The consumption of spreads such as butter and margarine tends to cause much confusion and controversy; much of this is due to clever advertising. The public is bombarded with campaigns promoting the so-called ‘beneficial’ effects of margarines. Because butter is a saturated fat of animal origin, many people tend to regard it as more detrimental to health in comparison with margarines. However, this is not the case. Yes that’s right, this is not the case!
Consider the fact that both butter and margarine are solid substances. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature whereas mono and polyunsaturated fats/oils are liquid at the same temperature. Margarines (which are made of polyunsaturated fats and oils) are generally derived from plant sources and in order to make these fats solidify so that they can be used as a spread, they are exposed to a chemical process. This process usually involves hydrogenation. Hydrogenation is an industrial process that involves the pumping of hydrogen through liquid plant oils in order to thicken them. The chemical re-arrangement of the fat molecules in these oils results in what are known as trans fats. Trans fats are unnatural and highly damaging to the body, they are also known to generate high levels of free radicals that cause damage to your body at a cellular level. Fats form an important part of every cell of the body and the body’s health is dependant on the quality of the fats consumed. Therefore, if we have a high intake of damaged fats such as trans fats, the integrity and health of every single cell of our body will be impaired and we will exist in a diminished state of health. They key point to remember where these two spreads are concerned is that good quality, organic butter is a naturally produced substance, whereas margarine is a chemically derived substance. Margarine is an unnatural, highly processed substance that the human body was not designed to assimilate. Obviously it would be unwise to consume large quantities of butter, as with any saturated fat, for obvious health reasons. However it would be far more detrimental to choose margarine or other butter-like ‘spreads’ as your alternative. You could try using other natural spreads such as houmous, tahini, nut and/or seed butters instead. Also olive oil can be used in place of spreads, as is the custom in many Mediterranean countries.
