Butter vs. margarine. What should we use?

I received a particular email about butter being better than margarine a few times and I’d heard people telling others it was true and that we should change what we eat to fit this theory. Thus I asked a medical Dr (as opposed to someone who has a PhD) to tell me whether it was true or not.

I have put his response first and the ‘hoax’ email that I received originally last.

So here’s what he said: –

Hmm, this one’s been doing the rounds since about 2003.  Cut and paste a few words from the posting into Google and see how many hits you get.

There are margarines and there are margarines.  However the writer of this posting seems to think that all margarines are made in the same way.  Nowadays, margarines are prepared from animal fats, vegetable fats, or mixtures of animal and vegetable fats.  The level of saturation, and hydrogenation, can vary.

Indeed we’ve been subjected to a number of adverts of margarine-type products that actually reduce bad cholesterol – there are even reasonably decent clinical studies that underpin the claims.  So, to suggest that margarine is (always) less healthy than butter is nonsense.

And the guff about margarine being one molecule away from being plastic takes the biscuit!  Utter drivel!

I suspect the history of margarine as related in this posting has come out of the same trash can as the science.  I doubt very much if margarine had been invented to fatten turkeys.

These sorts of postings feed on people’s gullability and, in my view, can be damaging.  For a less strident view about this than mine, have a look at:

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

Pass The Butter.. Please.

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 flavorings.

DO  YOU KNOW… the   difference between margarine and butter?
Read on to the end…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 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.
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: & lt; BR>
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  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?