Butter vs Margarine

I received this e-mail and I just had to send a response to the original writer! I'm in blue.

Hmmm...maybe I'll switch back to butter...

Hmmm...I'm glad I haven't switched back!

Subject: Pass The Butter ...back to the store!~ ~ This is interesting . . . .

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, (I question this!) the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back. It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavorings.
Being a kid of the 50's, I remember mixing the pill...that old margarine ...it was fun but didn't taste good! I don't doubt the original margarine had many faults!

DO YOU KNOW..the difference between margarine and butter? YES! Read on to the end...gets very interesting!

Both have the same amount of calories. Not the Light margarine....and this isn't the main issue here.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams.

Not today's margarines. Becel and many others have 2 g or less.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.
What year? How many margarines? Perhaps some of the original margarines, but now it is simply not true. One can cite many studies done by Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation, who teach current Cardiac rehab patients that # 1 good oil/margarine is Canola, followed by olive. (Plant sources!)

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.
Don't know about this one.

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few only because they are added!
Not logical...you mean the vitamin D they've been adding to our milk has no nutritional value?!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods.

I mostly agree but I actually like the taste AND smell of the Becel Olive margarine!

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

Something has less value because it's relatively recent? So much for the value of new houses, cottages and clothes!

And now, for Margarine.. Very high in trans fatty acids.
Absolutely a Crock! Most margarines now have NO trans fats!

Triple risk of coronary heart disease.
Another gross error! The Dairy Council of Canada has had to come out with ads and questionable research results to save their failing industry. We all bought their hype in the 50's and 60's, but we all know better now!

Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol,(the good cholesterol)
So untrue! It may be true of butter actually! NO cholesterol at all in margarine now! It's plant based, people! Our cardiac program taught us, "If it has a mother, don't eat much of it"!

Margarine with added Omegas, as is the case with most margarines, promotes heart health from every angle. Also is higher in monosaturates, which is much better than butter's saturated fat.
MARGARINE HAS ABSOLUTELY NO CHOLESTEROL WHICH IS THE HIGHEST FOOD MARKER FOR HEART DISEASE!!!

Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold. Lowers quality of breast milk. Decreases immune response.

Don't know about the 3 above, but I'd want proof. The studies would be hard-pressed to claim increased cancer risk as there are just too many other factors at play in this biggie! And how much would you have to ingest anyway? Like the 70 cans of diet pop a day with sodium cyclamate sweetener the rats had to ingest before cancer was traced to that product?!

Decreases insulin response.

I doubt that very much!
Again, a very difficult thing to prove! You'd think all the endocrinologists in the country would be warning their patients, considering diabetes (Type 2) is reaching epidemic levels!

And here's the most disturbing fact....HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC..Hmmm...don't really get how the the canola plant gets plastic into it! PURE plant sources! Pressed oil!

This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added,changing the molecular structure of the substance).There are mostly non-hydrogenated margarines now. You can try this yourself:Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things:* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something) HELLO! The operative word is FRUIT!! And you've seen them on butter?!

* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value;
There is much nutritional value in margarine..And besides...there are tons of "Empty calorie" foods that do rot! This is no "Yardstick".
Now, cholesterol...that's a big one...Butter has a lot and margarine has none!

nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast? Share This With Your Friends....

YES....PLEASE DO!

I suggest that these comments were based on a few old studies, carried out on original versions of margarine. My husband agreed with me on all this. Interesting...it will probably be an age-old battle. I do like the taste of butter but it is just not the healthier choice.

Where do you stand on the butter vs margarine battle?