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Margarine: comrade or culprit?

Posted October 26, 2007 at 12:00 PM by Denise Musumeci

Section: His Health, Physical Health, Lifestyle Health, His Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Diets

Anahad O’Connor’s recent article The Claim: Margarine is Healthier Than Butter touches on the long-held debate over which is better for the heart. It is assumed that margarine is healthier because butter made from animal products that contain large amounts of cholesterol and saturated fat. However, O’Connor points out that although margarine contains no cholesterol and less saturated fat than butter, it is not a healthier substitute because the manufacturing process of margarine creates trans fats.

The FDA defines trans fat as the product made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil--a process called hydrogenation, which increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods containing these fats. Trans fats are found in margarine, vegetable shortening, potato chips, and any other foods made with partially hydrogenated oils. Like saturated fats and cholesterol, trans fats contribute significantly to low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad cholesterol.” The risk of Coronary Heart Disease increases as the levels of LDL increase.

O’Connor says that health experts suggest that margarine in liquid form or sold in tubs are better because they contain liquid vegetable oil or water instead of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Regardless, olive oil or canola oil is a better substitute for butter than margarine.

While the debate over margarine versus butter is disputable, margarine, if chosen carefully, is the safer choice. To ensure that the most heart healthy product is chosen with any food, check the ingredients label for partially hydrogenated vegetable oil or shortening. Many food labels, such as those found on margarine, claim to have zero grams of trans fats, but list one or both of these products in the list of ingredients. According to mayoclinic.com, another reason to look out for these ingredients is because labeling requirements have a limitation that trans fats amounting to 0.5 grams or less per serving may be labeled as zero grams. This means that consuming multiple servings of foods with less than 0.5 grams of trans fats could make people unknowingly exceed recommended limits of intake. Therefore, choosing a brand of margarine that does not contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is much safer than butter.

Although I agree with O’Connor that olive oil is a healthier alternative to margarine because it lowers cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart disease and colon cancer, canola oil may not be safer than margarine. Healingdaily.com claims that original crops used in canola oil were once unfit for human consumption because of high levels of dangerous euric acid, which causes a disease called gout.

So next time you go to the store and think, “butter or margarine?” consider olive oil. If that is not an option, choose margarine that is free of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, even if it is labeled “free” of trans fat. Otherwise, you never know what you are eating.

Research sources and for more information: [Healingdaily.com]; [Mayoclinic.com]; [FDA], [picture]

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Tags: butter, cholesterol, coronary heart disease, food labels, food substitutes, ingredients, labeling requirements, margarine, nutrition, olive oil, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, saturated fat, trans fat, vegetable oil

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