What’s The Difference and Are Either of Them Healthy For You?
By: Heidi Wagenbach
I tend to avoid products that are more unnatural than natural. We never had margarine in the house, always resorting to olive oil or butter when cooking and baking. If you wanted easier, spreadable deliciousness on your toast in the morning, you microwaved the butter for 10 seconds. I’ve never thought twice when purchasing a 4-stick pack of salted butter at the grocery store and cringed at the advertisements for products that attempted to be butter, knowing that they had to be chemically modified. I was actually requested by a family member to do this article, seeing that this topic has been debated for years: to determine what differentiates margarine from butter, and if this difference is drastic enough to affect your body.
All Began In France…
Invented by chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriés, margarine was a response to Napoleon III’s demand for a cheap alternative to butter for the lower/working class and armies to eat during the Franco-Prussian war. The first recipe was beef fat churned with milk and was patented in 1869. When the beef supply began to be limited, margarine was put on hold until 1902, when Wilhelm Normann, from Germany, came up with the hydrogenation process to harden oils.
Here’s Some More Background…
According to Healthline, butter is a concentrated source of milk fat, therefore is mostly composed of saturated fat. Seeing that consuming large amounts of this type of fat increases the risk of heart disease, during the 1970s, health officials began recommending that people avoid butter. Margarine, on the other hand, is processed to mimic butter’s look and taste. It’s claimed to be a “heart-healthy replacement.” Nowadays, margarine is made from vegetable oils and contains polyunsaturated fats that lower the so-called bad cholesterol. Sounds good, until you realize that in order to get the liquid oil to solidify, scientists use hydrogenation to make the margarine similar in texture to its cousin. The saturated fats increase, therefore blossoming trans fat (the worst possible type of fat) on the side as a bonus. Margarine also holds the risk of having emulsifiers and food coloring.
Eating Butter Is Better…
In the same article, the author describes how the butter from grass-fed vs. grain-fed cows differ in the amounts of minerals because of the varied diets. Despite the negatives (that will be addressed later), butter has some nutritional benefits (although low amounts), such as vitamin K2 which contributes to improving bone health and preventing cancer. CLA (or conjugated linoleic acid) is a fatty acid that also helps fight against developing cancer and lowering your body fat percentage. Butyrate is produced by your body and is found in butter as well, and fights inflammation and improves digestion. Omega-3 is also found in butter.
… But Best In Moderation
Butter is composed of about 50% saturated fat (water and unsaturated fat taking up the remaining 50%). A study shows that eating less saturated fat lowers your risk of heart disease by 17%. For years, saturated fats have been advised as something to avoid, seeing that an excess of consuming saturated fats increases levels of bad cholesterol. Nevertheless, there are still controversies regarding this issue and results have yet to be concluded whether or not saturated fats have some health benefits as well (such as improving your blood lipids or raising good cholesterol). Overall, more research is needed. Despite butter being high in cholesterol, recent studies have determined that getting a moderate amount does not harm your body, in fact, your body just limits itself and produces less to accommodate.
Margarine Melodies…
Most margarines are high in polyunsaturated fat (one that assists with heart health), but that depends on what vegetable oils are used and if they are modified during the process. There are others that have phytosterols added to the mix, that lower bad cholesterol yet in the long term, affect good cholesterol too.
… Or Maladies
Margarine is high in trans fat because, as stated before, the hydrogenation process. Oils are exposed to high heat, pressure, hydrogen gas, and a metal catalyst (yum, just what I want to eat). This process not only changes the structure of the oil to become solid like butter but also gives a longer longevity to the product. Changing the oil so drastically can lead to serious chronic diseases. The FDA is attempting to ban trans fats, however companies can still ask for exceptions. There are food producers that are using interesterification now to replace hydrogenation, which modifies the unsaturated fats in the oil with saturated fats. Margarines can also be high in Omega-6, which is the vicious counterpart to Omega-3, and leads to chronic inflammation. In today’s world, some countries are already eating far too much of this fat, thus inflicting higher obesity rates and inflammatory bowels. Sunflower, corn, soybean, and cottonseed oils are all high in Omega-6. If you’re still considering eating margarine, make sure to read food labels.
Here’s The Bottom Line:
In Ask an Expert: Butter vs. margarine – which is better for you?, the pros and cons of margarine, oils, and butter are listed. Margarine comes in all shapes and sizes, ranging from tubs to sticks. Below is a list of the different types of fats and the nutrition they contain:
- Butter: 1 Tbsp – 100 calories, 11g fat, 7g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 30mg cholesterol
- Stick Margarine: 1 Tbsp – 100 calories, 11g fat, 2g saturated fat, 3g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol
- Soft/Tub Margarine: 1 Tbsp – 60 calories, 7g fat, 1g saturated fat, 0.5g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol
- Canola Oil: 1 Tbsp – 120 calories, 14g fat, 1g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol
Up To You
While butter is natural, containing only a few ingredients, it should still be used sparingly, due to its high content in fat and cholesterol. Margarine that lists “hydrogenated vegetable oil” or “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” on the package should be avoided. Softer margarines that have limited amounts of trans fats are better than the ones that have undergone the hydrogenation process but are still packed with additives that butter doesn’t have. Oils contain healthy nutrients but are high in calories so use them every once in a while. In the end, there’s a recurring theme in these blogs; eat what you want, but always practice a bit of restraint (as much as I enjoy buttering a bagel for breakfast, I have cereal or eggs to ensure a balanced diet). Personally, I would opt for butter/oil every time, but if you’re concerned about your cholesterol/fat intake, margarine may be for you. All options should be only indulged every now and then but my perspective is the more natural, the better.