Low in transfats, but high in saturated fat
Low in transfats, but 2 g sat. fat per tbsp
Are those “Healthy” Margarines healthy?
You’ve been scrutinizing labels - right? - but they still make it hard to understand. The aggressively marketed brand names are “Promise” this and “Healthy” that, but …
Wait. First, a little experiment. Leave your margarine or buttery spread out for an hour, then look at it. Is it still solid? Probably.
Because margarine must contain either saturated fat or hydrogenated/trans fats to be solid; otherwise it would be liquid at room temperature.
How could you sell “buttery spread” if it’s goopy? Read websites competing for your dollars. They gleefully tell you that their competition uses way more trans fats, but do they tell you how much saturated fat they use? Gee, they left that out!
Again: margarines and spreads must contain EITHER saturated fat or hydrogenated/trans fats, or they'd be liquid at room temperature.
Vegetable Oil Refinery
To hydrogenate: You bubble hydrogen through tubes into liquid oil, making it solid.
If you bubbled hydrogen through tubes into olive oil, you’d hydrogenate the olive oil. It would become a solid trans fat.
What if a buttery spread says it has No Trans Fat and much less saturated fat than other brands?
Like 2 grams sat. fat per tbsp? Will you eat more than 1 tbsp? Most folks don’t quit at one level tablespoon.
So. If margarine stays solid at room temp and contains no trans fats, it must therefore contain saturated fat. Or vice versa.
Manufacturers do admit to using coconut and palm oil, which are the exceptions among plant-based oils in that in that they are high in saturated fat. Food manufacturers know this, but coconut and palm oil are cheap. They’re in thousands of food products ("all vegetable oils!" spin the labels).
Until the government catches up with the powerful food lobby, if ever, you’re best off sticking to olive oil & canola oil. Sunflower and safflower oil are also very good.
Keep your oils liquid. If you really, really miss that yummy buttery spread (who doesn’t?), maybe try fat free cream cheese? It’s addictive.
P.S. Hydrogenated and trans fat mean the same thing.
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