People who eat mostly polyunsaturated oils, especially margarine and shortening, have a greater risk of heart attack and cancer. A lot of people, based on popular opinion, decided some years ago that butter was an enemy. The reasoning is that since its high in animal fat, switching to using refined vegetable oils and margarine, free of cholesterol and saturated fat will save them from clogged arteries and heart attacks. Studies show otherwise: they show that margarine is poison.
Hydrogenation is Bad
One problem, especially in the case of margarine and shortening, is that they contain hydrogenated polyunsaturated vegetable oils. The hydrogenation process introduces trans-fatty acids which elevate cholesterol. (ref)
Most “natural” margarine made from safflower oil or soy oil are also hydrogenated and just as harmful.
Another problem with polyunsaturated oils is rancidity, which is especially a problem when the oil is an ingredient of some other product.
Harvard Told You in ’94
A Harvard study sums it up:
Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% versus the same amount of butter!
Both have about the same calories, and butter has 8g saturated fat whereas margarine might have around 5g. The fact that this study comes from Harvard in 1994 goes to show me how mainstream this information has become.
Yet today, Whole Foods ‘Health Food’ Stores carry both margarine and Canola oil!!! Well, of course they cater to the $.
Bless their Hearts
What does the American Heart Association have to say about this?
Well for a long time their story was that since butter is rich in both saturated fat and cholesterol, it can potentially lead to arteriosclerosis, in other words it contributes to bad cholesterol build-up and other substances in artery walls. The plaque deposits increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, so therefore avoid butter.
Furthermore, the American Heart Association recommended that since most margarine is made from vegetable fat and provides no dietary cholesterol, and since the more liquid the margarine , the less hydrogenated it is and the less trans fatty acids it contains, use margarine as a substitute for butter.
You can see the text of their old viewpoint at this site, at the bottom of the page. To me, the chain of reasoning is ridiculous, and so I dont really have any confidence in any of their conclusions, or assumptions. You see, implied in their perspective is the admission that if you’re eating non-liquidy margarine, you’re getting some nasty poison – not food. And they dont want to really talk about that, or that we might not really know how liquid the margarine has to be to meet the criteria of being a non-poison.
Anywho, these days at their website, I found a more up-to-date perspective! Mainstream thinking has moved an inch forward since 10 years ago. Essentially now they dont recommend margarine over butter, but they tell you to be moderate in your use of either or both. They’re still sticking to the reasoning that goes something like: since as long as you use liquid margarine it seems ok, then we recommend it, not just go ahead and use it, but actually seems like they’re still pushing it.
Whats wrong with this reasoning? Well… you want a government institution setup explicitly for public health to really scientifically, which is the same as saying reasonably, have tested and understand anything new that human beings are going to consume… since things we consume can hurt us! Furthermore, you want that gov’t institution to be smart enough to realize its better to be conservative in recommending newly manufactured things, because again: bad food can hurt/kill you!
But a situation where somebody who told you a product was fantastic 2 years ago, and now changed their mind and tells you.. well, its safe as long as you don’t over-do it – that to me is not convincing, not reasonable, and as I like to say: follows trends instead of principles.
What Do Some Others Say?
The Organic Consumers Association publishes some great health related info. On their list of 7 most dangerous ingredients in conventional foods, we find Hydrogentated oils comes in second (to sodium nitrite) for causing general deterioration of cellular health, nutritional deficiencies, and heart disease. Where are these oils found: they’re used in extending shelf life of anything you buy at the supermarket in a box or can. Often found in crackers, cookies, and of course margarine.
Andrew Weil is a name you might have heard of, he’s pretty well known in Health. He has some stuff specifically on margarine vs. butter. And to sum it up, he’s on my side.
And last, here’s some information on why butter is better!
Last Words
The only time you should eat polyunsaturated oils is when they are freshly pressed; otherwise there are issues with rancidity. Fresh, cold-pressed polyunsaturated oils can be used in food, but shouldn’t be used for cooking. Shelf life is short, about 3 months, and conditions must be met to keep the oils from going bad. Examples of these oils are flax, chia, hemp, pumpkin seed, soy, and walnut.
As I more than hinted at before, I dont recommend Canola oil. Its highly refined and usually from genetically modified crops.
For daily cooking, stick to olive and sesame oils. On top of the research, they are tried and true!
Unrefined monounsaturated oils are generally healthy for cooking. Also, butter, coconut, (some others), and palm oils can be healthy - but use in moderation if you already eat a lot of animal products.
