Butter wouldn't melt ...

You know how you have those on-going family disputes? I don't mean arguments, exactly, or bad spirited feuds -- I mean more like long-standing, good-natured disagreements that you like to rag one another about... Do you have any of those in your family? We have a few -- because we're a talkin' bunch, and all of us opinionated. One of the oldest I remember is the butter vs. margarine discussion. My Dad has always preferred butter. He always said he just liked the taste better and stubbornly insisted that butter always be served at the table, even though my mother liked the lower cost of margarine and, always dieting, preferred the lower calories. The rest of us kids (the seven of us) split off into margarine, butter, and "don't care" camps. I've always been in the butter camp with my Dad. I just like the taste of butter better, and have always inclined toward natural instead of processed, I think. Anyway, these last few years, we in the butter-camp have science to back up our side of the argument.

Here are the facts (from a recent forward, which originated here):

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.

The difference between butter and margarine: 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) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol) Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold..Lowers quality of breast milk. Decreases immune response. Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact..... Margarine is but 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).

You can try this yourself:

Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things:

* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something)

* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

So, there ya go, margarine-camp-people-who-shall-remain-nameless. Stop eating that junk, will ya? And, we'll go light on the butter, us butter-camp folks. Because, yeah, I admit it. Too much of a good thing is not very good, either. And I have weight to lose before Paul's wedding in October!