Butter or Margarine – are we just talking semantics?

I’m ten years old, standing in my grandparents kitchen watching my mother’s facial expression change into a look of utter disgust as my grandmother spreads butter on her burnt toast. I knew, from that moment on, that butter must be bad for me. And yet, my grandmother looked amazing—she was healthy, had a ton of energy, and appeared about 45 years old.

…So, is butter really that bad? Should I stick with margarine? Is that better?

And more importantly, should I eat more butter when I’m 75?

Butter vs. Margarine

After doing some research, I found that:

• butter and margarine are both high in fat, each containing 4 grams of fat per teaspoon (5ml), which translates to 36 calories.

• Butter does contain cholesterol and saturated fat.

• Margarine is cholesterol-free, but still contains saturated fat.

Canada’s Food Guide suggests us to eliminate trans-fat from our diet. We also want to minimize, but NOT ELIMINATE saturated fat. Remember how I said that 20 - 35% of your total daily calories should come from fat? Well, 7% (or less) should come from saturated fat, which is found in animal products.

As an aside do you know how margarine came into existence?

Years ago, scientists discovered the harmful effects of saturated fat and decided the public needed a substitute for butter—enter margarine. But what they didn’t know is that trans fat (a product of margarine) is WORSE then saturated fat. Whoops!

Good heart healthy fats (polyunsaturated fats) are “hydrogenated” to become more stable, but also creates trans fat in the process. A lot of margarine is now non-hydrogenated, so look for these brands!

Take home message—spread both thinly, and eat what you prefer (if it’s margarine, make sure you buy one that is non-hydrogenated).

As a secret confession between you and me, one of my favorite snacks is loads of margarine on crackers.

If you enjoyed this post please click like, share it with family & friends or sign up to our newsletter to receive news and updates from Food Yourself.

Image courtesy of RaviKant