Is Eating Margarine Really Bad For You?

Submitted by: Sue Batty

In day-to-day life we use spreads a lot. They’re an essential part of our everyday eating habits; being melted on toast at breakfast time, spread on our lunchtime sandwiches and even mixed into the occasional indulgent cake and cookies. So it’s important that we make sure that the spread we’re putting in to our bodies so often is as good for us as possible.

We believe that margarine is a healthy choice of spread to make, and this is why:

Healthy margarine is made from plant oils – such as canola, soy, sunflower and many others. These natural oils contain a healthy dollop of the good fats we need to make sure we include in our diets. The word ‘fat’ can often have bad connotations, but not all fats make you gain weight or clog up your arteries. Good Housekeeping – that bastion of all things wholesome says:

“Everyone needs some fat in their diet – as a source of energy, to keep your skin and hair healthy, to make certain hormones, and to help your body absorb certain vitamins (A, D, E and K)."

So we need to make sure we’re taking in the right fats, but what are the wrong fats?

Bad fats are trans fats and saturated fats, these have been linked to heart disease, weight gain and other health problems. Margarine has less saturated fats than butter and all good spreads and margarine brands contain only traces of trans fats, so it’s the perfect choice of spread to keep your heart ticking along happily (always check the label to be sure of the fat content).

As well as the basic ingredients of margarine being a nutritious part of your diet, we even add extra goodness into it for good measure, in the form of vitamin A and vitamin D to make sure your hair, skin, bones and teeth stay strong and well. These have been added to the mix since 1925 and make sure that you and your family are able to get enough of the good stuff your bodies need.

There are loads of recipes that you can try out using margarine and it’s so simple that you can whip up a batch at home in your kitchen just by following five simple steps.

There was a Lifecycle Assessment study done on butter and margarine which analyzed the environmental impact of margarine and butter products sold in key European markets (Germany, France and the UK) throughout the entire product life cycle. In all three countries, margarine products were proven to be more environmentally favourable than butter products:

1. Margarine has less than one third the carbon footprint of butter.

2. Margarine requires about half the land occupation of butter.

3. Margarine products require 2% to 50% less energy use than butter products.

With healthy margarines being made with plant oils as one of its main ingredients so not only is it good for you, it’s good for the environment too.

So there you have it, with all of it’s good fats and vitamins margarine is great to include as part of a healthy, balanced diet.

About the Author: Sue Batty loves margarine and what she doesn’t know about cooking isn’t worth knowing! With chef, teacher, home economist and many more titles to her name, Sue is the woman in the know about all things culinary. She’s always used margarine in her cooking since she began cooking at an early age. For more info on margarine and your health, visit http://www.enjoymargarineeveryday.com/margarine-for-your-health

Source: www.isnare.com
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