European Edition

BUTTER YOU UP!

Volume 1, #2

Page 1

By now, everyone is aware that all fats are not created equal.  It baffles me how consumers will stand by their margarine yet surgically excise every bit of fat from their meats. 

Throw out the margarine instead and enjoy not all, but just a little of that crisp fat (from naturally fed free range animals) now and again. It is after all, delicious and at least honest.  If you have drastically reduced your meat intake to a few ounces now and again, your body will be able to handle it.

At home as a child,  we used only butter. I never use margarine and certainly not shortening (vegetable lard), which are commercially produced, chemically compounded products, are worse than using animal fat and are far worse for the arteries than butter no matter what the advertisements and food industry (and the 'researchers' on their payrolls) say.  Imitation food is big business. 

Does it really make sense to believe the industry's own "research"?

Margarine is a war time invention, when butter was a rare commodity.  It is made by using liquid polyunsaturated oil and is turned into a kind of fat by bubbling hydrogen gas ("hydrogenated") and usually a nickel catalyst  through it until it solidifies.  This process using polyunsaturated oil turns it into a saturated fat clearly defeating the food industry's hype about being good for you, and helping prevent heart disease. 

It contributes directly to it and is even worse than that honest little bit of natural steak fat.  The confounding fact is that doctors are so nutritionally under schooled, that they consistently recommend margarine over butter.  Inform yourself, use your common sense

once you've considered the facts.  Always choose natural over imitation, as well as the lesser of two evils when faced with a choice.

But what about the labelling that states "Margarine made from polyunsaturated oil"?  How can the food industry get away with this?  Clever advertising.  Highlight the selling points, ignore the negative.  When the law insists on listing all ingredients, use small print and confusing terminology. 

So it is "Margarine made from polyunsaturated oil" and  the ingredients list has "hydrogenated polyunsaturated oil" instead of what it has been turned into, saturated fat (because in the mean time the public understands that saturated fats are to be avoided).  You didn't expect them to explain what it becomes once it is hydrogenated, did you? 

Ah, yes.  Toss in a few terms that the general public will understand, such as soya lecithin, added vitamins A & D, vegetable oil or safflower knowing fully that whatever else the public doesn't understand, it will usually ignore or worse - trust the government. 

How many people really understand hydrogenated or polyun- or not 'saturated'?  The fact that the added vitamins are not natural and emulsifiers E471, preservatives E202 and colouring E160a and artificial flavouring is added is another subject.  (The listed numbers may be different outside of Europe).  These are taken off  an English margarine sold here in Spain and throughout Europe.) 

 By the way, so-called vegetable lard starts off just like margarine did without the yellow colouring, imitation vitamins and flavouring and is commonly used in American as well as English cooking (cakes, pastries, frying). (cont. P2)

turn the page

copyright 2002 - Patricia Conant - All worldwide rights reserved. 

Contact author for permission to use these articles in part or whole.