posted 01-29-2005 12:09 PM         

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys; when it killed the turkeys 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.

DO YOU KNOW...the difference between margarine and butter?

Both have the same amount of calories.
Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams.
Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.
Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.
Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few only because they are added!
Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods.
Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

And now, for Margarine...
Very high in trans fatty acids.
Triple risk of coronary heart disease.
Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol)
Lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)
Increases the risk of cancers by up to five fold.
Lowers quality of breast milk.
Decreases immune response.
Decreases insulin response.

And here is the most disturbing f act....
Margarine is ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC...
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).

posted 01-30-2005 09:00 AM         

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posted 01-30-2005 11:47 AM         

CJ..Thanks for your very educational and informative post..

posted 03-30-2005 08:48 AM         

The snopes article pointed out above is quite informative... basically saying it is true, with additions, SOME of which are equally important, especially if you are needing to watch your cholesterol:::::

Because butter is an animal product, it contains cholesterol, amounting to 30 mg per tablespoon or 10% of the USDA recommended daily allowance. Margarines, because they are non-animal products, do not.

Another point well made:

Although a great deal of the information given in the e-mail is valid, one bit of intelligence is nothing more than hyperbole tossed in by the author in an effort to make his point more strongly. The claim that some comestible is but a "single molecule away" from being a decidedly inedible (or even toxic) substance has been applied to a variety of processed foods, but that type of statement (even if it were true) is essentially meaningless. Many disparate substances share similar chemical properties, but even the slightest variation in molecular structure can make a world of difference in the qualities of those substances.

And with that.... I can only add this:

Ham & Eggs
A days work for the chicken
A lifetime commitment for the pig