Butter vs Margarine

Butter –vs- Margarine

Due to a lack scarcity of butter in 1869, Napleon III of France, offered a prize to anyone who could invent an inexpensive substitute for butter. Hippolyte Mege-Mouries won the prize when he presented his beef suet and milk called oleo margarine-after margarite the Greek word for pearl. Everyone was thrilled because there was finally a cheap substitute for butter that could be marketed world wide so they headed to America.

In the 1870s, the unappealing, grayish white colored margarine was becoming a hit in the US. But, in true capitalistic, un-sportsman spirit, the US dairy industry made sure that the grayish color was the only color that the good citizens of America would see. They lobbied for the federal government to restrict the sale of margarine, tax it, and not allow it to be colored-Oh, did I mention that monsieur Hippolyte Mege-Mouries was wise enough to add yellow food coloring to offset the miserable gray? This lobbying was successful until the 1930s and then all bets were off.

By the 1960;s margarine sales were on top and butter was fading fast, in America because it was inexpensive. During the Great Depression and World War II it went on to become an American staple because it was a “healthy alternative to butter.” Albeit- healthier when vitamin A and D was eventually added as an ingredient. Everyone was happy and healthy with this great new find-or were they? Cardiologist soon discovered that margarine was anything but nutritious.

After World War II, cardiologist began to note a major increase in the number of coronary heart disease cases, which was linked to the increase consumption of margarine, which contained hydrogenated oils and trans-fatty acids. What’s That?

According to the FDA, trans-fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil--a process called hydrogenation. Hydrogenation increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods containing these fats. (1) Trans-fats are found in most baked goods such as cakes, cookies, crackers, salad dressings, candies like sprinkles, breakfast cereals, shortening, margarine, and potato chips etc… While these foods last forever on the grocery store shelves and often taste very good, are they good for you?

The answer is a screaming NO. As mentioned earlier, trans-fats are linked to cardiovascular disease and it restricts blood flow through the arteries. According to Dr. Andrew Weil, a resent research paper in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology makes the possible consequences of this situation scarily clear. Australian investigators gave subjects three different meals containing measured portions of fat. The first meal came from a deep fryer in a restaurant, the second meal had the same amount of fat that was uncooked, and the third meal was low fat. Four hours after the meal, the researchers measured the blood flow through the brachial artery, the main artery supplying the arm. They found significant restriction of blood flow in subjects who ate the fast food meal, some blood flow restriction in those who ate the uncooked oil, and no restriction from the low fat meal. They interpreted the restriction of blood flow was due to the oxidative stress resulting from toxic compounds entering the blood after eating the repeatedly used cooked fat.

You don’t have to be Dr. Oz to understand that you should not consume margarine. So the next time you go food shopping, don’t just look at the label-also read the ingredients. If you see hydrogenated palm oil, partially hydrogenated soy bean oil, etc… run in the other direction (while you still can) and find a healthier alternative.



References

Nestle, Marion, “What to Eat.” Pages 113-115

FDA Consumer Magazine, “Revealing Trans Fats” Volume 37, Number 5 September-October 2003

Weil, Andrew MD, “Eating Well For Optimum Health.” 79; 90