For butter or worse

I’m not really a butter person…peanut butter, most definitely, but not so much of that yellow stick.  I find it more mentally and physically satisfying to top a piece of bread with fruit preserves, boursin, or mashed avocado.  Considering butter’s high saturated fat content, that’s probably a good thing. 

The other day, I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies from a mix (don’t judge: it was an organic mix 😉), and all it required was 2 ingredients: butter and 1 egg.  Initially I was a bit hesitant about cooking with butter and flirted with the idea of substituting it with something less calorific.  Nonetheless, I lived a little and and added the stick of buttah.  Man, am I so glad that I did!   For the amount of ‘stick’ that it gets, butter is a wonderful thang.  It adds a flavor and texture that no amount of olive oil or applesauce could replicate. It certainly deserves a much better rep than what it currently holds.

One of the most common recommendations for becoming healthy is ‘opt for margarine instead of butter’.  That, my friends, is a load of crap.  Margarine isn’t healthier than butter…it’s not healthy period!  The only thing it has going for it is that margarine is made from vegetable oils which makes it a cholesterol-free spread (animal sources provide cholesterol).  Granted it’s lower in saturated fat than butter but you may as well be putting plastic in your body.  Firstly, margarine is made up of hydrogenated oils, which essentially promotes fat storage in your body. Margarine is also LOADED with trans fat. Unlike saturated and unsaturated fats, your body has absolutely no use for trans fat.  In fact, consumption of trans fat is actually harmful to the body as it:

• increases your LDL cholesterol
• decreases your HDL cholesterol (the good kind)
• hardens your arteries
• increases your risk of heart disease
• decreases your insulin and immune response

If it came down to it, heart-healthy spreads would be my first choice followed by butter.  As for margarine, I’d much rather eat dry bread.  Saturated fats are definitely okay in moderation but when it comes to trans fat- don’t go there if you can avoid it.  And considering the amount of toxic chemicals which margarine packs in, it doesn’t even have one up on butter in the calorie department :shock:.