Real Butter or Margerine?

[TigerWoman]

My mom has lived to 88 on real butter, tons of it. Maybe its just genetics, though. Most of my life I have eaten margerine, the last few years, its been "I Can't Believe its not Butter" in the spray or soft tub. Or Smart Balance which has canola oil in it, but doesn't taste as good.

Okay, here are the common myths of butter vs margerine:

Let's bust some 'interesting' myths about butter vs. margarine
BARBARA QUINN
Knight Ridder News Service

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys.

In truth, margarine was formulated by a French pharmacist in 1869 in response to a contest held by Emperor Napoleon III to find a suitable replacement for butter.

Butter has been around for centuries while margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

1998 marked the 125th anniversary of the United States patent for margarine. It was used in Europe before that.

Margarine and butter have the same amount of calories.

True, unless you use a lower fat version of either.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fat — 8 grams versus 5 grams in margarine.

Butter typically contains 7 or more grams of saturated fat — the one implicated in heart disease risk — per tablespoon. Most soft (tub or liquid) margarines contain less than 2 grams of saturated fat.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53 percent over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.

What this research really said was women who ate 4 teaspoons a day of stick margarine — the form which typically contains the most saturated and trans fats — had a 50 percent greater risk for heart disease than those who ate margarine only rarely.

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has only a few.

Butter is 100 percent fats. So is margarine. They differ in the type of fat they contain. Butter is mostly saturated fat and contains cholesterol. Margarine is mostly unsaturated fat and contains no cholesterol.

Margarine is very high in trans fatty acids (the fat that increases bad LDL cholesterol and lowers good HDL cholesterol).

Read the label. Soft (liquid or tub) margarines are usually very low in trans fats. Some margarine contains no trans fats.

full article: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/living/health/14179966.htm

What do you eat and why? TW

 

[Kacey]

I eat butter. I ate margarine for years, and never liked the taste. Then I baked something that required real butter, and remembered why I preferred the taste. I use about a stick (1/4 pound) of butter every 2 months or so, unless I'm baking something that requires it, which only happens once or twice a year. Given that I use less than a tablespoon of butter a week, I don't think that the medical concerns of eating butter in place of margarine are as relevant as things I eat every day.

 

[IcemanSK]

We often use something like Smart Balance or Brummel & Brown's rather than margarine. We use butter more often than margarine. But still not often.

 

[stickarts]

I use the spray butter whenever possible.
I don't know what is best but my cholesterol is ok so far. So far so good! :0)

 

[DavidCC]

I eat butter, because I like it. There are margarines now that don't have partially hydrogenated oils, but margarine is still just flavored, coagulated oil. I won't eat artificial meat made from plant fiber either. Man got along just fine for millenia eating real food, that's good enough for me.

 

[terryl965]

Butter is the only way to go!!!!
Terry

 

[Cryozombie]

Mostly I dont use either, but when I do, its usually butter.

 

[Sapper6]

for me...butter. margarine is bad for you, even worse than butter.

on a lighter note, check this out:

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 to get their money back. It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavourings.

DO YOU KNOW...the difference between margarine and butter? Read on to the end... it gets very interesting! 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 flavours 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. Triple risk of coronary heart disease. Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is 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....

HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away 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 substance).

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 or smell differently because it has no nutritional value; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny micro organisms will not find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

too funny.

 

[Tarot]

I use butter. I don't like cooking with fake things like margerine or splenda. Give me the real stuff please!

 

[beau_safken]

Transfatty acids = margarine
Cream and wonder = Butter.

Stick with butter.

 

[Cryozombie]

for me...butter. margarine is bad for you, even worse than butter.

on a lighter note, check this out:



too funny.

Argh

I was wondering how long till someone posted this.

I talked to a chemist friend of mine about this. PHD in organic chemistry and he works in a drug lab.

His basic response was: "1 molecule makes a lot of difference."

I say Water is basically one molecule away from oxygen, so if you believe that plastic crap... you better stop breathing since oxygen is almost water... you might freakin drown. And yes. Margarine WILL go bad and attract bugs. Try it, and see. Leave it on your kitchen floor, see how long before you have ants.

 

[Lisa]

Butter hates me.

It makes my tummy cramp and feel horrible so, unfortunately, I have to use margarine.

 

[RoninPimp]

Real butter for taste and health!

 

[HKphooey]

How about bacon fat?

 

[bignick]

Butter.

We've been eating animal fats for thousands of years, we know the risks associated with that, eat healthy and eat smart and butter will treat you just fine.

 

[bignick]

How about bacon fat?

I heat it up and sip it when I'm running low on hot chocolate...it'll keep you warm in the winter...

 

[gtmazzeo]

My mom has lived to 88 on real butter, tons of it. Maybe its just genetics, though. Most of my life I have eaten margerine, the last few years, its been "I Can't Believe its not Butter" in the spray or soft tub. Or Smart Balance which has canola oil in it, but doesn't taste as good.

Okay, here are the common myths of butter vs margerine:

Let's bust some 'interesting' myths about butter vs. margarine
BARBARA QUINN
Knight Ridder News Service

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys.

In truth, margarine was formulated by a French pharmacist in 1869 in response to a contest held by Emperor Napoleon III to find a suitable replacement for butter.

Butter has been around for centuries while margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

1998 marked the 125th anniversary of the United States patent for margarine. It was used in Europe before that.

Margarine and butter have the same amount of calories.

True, unless you use a lower fat version of either.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fat — 8 grams versus 5 grams in margarine.

Butter typically contains 7 or more grams of saturated fat — the one implicated in heart disease risk — per tablespoon. Most soft (tub or liquid) margarines contain less than 2 grams of saturated fat.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53 percent over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.

What this research really said was women who ate 4 teaspoons a day of stick margarine — the form which typically contains the most saturated and trans fats — had a 50 percent greater risk for heart disease than those who ate margarine only rarely.

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has only a few.

Butter is 100 percent fats. So is margarine. They differ in the type of fat they contain. Butter is mostly saturated fat and contains cholesterol. Margarine is mostly unsaturated fat and contains no cholesterol.

Margarine is very high in trans fatty acids (the fat that increases bad LDL cholesterol and lowers good HDL cholesterol).

Read the label. Soft (liquid or tub) margarines are usually very low in trans fats. Some margarine contains no trans fats.

full article: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/living/health/14179966.htm

What do you eat and why? TW

so is margerine better ? looks like it .

 

[JamesYazell]

I prefer to eat natural foods. I just can't get past the idea of eating something from a lab, even if it is better for me. Reminds me of those pills they fed everybody that were made from people. "There people! There people!"

 

[Hand Sword]

Butter? "Parkay"

Sorry, couldn't resist. Heard that commercial constantly as a kid!

 

[Cryozombie]

I prefer to eat natural foods. I just can't get past the idea of eating something from a lab, even if it is better for me. Reminds me of those pills they fed everybody that were made from people. "There people! There people!"

I hear this man... natural foods. Like COW. And Pork-Cow. And Chickens.

But not corn. Nothing natural about corn. Anymore, anyhow...