Which one is healthier? Butter or Margarine?

Question

I was told by my husband that margarine is healthier than butter. I saw the nutritions lebel on margarine and it does show that it is healthier. But I read in a couple website, margarine is actually also bad due to transfat, but these days, manufacturers make margarine that have less transfat and even 0 transfat.

Does anyone out there think butter is healthier than margarine?

Which margarine brand that you think would be the best for you and your family healthiness?

Why is butter more expensive than margarine when margarine is healthier?

How to subtiture the usage of either butter or margarine in baking? I know in cooking we can somehow use olive oil for healthy cookings but what about baking, how to subtitute butter/margarine when the recipe calls for it?

Thanks for the reply! ^_^

Answer 1

This is a tough call. Some margarines are better than butter and vise versa. Look at the transfat, total fat, and calories in that order. Make your descision based on that . Promise and others are good. I buy butter at Christmas and Easter. Butter takes more time to make and , therefore more expensive (my thought). I have always used margarine when using cake mixes, pancakes, ect... I've been cooking so long sometimes I can just tell when butter really needs to be used. This is usually in cookies . One can substitute applesauce for fat . Many say prune puree is moister and you can't taste it, but I have never tried it. I use the same amount of margarine per butter in recipes.

Answer 2

I think generally, it's a trade off.

If you do margerine it's lower in cholesterol but butter is beneficial because it's natural and the fats are healthier than margerine (but higher in cholerterol)

I once read a study where they left out margarine and butter.
After a few days the butter was eaten by different types of animals and bacteria n'sutff, but the margerine was left completely untouched, and clean.

Basically margerine is pretty much synthetic stuff that doesn't really benefit the body. If an animal's natural instinct is not to touch it then it's probably not that good for the human body.

I prefer the natural route in butter, you just have to make sure not to eat too much of it not because it's necessarily healthy, but healthier.

Answer 3

I was told that butter is better for you because of the fact that its more natural than margarine and is digested easier by your body rather than the man made margarine. Its sorta like alcohol, it tastes good somtimes but kills your liver but not to the extent of what alcohol does to you.
I think its more expensive because its quality over quantity... you can buy a huge tub of margarine for a fraction of the price that you buy a small packet of butter. You can relate it to diamonds.. natural ones are a HELL of a lot more expensive than man made ones.
As for substitutes... you could possibly add more of another liquid ingredient (to taste) depending on the snack that you're baking. You dont ever really need to add butter or margarine... i personally think its there just for taste. Just like when i make pancakes.. it says use water but i use milk instead.
hope that helped out some what.

Answer 4

I've heard that butter is much healthier. Margarines are mostly oils and preservatives. I use real butter. It does cost more, but I think it's worth it. A substitute for margarine in a recipe is shortening, the lard type.

Answer 5

Butter is much better than margarine (when eaten/used moderately). Margerine is only one molicule away from plastic. Butter tastes much better than margering as well.

Here is a little project to try during the summer. Take a tub of margarine and put it in the garage with the top off.

It will not get moldy

It will not rot

There will be no bugs eating it.

This is why: (taken from Mayo.com and Media explorer)

Margarine begins as chemically-extracted, refined vegetable oil. This is a poor quality product to begin with. The high temperature needed to produce margarine destroys any vitamin E, and perhaps other nutrients left in the oil. Also, the final product contains trans-fatty acids. These are man-made fatty acids. Research shows that trans-fatty acids increase inflammation in the body. This can worsen illnesses such as colitis and arthritis. Very recent research indicates that trans-fatty acids in margarine raise LDL levels. LDL is the "bad" cholesterol. Hardening agents used in the production of margarine include nickel and cadmium. Nickel is a toxic metal that in excess causes lung and kidney problems. Cadmium is among the most toxic of the heavy metals. It may contribute to serious diseases such as arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure and malignancy.

WHAT IS BUTTER?

Cream is the raw material for butter. Butter is a partially saturated fat, just like margarine. However, butter is a natural product that does not contain trans-fatty acids. Butter is an excellent source of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E and K. These are not found to any degree in margarine. The vitamin content of butter varies seasonally, depending on the diet of the animals from which it is derived. Butter also contains some milk solids, giving it a whitish color. Ghee or clarified butter does not contain the milk solids. Dr. Weston Price identified a factor in butter that is essential for proper growth and development of the bone structure. He called it 'activator X' and wrote about it in his book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Dr. Price was able to reverse severe tooth decay in children by feeding them one meal a day of highly nutritious food - including butter.

The argument for eating margarine and other products containing hydrogenated oils are their lack of cholesterol. Margarine is also less expensive than butter. However, margarine contains refined, artificially saturated vegetable oil. It also contains harmful trans-fatty acids, and often residues of the toxic metals nickel and cadmium. Butter is a natural food and a good source of important fat-soluble vitamins. You will pay more for butter, but nutritionally it is well worth it.

Answer 6

Butter

Answer 7

Definitely butter is healthier!! Margarine is only a pound of lard colored yellow. They have approx. the same amount of calories and butter will flavor your food, margarine doesn't.

Answer 8

I know my dad says butter is better. I'm actually starting to agree because it IS all natural and congealed oil isn't really that much more healthier than butter. Though I did grow up on Country Crock.

Answer 9

Butter is all natural. When it is churned it is a yellow color where as margarine has a grey processed hue and has to have yellow coloring added to look like butter.

Answer 10

The non-hydrogenated oil brands of margarine are BY FAR the healthiest, like Smart Balance. They use different blends of natural oils to become solid at room temp. (Unfortunately they've decided to put EDTA in it, but small matter)

Much less healthy is butter, but it's not the worst.

The worst offender is the el cheapo hydrogenated oil margerine type (Gold n Soft, etc).

This is based upon my personal nutrution knowledge and what I also saw a dietitian/nutritionist claim on national TV.