Trans Fats and Margarine - Why Risk It?
If we visit any supermarket these days and stand in front of the refrigerators, we will see mountains of different brands of margarine in a multitude of different sized containers with pictures of flowers and sunshine on the outside and even a tick from the Heart Foundation to indicate that these are great, healthy products.
Tucked away to one side is usually two or three brands of butter in two sizes and in fairly plain wrapper, inconspicuous in comparison.
The fact that the fridges contain about 90% margarine and 10% butter would indicate (correctly from what I have seen in peoples trolleys and fridges) that 90% of people eat margarine and only 10% eat butter these days.
Eighty years ago, these figures were reversed with almost everyone eating butter as they always had done and cancer rates were less than 6% (now over 25% and growing), heart disease was uncommon (now in Australia 1 person dies from heart disease every 10 minutes) and obesity was very uncommon.
Margarine has been around since the late 1800's and gradually over the years was improved from being a white substance that tasted like lard, to something that resembles real butter.
Margarine has been cleverly and extensively marketed over the years to the point where most people now believe it to be the healthier option and the preferred product in cases of high cholesterol and heart disease - however..
..
..
..
Let me tell you some things about margarine.
It is made from (generally poor quality) vegetable oils that have been chemically extracted using solvents to begin with (not a good start!).
These oils are then treated with extremely high temperatures and hydrogenation to change their chemical structure so that they harden at room temperature instead of being liquid.
It is also subjected to other procedures such as deodorisation, winterisation, bleaching, and refining.
Additives during production may include nickel, cadmium, aluminum, hydrogen gas, benzoate dyes, colouring, artificial flavours, polyglycerol esters, vegetable gums and antioxidants - all to make an artificial product that looks and tastes (sort of) like butter.
Does it sound like a healthy food to you? Due to the hydrogenation of the oils, the product is left containing Trans Fatty Acids (TFA's) which have been shown in research to suppress the immune system and cause cell membranes to leak.
They disrupt cell and body function and are a major contributing factor in heart disease and cancer! Yes you read that right.
So that means that the margarine that you're eating on your toast every day and you've been led to believe will help to fend off high cholesterol and heart disease and keep you healthier is probably doing the opposite.
There is also strong evidence linking margarine consumption to skin cancer - another growing health issue.
Further research is being done to confirm this, but why risk it? Especially with all the other evidence that's already available? Margarine is a man made manipulated fat that is unfamiliar to the cells in our bodies - our bodies don't know what to do with it.
Butter on the other hand is something we've eaten since we began farming animals.
A natural product with a chemical structure that our cells recognise and can use.
Some countries such as Denmark and Holland have made moves to eradicate TFA's from supermarket shelves recognising the implications of this product on the health of their population and do not allow any products with more than 0.
1 percent TFA into the country.
Here in Australia we have margarine on the shelves with anything from 9 to 16 percent TFA for consumption and in the USA, although there is a lobby trying to eradicate these products, it is not uncommon to find margarines which can range from 30 to 50 percent TFA.
Although not all Australian margarine have high levels of TFA, why would we consume them at all? The use of margarine is continuing in the face of evidence that there are many problems stemming from the consumption of these products.
Even with all the money that is being plowed into research, medical procedures, and hospitals etc heart disease and cancer rates are not declining - they are growing - RAPIDLY! Why? That is what this is about.
Encouraging people to think outside of the marketing and the mass media and hopefully to ask the hard questions -what makes sense? What did nature provide? Why do we think we can improve on nature? What's best for me and my family? How can I create health and happiness? What does the evidence and common sense point to? I encourage you to do more research for yourself.
Don't only read what I have here and don't by any means take my word, or anyone elses word for that matter, as gospel.
Do the searching, find as much information as you can, learn and take what makes sense to you and make decisions from there - that's all we can do.
Tucked away to one side is usually two or three brands of butter in two sizes and in fairly plain wrapper, inconspicuous in comparison.
The fact that the fridges contain about 90% margarine and 10% butter would indicate (correctly from what I have seen in peoples trolleys and fridges) that 90% of people eat margarine and only 10% eat butter these days.
Eighty years ago, these figures were reversed with almost everyone eating butter as they always had done and cancer rates were less than 6% (now over 25% and growing), heart disease was uncommon (now in Australia 1 person dies from heart disease every 10 minutes) and obesity was very uncommon.
Margarine has been around since the late 1800's and gradually over the years was improved from being a white substance that tasted like lard, to something that resembles real butter.
Margarine has been cleverly and extensively marketed over the years to the point where most people now believe it to be the healthier option and the preferred product in cases of high cholesterol and heart disease - however..
..
..
..
Let me tell you some things about margarine.
It is made from (generally poor quality) vegetable oils that have been chemically extracted using solvents to begin with (not a good start!).
These oils are then treated with extremely high temperatures and hydrogenation to change their chemical structure so that they harden at room temperature instead of being liquid.
It is also subjected to other procedures such as deodorisation, winterisation, bleaching, and refining.
Additives during production may include nickel, cadmium, aluminum, hydrogen gas, benzoate dyes, colouring, artificial flavours, polyglycerol esters, vegetable gums and antioxidants - all to make an artificial product that looks and tastes (sort of) like butter.
Does it sound like a healthy food to you? Due to the hydrogenation of the oils, the product is left containing Trans Fatty Acids (TFA's) which have been shown in research to suppress the immune system and cause cell membranes to leak.
They disrupt cell and body function and are a major contributing factor in heart disease and cancer! Yes you read that right.
So that means that the margarine that you're eating on your toast every day and you've been led to believe will help to fend off high cholesterol and heart disease and keep you healthier is probably doing the opposite.
There is also strong evidence linking margarine consumption to skin cancer - another growing health issue.
Further research is being done to confirm this, but why risk it? Especially with all the other evidence that's already available? Margarine is a man made manipulated fat that is unfamiliar to the cells in our bodies - our bodies don't know what to do with it.
Butter on the other hand is something we've eaten since we began farming animals.
A natural product with a chemical structure that our cells recognise and can use.
Some countries such as Denmark and Holland have made moves to eradicate TFA's from supermarket shelves recognising the implications of this product on the health of their population and do not allow any products with more than 0.
1 percent TFA into the country.
Here in Australia we have margarine on the shelves with anything from 9 to 16 percent TFA for consumption and in the USA, although there is a lobby trying to eradicate these products, it is not uncommon to find margarines which can range from 30 to 50 percent TFA.
Although not all Australian margarine have high levels of TFA, why would we consume them at all? The use of margarine is continuing in the face of evidence that there are many problems stemming from the consumption of these products.
Even with all the money that is being plowed into research, medical procedures, and hospitals etc heart disease and cancer rates are not declining - they are growing - RAPIDLY! Why? That is what this is about.
Encouraging people to think outside of the marketing and the mass media and hopefully to ask the hard questions -what makes sense? What did nature provide? Why do we think we can improve on nature? What's best for me and my family? How can I create health and happiness? What does the evidence and common sense point to? I encourage you to do more research for yourself.
Don't only read what I have here and don't by any means take my word, or anyone elses word for that matter, as gospel.
Do the searching, find as much information as you can, learn and take what makes sense to you and make decisions from there - that's all we can do.
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