Is margarine healthier than butter? Here’s what the nutritionist says
Probably, the French Emperor Napoleon III never imagined what a commotion would be caused in the future by the announcement of a competition for the product in 1860 Nutritional value similar to butter, it is easy to store and, above all, cheaper.
Connected
His goal was to bring this food to the lower classes and soldiers at a time when high demand and therefore its price made it unaffordable for a large part of the population.
The competition was won by the French chemist Hippolyte Mege-Mourier, who developed margarine. The product consisted of an emulsion made primarily from beef tallow, casein and water.
Its name comes from manganic acid is found in animal fat. It later turned out that it is actually a mixture of two saturated fatty acids: palmitic and stearic. Thus, Mege-Mourier’s idea was to create a product as close as possible to butter, using fats with the same nutritional and organoleptic characteristics as butter.
From the first margarines to modern products
Compound oil Since its inception, it has remained virtually unchanged. It is made by whipping cream, whole milk or a mixture of both into an emulsion in water containing about 80% fat.
In the case of margarine, the situation is different: the use of other sources of fat and the development of production technology have led to the fact that this food product has undergone important changes.
Therefore, it is difficult to talk about margarine as a separate product; It would be more correct to talk about “margarines” in the plural. Among them, there are noticeable differences in appearance, composition and nutritional properties.
Most of today’s margarines are derived from vegetable oils such as sunflower, corn, soybeans or cotton. These oils undergo a process called hydrogenation, which involves removing some or all of the chemical double bonds they contain to produce a solid food that is similar in appearance to butter.
Where did margarines get their bad reputation?
In the 1970s and 1980s, this processing produced margarines high in trans fat, which were later linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease or events.
Most of the trans fats we consume come from processed foods, such as French fries, cheese spreads, or baked goods, although unprocessed dairy products, such as butter itself, also contain significant amounts.
Some time ago, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has already warned of health problems caused by consuming too much saturated fat, mainly found in butter and some margarines.
The Spanish nutrition societies, for their part, have also published consensus documents recommending limiting the intake of saturated and trans fats. It was at this stage that margarines gained a reputation as a product harmful to health.
In response to this problem, administrations in Europe and other countries have updated regulations limiting trans fat content. Various studies carried out by the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition show a significant decrease in the content of this component in most industrial foods over time.
Similarities and differences
Butter and margarine have certain characteristics that make it possible to limit their consumption. Both have the same energy density: small amounts provide large amounts of energy.
Another thing is the fat composition or profile. Butter contains about 65% saturated fat and the rest is monounsaturated, while margarine contains 20% saturated fat, 40% monounsaturated and 40% polyunsaturated. In addition, this latest product does not contain cholesterol.
Replace saturated fats mono and polyunsaturated This means a reduction in plasma total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (known as bad cholesterol). In addition, consuming trans fats is associated with lower HDL (good cholesterol) levels.
However, the reality is that we do not have conclusive evidence that eating margarine instead of butter reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
As for other nutrients, butter contains calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and vitamins A and E, usually in greater quantities than in traditional margarines.
Not everything is black or white
The nutritional composition of margarine has benefits in terms of its effects on cardiovascular disease, and the profile of butter makes it more suitable for hypertensive patients due to its calcium and phosphorus content.
However, as already mentioned, margarines and, to a lesser extent, modern butters are complex products with very different nutritional compositions. In any case nutrition labeling will allow us to learn about the differences between products. So we will check that margarine is sold with other nutrients added and has a much healthier profile.
In general, stick margarine contains more saturated fat than stick margarine, so the latter is a good option to take care of heart. Despite this, consumption of both products should be moderate.
*José Luis Sierra Sinos is a professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences. Faculty of Pharmacy, UCM, Complutense University of Madrid. Article originally published in Talk.