to be told?
I grew up in a butter family. My mom hated margarine from the start while my grandma Fritzi insists on using it in everything. Margarine just has this weird faux-sweet taste to it that always made my cringe the same way chewing on a balloon does (try it- you’ll know what I mean).
Margarine is simply not food. (And did you know companies pay to have those little heart healthy check marks on their food’s packaging- it doesn’t really mean anything in terms of health food). Butter is not bad for us, and in fact, has many healing and healthy properties to it. Even people who can’t tolerate most dairy products can manage butter as it does not contain many of the allergens found in other milk products such as the milk protein (casein) or milk sugar (lactose)- the two highly allergenic components of some dairy products.
The battle: Margarine vs. Butter
What is Margarine?
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 came up with the brilliant idea of feeding it to the more resilient species known as people. The first step was to add in some colourants to make it look more like butter as who would want to spread this unappetizing gray/black rubbery stuff on their toast. Almost all margarine begins as chemically-extracted, refined vegetable oil extracted at high temperature, causing the oil to become toxic. This high heat also destroys the vitamin E in the oil, an important nutrient in hormonal balance and needed to preserve the naturally occurring essential fatty acids.
To make margarine, the oil must be hardened. This is done by hydrogenation or bubbling hydrogen through the vegetable oil at high temperature- a process that causes it to be solid at room temperature. When the carbon bonds are saturated with hydrogen, the product is called a saturated fat or a hydrogenated oil.
We’ve all seen the declaration on margarine tubs that it contains ‘polyunsaturated oil’. However, the processing or hydrogenation removes the flexibility of these oils- hence the solid at room temperature feature. Margarine usually contains some trans-fatty acids, no matter what the label says. These are man-made fatty acids. that can worsen inflammatory conditions. The final margarine product also contains nickel, cadmium and often other very toxic heavy metals.
Effects of Margarine on Health
- Margarine triples the risk of coronary heart disease.
- Margarine increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol).
- Margarine Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold.
- Lowers quality of breast milk.
- Decreases immune response.
- Decreases insulin response.
- Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC.
What is Butter?
Butter is made by churning the cream that rises to the top of milk. The churning of this cream catalyzes a chemical reaction that causes the cream to harden slightly, giving it the buttery consistency. Butter is a good fat that contains a number of natural fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E and K. These are not found to any degree in margarine (unless synthetic versions are added). Unlike margarine, butter does not contain trans-fatty acids or toxic metals
Dr. Weston Price identified a factor in butter that is essential for proper growth and development of the bone structure. He called it ‘activator X’ or ‘factor X’. Dr. Price was able to reverse severe tooth decay in children by feeding them one meal containing quality butter.
Butter and Cholesterol
Butter’s effect on cholesterol was a smart little maneuver of propaganda by the margarine peeps. Only about 15% of our cholesterol level is affected directly by diet (a discussion for another time). The observations of many natural health practitioners indicate that a balanced body chemistry is the key to normalizing cholesterol. Most cholesterol is manufactured within the body as it is the raw material for the adrenal stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) and the sex hormones (testosterone, estrogen and progesterone). The body often reacts to stress by producing more cholesterol in order to make more stress-fighting hormones.
An Experiment
An email went around a while back outlining this little experiment- leave a tub of margarine in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note that no flies or animals will go near it, it does not rot or smell differently and because it has no nutritional value, nothing will grow on it.
Might as well skip the margarine all together and just melt the tub it came in onto your toast. Same same… plastic is plastic.
For more information on the health benefits of butter, please visit the Weston A. Price Foundation
So do you butter your bread butter side up?
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dByOBMZ_Bhw&NR=1]
View the rest of the Butter Battle story here.
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I’m with you through this entire debate. A little bit of butter and a little bit of olive oil make everything better and make dishes that aren’t all that indulgent taste that way.
Also- looking forward to the cholestrol post. My boyfriend’s is high and I chide him about diet but maybe he’s right… genetics? We actually caught a snippet of the debate on filmhttp://vimeo.com/3316573
Thanks for the super informative post. Growing with a Weight Watchers mom we were always using low cal margerine. Having gone vegan I switched to Earth Balance but after reading their ingredients I am guessing it is just as toxic as the regular stuff. Do you have any suggestions of what I can use? I very rarely use the Earth Balance I have but do enjoy it as a treat every once and while on toast or mashed sweet potatoes.
Thanks so much!
Butter isn’t an option in our household, but I also try to avoid margarine. When a little is absolutely needed, I use Earth Balance; but really, for all of my baking and cooking I use various oils.
Margarine is gross…it does taste like plastic if I can recall. I probably haven’t had any in about 6 years! I know people who think that margarine is “healthier” because of the lower calories/fat info on the label, but it doesn’t mean that it is good for you. There are added chemicals and what not added to make it 99% less fat or whatever!
I’d rather have butter which is less processed, made of real milk-making it actually part of a food group! But too bad, I can’t have any dairy products anymore…if I could, butter over margarine for sure. I don’t even have to think about it.
We usually use Earth Balance – if we can’t find it we use butter.
Any opinion on whether Earth Balance is better then butter?
We use butter. We have a butter dish on the counter 24/7. When my husband and I were 1st together we used country crock. It was cheap, spreadable but the taste was off.
I grew up on a dairy farm and we made our own butter from raw milk and I still miss that. I now try to buy local made butter here in New England. After reading your post I think I’ll stop buying Margarine for cooking altogether. I had no idea about the whole hydrogenation process and the metals that are found in margarine and I’m guessing shortening. Thanks! A~
All margarines aren’t created equal! A bunch of people have mentioned the Earth Balance margarine brand, if you buy the organic kind, it’s probably much better for you than eating conventional butter. It’s also considerably lower in sat. fats while using a healthy expeller-pressed blend of natural oils…
I love butter… i don’t over do it cuz hubs has cholesterol issues…he really watches his Sats… but a pat of butter and olive oil just makes everything sautee and taste so RICH.
a little goes a long way and, even though we buy it…hack hack…I DETEST margarine.
( some traditions are hard to break in my home)
Thanks Meghan for the comparison!
Butter me please! I enjoyed Grandma Fritzi and the refrigerator room – gee whiz – I’ve missed a lot since only joining you recently on your blog but I’m here to stay and follow..I have lots to learn ;o)
cool
Thanks for the informative post. My mom raised us on margarine too, although she did make the switch to butter some time when I was in high school (better late than never, I hope).
I RARELY use any form of butter, but I do very rarely use a smidgen of Earth Balance (I’m vegan). But regardless of the amount I use, what are your thoughts on Earth Balance and Smart Balance or any similar product. I would assume that the soy free variety is best, but I’d love to hear what you have to say!
I was raised on margarine … because it was healthier, right? Then in my vegan days I used Earth Balance despite its less than tasty flavor. Now I use Kerrygold or OV Pasture Butter to cook with on occasion and use local raw butter to eat uncooked. The flavor, culinary uses and health benefits far outweigh margarine.
[...] The Butter Battle [...]
Yuck, who wants to eat plastic! But, not to worry margarine is not plastic. “Margarine is one molecule away from plastic” actually comes from an “urban legend” that has been circulating on the Internet since 2003.
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 the right foods. For example, substituting soft margarine for butter. Margarine has 3 times less saturated fat than butter, not to mention beneficial polyunsaturated fats and Vitamin E. Yes, trans fat in margarine was once an issue but margarine producers have reduced trans fat levels to a miniscule amount comparable to that found in butter. 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.
Walnut oil is really nice to use, it’s real buttery tasting so it’s nice drizzled on toast or pancakes, etc.
Thank you for this article! I was also raised on margarine and though through the years I head a few unappetizing facts about margarine (but not as many facts as you just provided), I still thought it was healthier than butter. Animal saturated fat is supposed to be bad for you and is butter not full of it? The facts out there are so mixed up and thank you for sorting it out for us!
Now, I don’t think I’ll be able to finish that “tub” in my fridge and I’ll try some oil substitute mentioned in the comments instead. I think my body will thank me for it!
[...] artificial sweeteners, vaccinations, soda pop, the authority of doctors, high fructose corn syrup, margarine, and most recently, MSG. I am forever astounded, though never surprised that these posts get the [...]
[...] have also helped you to think about your food choices in regards to intake of things like Coke, margarine and artificial sweeteners. The best part of all, for me, was getting to share with you so many of [...]
Updated link to Weston Price:
http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/why-butter-is-better
Did you get this image?
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/480832_10150682405123442_94250273441_9189380_1107065402_n.jpg
I don’t actually use butter in my own home or in my cooking either. I always use coconut oil as a substitute and as it has similar melting point to butter- works just as all.
As an aside to the calorie factor. I never count calories, but I do know what they mean. And butter and margarine have the same amount. Each and every gram of fat contains 9 calories- whether that fat is animal or plant derived. So if margarine is claiming to be calorie free… what is it made from?
Teresa- Thanks for your question. In most cases- soy free is always best. As I mentioned below, I don’t use butter either. I avoid all cow’s milk dairy and did attempt goat milk butter at what point but it was still too goaty for me. Depending on the uses for the Earth Balance, I have been able to substitute all oils with either coconut oil (mostly in baking, frying, on bread), olive oil and flax oil (also great on bread, rice cakes, in wraps etc). A great oil mix you can make that is delicious and comes from Sally Fallon’s Book Nourishing Traditions (a vegan’s nightmare cookbook) is a blend of 1 part olive oil, 1 part flax oil and 1/2 part sesame oil. Delicious and rich in a healthy balance of omega 3′s and 6′s.
Emma, I appreciate your perspective and ultimately believe that everyone has a right to all angles of information and must ultimately make the choice the best suits them. Here afabulous resources on why I opt for butter:
http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/butter.html
Great suggestion!