Pass The Butter .. please .

[Jongman]

Pass The Butter .. please .

This is interesting . . .

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?

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:

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?

[MzT]

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC..

and humans are only one pair of chromosomes away from being chimpanzees.

Seriously though, YUK! I think this settles the butter vs margarine debate for me.

[Dax]

Good one Fred!

Next time I have a braai I'm going to marinate the meat in margerine, I don't know what it will taste like, but it should keep the flies away!

Cheers,

Dax

Edited October 9, 2007 by Dax

[HansaPlease]

I melt margerine and use it to fix the punctures on my bicycle tires. I once moulded a bumper for my car purely out of Margerine.

Just kidding -

Actually, some of it is true, in the sense that it is not good for you - Margarine contains trans fats, which are the worst kinds of fats, but butter contains cholesterol.

Margarine is not one molecule away from plastic, that's rubbeeeesh.

And it was not invented to fatten (or didn't kill) turkeys.

Wikipedia -

In 1869 Emperor Louis Napoleon III of France offered a prize to anyone who could make a satisfactory substitute for butter, suitable for use by the armed forces and the lower classes. French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriés invented a substance he called oleomargarine, the name of which became shortened to the trade name "Margarine". Margarine now refers generically to any of a range of broadly similar edible oils. The name oleomargarine is sometimes abbrieviated to oleo.

Sorry to be a party pooper...

[Jongman]

What we have today is entirely different from the original oleomargarine invented by a French scientist in 1870. That was done quite naturally. Today, we get a highly unnatural process called hydrogenation in which liquid vegetable oil is converted into a solid or semi-solid grease.

In the jargon of the chemicals industry, this process of turning a liquid oil into a solid or semi-solid is called plasticisation.

The manufacturing process begins with cheap vegetable oils, which probably have already been rendered harmful by the extraction process involving high temperature and petrochemical solvents such as benzene. Some of these oils, such as cottonseed oil, are not even suitable for human (nor animal) consumption.

The oil is then subjected again to extreme high temperature (about 500ºF) and pressure, and hydrogen is forced into the molecular structure to harden it. This process requires toxic substances, such as nickel oxide, which act as catalysts that enable the chemical change.

What you're looking at above is not a coherent essay written by a single, knowledgeable author. It is actually a compilation of facts and opinions from many unidentified sources, incorporating a good deal of sensational and questionable information. However, its basic premise - that trans-fatty acids found in most margarine have been linked to heart disease and other conditions - is basically correct.

A 1994 Harvard University study, as well as research from other credible sources, concluded that a diet high in trans-fat doubles the chance for heart attack and decreases life expectancy. While trans-fats can occur naturally, they are most commonly associated with chemical preservative techniques, such as hydrogenation. During hydrogenation, liquid fats, like most vegetable oils, are infused with hydrogen atoms to make them semi-solid at room temperature. Unfortunately, the process produces trans-fatty acids, often in large amounts.

The dangers of trans-fatty acids have only recently been publicized. Health and dietary experts now recommend that you limit your intake of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated foodstuffs as much as possible. In its 2005 revised nutrition guidelines, the U.S. Department of Agriculture warns of trans-fats. And, effective 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires manufacturers to list trans-fat content on nutrition facts labels.

But, butter isn't necessarily the healthier alternative. While butter and Margarine have similar caloric values, butter is made from milk fat and is generally is much higher than margarine in saturated fat, which is also known to be detrimental to heart health. Margarine contains small amounts of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, which are generally considered healthier than saturated. According to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, switching from butter to margarine can greatly reduce blood cholesterol levels. Further, not all margarine is created equal. Many brands have developed semi-solid spreads without hydrogenation - and thus, no trans-fat. Most brands that are trans-fat free proudly and prominently state so on their packaging.

With pros and cons on both sides, the butter pundits usually pull out the "naturalness" argument. Margarine is indeed a durable foodstuff that can survive outside refrigeration without spoiling. However, its durability is not because margarine is chemically similar to plastic, as the letter above asserts. Rather, margarine is made from vegetable oils (corn, canola, olive, etc.), which are less susceptible to bacteria and fungi than dairy fats.

It is not true that margarine is "but ONE MOLECULE from being PLASTIC," and, even if it was, this doesn't mean that eating margarine is like eating plastic (though some would argue it tastes like it). Many items in nature are chemically similar to one another, but that doesn't make them similar in appearance or effect. It's not the molecules that a substance is made of that defines it, but rather how those molecules are arranged.

Both butter and margarine contain fats, which are basically groupings of the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The difference is how those atoms are bonded together. (Naturally occurring fatty acids generally have one "cis" orientation, meaning both hydrogen atoms are on the same side as the carbon atoms. Trans-fatty acids, logically, have a "trans" orientation, meaning that at least one hydrogen atom is opposite the carbons. Essentially, the molecules making up both butter and margarine contain the same atoms, just in different configurations. Margarine has much more in common chemically with butter than it does plastic.

Butter is more natural (and some would argue more flavorful), is not hydrogenated and, thus does not contain trans-fats. Margarine, on the other hand, is cholesterol free, lower in saturated fats and is increasingly becoming available in trans-fat free varieties. Whichever spread you choose, experts say moderation is key. Too much of either is definitely a bad thing, says the American Heart Association.

So there you go, the party has been pooped

Edited October 9, 2007 by Fred

[HansaPlease]

So there you go, the party has been pooped

[Barnone]

Sorry to poop your party but ...

Fred please reference your sources, most/all this info comes from here

[Jongman]

..

Edited October 11, 2007 by Fred