margarine and butter

[Ocean]

We received a copy of this in class yesterday. I thought it was very interesting, and have been passing it along..

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's been around for centuries; margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

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)

Lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)

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 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 for yourself: purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Whithin 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 with grow on it...even those teeny weeny 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? Share this with your friends..... (Butter them up!)

-The Missouri Chiropractor

[petra]

That's right. Support America's Dairyland - eat butter! (I live in Wisconsin) Actually, I've always liked the taste of butter better than margarine, and olive oil even more so (Mediterranean heritage, you know.)
I think it was a former governor of Wisconsin who referred to margarine as "the yellow stick form of satan himself." So, there you have it. Butter rules!

[Blisss]

I think it was a former governor of Wisconsin who referred to margarine as "the yellow stick form of satan himself."

[moogie]

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).

While I only buy butter and believe that it is much better for you than margerine, I just can't let this part go unchecked.

http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/butter.asp

Although a great deal of the information given in the e-mail is valid, one bit of intelligence is nothing more than hyperbole tossed in by the author in an effort to make his point more strongly. The claim that some comestible is but a "single molecule away" from being a decidedly inedible (or even toxic) substance has been applied to a variety of processed foods:
[Collected via e-mail, 2005]

I was told that the difference between Cool Whip and Styrofoam is one molecule... is this true???


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Collected via e-mail, 2006]

Is velveeta processed cheese food really one molecule different from plastic?
These types of statements (even if they were true) are essentially meaningless. Many disparate substances share similar chemical properties, but even the slightest variation in molecular structure can make a world of difference in the qualities of those substances.

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/20 ... .Ch.r.html

is margarine "one molecule" away
from being a polymeric substance exhibiting the properties of
synthetic "plastic" compounds, like polyethylene or PET? It is that
question that the answer is "no". You could not simply add a molecule to
margarine and make plastic milk jugs or pop bottles.

There are lots of sights out there which answer this question. So, while it is good that we share information, we should always be careful not to spread misinformation.

Angie

[BJB-LMP]

Increases the risk of cancers by up to five fold.

Lowers quality of breast milk .

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

I'm all for natural foodstuffs. But did the handout provide references to the studies that support these statements? I'm with Moogie -- just because we want to agree w/something doesn't mean we can skip the responsibility for checking facts.

Let us know what you find out!

[askahealer]

I've been preaching the "butter is better than margarine" sermon for decades. So glad to see this info getting out there.

Although I don't know how many molecules difference there is between the two, I know that our natural receptor sites, the ones that are responsible for grabbing the nutrients we need from the blood stream, are negatively affected by margarine.

I read also that the increase in heart disease and the introduction of margarine into the diet have close parallells, which should be enough to give anyone pause.

[sjidoulamt]

"One molecule away" actually makes all the difference in many substances... you shouldn't drink hydrogen peroxide, but it is one molecule away from being water. Our air is made up of mostly nitrogen and oxygen... but breathing either pure gas alone will kill you. Removing one molecule from table salt will make it either a poison gas (chlorine) or a highly reactive metal that will actually explode upon contact with water.

Snopes has a fuller explanation of the butter/margarine story though:
http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/butter.asp

But I love butta!

[sjidoulamt]

And, DUH... I should have completely read the thread before posting repetitively!

[ReikiDude]

For the real scoop on Margerine, I recommend a book called "The Secret House (subtitled The Extraordinary Science of an Ordinary Day) by David Bodanis. While the book is no longer being printed, used bookstores and some online stores have it in stock. Bodanis provides unbiased, scientific facts on what goes on in our house under our noses and under our feet.

Beginning on page 33, he describes margerine as Soya fat, beef drippings, the fat you get from squished herrings, and about 20 percent pig's fat. Added to that is sour milk, metal shavings, (to break up the lumps) and extra strong yellow dyes (the fats make margerine gray) made from sulfur-refined coal tars. Yumm!

[JaeMarie]

Beginning on page 33, he describes margerine as Soya fat, beef drippings, the fat you get from squished herrings, and about 20 percent pig's fat. Added to that is sour milk, metal shavings, (to break up the lumps) and extra strong yellow dyes (the fats make margerine gray) made from sulfur-refined coal tars. Yumm!

Are you saying that he claims those are the ingredients, or is he comparing margarine to those products for other reasons?

As I first read your post, I thought you were saying he claimed margarine was MADE of those products. A quick search brings nothing near that list for ingredients (maybe other products were used as butter substitutes before margarine was created?) Honestly, without any other sources to back up that information, I can't begin to believe a possible claim that metal shavings are purposely ADDED to a food product, or much of the rest beyond the coloring.

[ReikiDude]

Those, according to Bodanis, are the ingredients. It is important to note that Bodanis is writing about the SCIENCE of various things in our homes, NOT the health benefts/hazards. The metal shavings are added to break up the lumps after all the fats are added. I believe they rise to the top and are scraped off when the mixture cools.

And the manufacturers surely won't tell us this since their main objective is to get us to buy it.

[JaeMarie]

*Disclaimer* I'm not sleeping well tonight, so in fact, you'll be right - I've probably got nothing better to do LOL .



Oh, I'm not looking directly to the manufacturers for the ingredients, but looking anywhere.

I understand that maybe he's not looking to proclaim this information to caution people about health matters, but in the context of this thread (margarine vs butter) I think the use of words in his description becomes a possible issue (shocking and gross?)

To look at the ingredients...

Soya fat = soybean oil?

beef drippings = beef fat, which can also be found in shortening* and other flavorings?

fat you get from squished herrings = fish oils?

pig's fat = pork fat, again can be found in shortening* and as a flavoring?

sour milk = buttermilk?

metal shavings = which assuming he's right, are REMOVED from the final product, so not actually an ingredient

yellow dyes (the fats make margerine gray) made from sulfur-refined coal tars = Tartrazine AKA Yellow5. As Wiki points out, this common food dye is used in "Soft drinks, instant puddings, flavored chips (Doritos, etc), cake mixes, custard powder, soups, sauces, kool-aid, ice cream, ice lollies, candy, chewing gum, marzipan, jam, jelly, marmalade, mustard, horseradish, yogurt, noodles, pickles and other pickled products, certain brands of fruit squash, fruit cordial, chips, tim tams, and many convenience foods together with glycerin, lemon and honey products." In other words, good luck avoiding it.

* I noted shortening, since a couple places I came across equated shortening (aside from pure lard) to an uncolored margarine.

Also remember that not every margarine is going to have beef/pork products in them. There are apparently a number of them considered vegan or kosher products.

NOW, DON'T GET ME WRONG!

I'm TOTALLY a butter person, and wouldn't gag margarine down if you paid me (it just tastes wrong and I bet we probably can't digest it right either) BUT, I have this pet peeve thing about urban legend-like shocking "Can you believe what they're doing to our food?!?" type e-mails/claims/whatever.

Reiki Dude - I hope you understand I'm in no way calling you to task on this personally, but rather questioning the wording that the author of that book used with his descriptions (even if a science intentioned book, he still knows people eat the stuff). Upon first reading, of course his description sounds appalling, but taken apart and looking into it, it's much less "scary".



Besides, where else are we supposed to get our supplemental omega-3 fatty acids, other than from squished herrings? lol

[ReikiDude]

JaeMarie,

I do not take your questioning of my statements personally. I just know that my friends and teachers in the "alternative" health industry agree with the author of the book and can bring some frightening statistics to light. I also know that statistics can be manipulated, so we have to look in the middle of the two extremes. It has been proven that Tartrazine, AKA Yellow5 is known to cause cancer and learning disabilities and yes, I agree when you say "good luck avoiding it"

The impression I get from the book I quoted however, is that most of the ingredients in Margerine are waste products. So instead of getting "fish oils" we are getting crushed remnants of fish, which while they contain oils, are less appetizing than the extracted oils found in food supplements.

And, it's only something I read in a book. Based on truth no doubt, but possibly outdated. After all, the first mass-produced Margerine was manufactured in 1849 as a directive of Napoleon III to find an alternative to butter that could be affordable to the underpriveledged masses.

JaeMarie, if you're having trouble sleeping, I can do some "distance" Reiki to help you relax if you like.