Butter vs. Margine

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Butter vs. Margine
10
Mon, 08-25-2003 - 7:38pm
From the Internet:

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"This is very interesting!



Butter may be more expensive than margarine, but...........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 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 then 100 years



Now for Margarine... very high in Trans Fatty Acids



Triple risk of Coronary Heart Disease



Increases total and LDL ( this is the bad cholesterol) Lowers HDL cholesterol



* and this is the good one Increases the risk of cancers by up to five fold.



Lowers quality of breast milk. Decreases immune response. Decreases insulin response.



And here is the most disturbing fact.... Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE from being PLASTIC...



( this fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated , this means hydrogen is added changing the molecular structure of the food )



YOU can 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 rot, smell differently...Because it has no nutritional value, nothing will grow on it, even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow...Why? because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your tupperware and spread that on your toast?



YUCK"

       ~~Rhonda~~


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Avatar for dmm11730
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-06-2003
Mon, 08-25-2003 - 8:53pm
Hey I only use butter. I can not stand the other stuff. My mom only bought the margarine when we were kids, but I have converted her.

Deb

Debbie

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 08-25-2003 - 9:38pm
That should be "margarine" in the subject up there. Oops! I agree that margarine can't compare in taste. For years I thought I should make myself eat margarine, because it was better for me, but other than the SmartBalance with no transfats in it, I've gone back to butter. There's just no comparison taste-wise.

Rhonda

       ~~Rhonda~~


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Avatar for bootywhompus
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 08-26-2003 - 8:23am
http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/butter.asp

The above link gives a little background on the butter vs. margarine debate. Thanks Rhonda. I had not seen that one yet.

Lori

Lori

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2000
Tue, 08-26-2003 - 9:21am
"Internet articles" like this bother me. They're too often somebody's thinly disguised emotional crusade. No, margarine isn't a dairy product as butter is, but the claim that it is "nearly plastic" is nothing but grabbing at straws, if not fear-mongering. Carbon dioxide is only one molecule removed from carbon monoxide - one is necessary for life, the other is poisonous. There are only a finite number of elements in our world, and everything we know is made up from them. The image of melting plastic on your food is another non-issue. Turn the tables: we *need* numerous nutrients, but no one puts iron schrapnel on their food, gnaws on bones for calcium, or swallows pennies for copper. As for additives, the fact that something has ingredients added to it doesn't make a product automatically dangerous. "Artificial" banana flavoring, made by adding different chemicals that exist in nature, is molecularly identical to "real" banana flavoring - there is no difference. Break it down to the chemical formula, and the plastic argument is stripped of its emotional base.

Here's the part that the internet "article" left out: a study just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association determined that families who switched from butter to margarine significantly reduced blood cholesterol levels compared to those who use butter - and in a short amount of time. In some people, the reduction in LDL cholesterol levels with the margarine diet was as effective as cholesterol-lowering drugs. The health risks from clogged arteries are fairly well-known.

I couldn't help but notice that more of the positive butter arguments are subjective. "Butter tastes better" - don't tell that to DH, he hates butter! "Butter has been around for centuries" - so has lard, cooking fatty meats in their own grease, and lye. A history of use doesn't equal beneficial or safe. Since the "article" is really an opinion, it doesn't do any subjective positives on the margarine side: "Butter comes from cows which are pumped with hormones", "Margarine is made from plant derivatives, not animal fats", "Butter is perishable, and the bacteria it could harbor can't always be detected by your senses". I'm not a vegetarian, btw! Just putting the shoe on the other foot.

I don't buy butter unless a recipe specifies butter. My cholesterol is fine, but my husband's side of the family runs higher LDL, so anything I can do in my cooking to help lower it by fat reduction is on my list. Since DH doesn't like the flavor of butter anyway, that's good for him. For me, the longer shelf life of margarine is a plus - we often can't finish a product before it goes bad.

Apologies if I appear brash. I get very tenacious when faced with urban legend-like "internet facts"! ;^)

Cussette

C

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2000
Tue, 08-26-2003 - 10:05am
Funny! The article you shared said some of the same things I did - about the plastic argument and cholesterol facts - and I hadn't seen that particular one. It's interesting that the article is appearing under Urban Legends. At least the Urban Legend sites are also saying "Not so fast, there!"

Cussette

C

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 08-26-2003 - 1:32pm
No, I don't think you were being brash in your response to the butter vs. margarine article. It's something you obviously feel strongly about, and there's nothing wrong with voicing an opinion. There were some pretty far out points in the article and some valid ones. I still prefer the taste of butter for special occasions, but usually use SmartBeat for everyday use. We'd all be better off if we substituted olive oil or flaxseed oil, but that's easier said than done. I decided to see what the AMA has to say about it, and the link below gives their view. To make a long story short, each has pros and cons, but they feel margarine is 1 up at this point.

http://nutrition.about.com/library/weekly/aa120600a.htm

Rhonda

       ~~Rhonda~~


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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-03-2001
Tue, 08-26-2003 - 3:10pm
Speaking of Flax Seed oil, I just got some. I was planning on starting ever day with a tablespoonful because of all the great things I've read about it.Then I tasted it.....may be going to plan B and ordering the capsules.

Miss P




 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 08-26-2003 - 4:24pm
Guess I didn't post my response. Drat! Here goes again --

Make sure it isn't rancid. Flaxseed oil and ground flaxseed should always be refrigerated, even prior to opening. Some stores do not refrigerate it!! Some brands are milder and some are stronger than others. The one I like is Spectrum Essentials Veg-Omega-3 Cold Pressed Flax Oil. I buy the 24 oz. bottle, because it works out to be less expensive that way. A Tablespoon in a smoothie is undetectable, and 1 T. of it mixed with the juice of 1/2 a lemon makes a very good salad dressing for a large salad. It's really good with a garden salad, chunks of tuna and a little hardcooked egg on top, and the dressing. I like the flaxseed too. It has kind of a nutty taste and gives the added benefit of fiber. The link to the Flax Council is below, if you'd like more info.:

http://www.flaxcouncil.ca/pdf/stor.pdf

Rhonda

       ~~Rhonda~~


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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-03-2001
Tue, 08-26-2003 - 7:11pm
I got the one from the Fat Flush plan because she mentioned it helped with migraines.I'm trying to get it down straight but maybe I'll have to mix it with some yogurt.

Miss P




 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 08-26-2003 - 7:28pm
I got started on flaxseeds and the oil back when I was doing the Fat Flush Plan, what was that a year or so ago. I've lost track of the different things I've tried. LOL! I think FF is a good thing to do periodically for a couple of weeks, but it's too restrictive to stay on indefinitely (for me). It also encourages lymphatic drainage, but accomplishes it through jumping on a mini trampoline instead of dry brushing as T-Tapp does. A good thing, either or both ways. Sure hope it helps with your migraines.

I was glad to see that the unidentifed chickens situation has eased up. Sometimes things just need a little time to work themselves out.

Rhonda

       ~~Rhonda~~


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