Natural Health And Weight Management Regarding Butter Vs. Margarine: What Do I Need To Know?

Whether you are cooking for yourself or for your family, you will find that there are many dietary decisions that you need to make. When it comes to the hotly debated topic between margarine or butter, you might find that you are feeling just a little bit confused on the matter. Though many margarine advocates will claim that the taste and the nutritional content between the two are nearly the same, the truth of the matter is that there are in fact many noticeable differences between these two products.

Whether you cook with or use them mostly as a condiment, and you are looking into general health and weight loss management concerns, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind when making your decision.

Taking the time to do a little investigative research, about which of the two products you feel best about using, just may be time very well spent on your part. Take an unbiased look at only the facts, into how each of the two foods are actually made, and let your emotions guide you in making the most informed decision you possibly can. Aside from the cost being a prohibitive factor in your selection process, the big question is really this, which of the two foods would make you feel better about eating on a regular basis? Above all else, you must be happy with your choice.

The first thing that you need to consider is what kind of fats each of the two foods start out with. Butter, being made from the cream of milk, is high in animal saturated fat, and when used in excess can facilitate weight gain. On the other hand, 90 percent of the oils that are used in margarine are typically very cheap, and poor quality hydrogenated oils, which are high in those unwanted Trans fats. We are slowly beginning to learn more about Trans fats and the risks that they impose upon our health. Trans fats will essentially increase bad LDL cholesterol levels, which is has been indicated as a common risk factor in developing heart disease.

It is possible to find margarine spreads that have been made without using hydrogenated oils such as coconut, or palm kernel oil. Both of these types of oils contain plant based saturated fats, but many nutritionists now believe these types of fat to be far better for you to overindulge in than the polyunsaturated varieties. The main difference between the two, is that fats like coconut and palm kernel oil contain high amounts of lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid which is also a potent antifungal, antimicrobial compound. Vegetable oils like safflower, canola, soybean and cottonseed oils are high in omega-6 essential fatty acid, which are mostly long chain fatty acids. Essential for the diet yes, but in much smaller amounts than most people tend to eat on a daily basis.

When you are looking at whether butter or margarine is good for you, you will find that butter comes with a high source of naturally occurring vitamin A. Vitamin A plays an important role in your immune system and it can help you stay healthy longer. Also, consider the fact that the vitamin A found in butter is a substance that can help you regulate your thyroid gland activity, improve vision, as well as allow you to get more rested sleep. It is the most readily absorbed source of vitamin A found in the American diet.

Similarly, it will also help you through providing you with more calcium in your diet. Because most people do not regularly drink non-pasteurized milk, it means that we are not getting as much calcium as we possibly could; consider the fact that the calcium found in butter can help lower your risks of developing degenerative bone and cartilage diseases like osteoporosis and arthritis.

Another interesting point to ponder is that butter is a naturally high source of iodine, selenium and other trace minerals that can be easily absorbed. This will prevent things like the development of goiters and other issues connected to the endocrine system.

When you are thinking about the issue of healthy fats, remember that there are good fats and bad fats, and that butter falls into the latter category. One type of fat that you will find in butter is glycospinglipids (a specific type of fatty acid) which helps you defend against gastrointestinal infections. Whole milk tends to help you improve your stomach health, especially if you can tolerate it, and you will find that this can actually help with your weight loss issues.

Something else to consider as well, is the fact that there is a definite loss of nutrition when the cream (butterfat) content of milk has been flash heated. Raw milk and cream possesses many nutrient dense health benefits that are destroyed during the pasteurization process. The end result is a product that is not nearly as good for you as the basic one.

There is a lot of evidence to support the fact, that the naturally high vitamin C content found in raw cream is eliminated by up to 50 percent after pasteurization. And, the antioxidant vitamins A, D, and E are also compromised by up to 20 percent from this process. Not to mention the near elimination of other naturally occurring trace minerals, amino acids, enzymes and good bacteria that aids your body in blood absorption and intestinal digestion.

Only unpasteurized butter contains the identifiable (anti-stiffness) substance known as the 'Wulzen factor' that helps protect you against one of the most common diseases of our time, arthritis.

Take some time to really think about how you have been taught to consider what food choices were best for your body's nutritional needs, as if its creation was designed by a brotherly love for your physical fitness. Having the correct information in your mind can greatly contribute to how well you are going to be able to make better food decisions, that affect you and your family's health.

Day by day we are all required to make many decisions that affect different aspects of our lives. That is why learning how to read and decipher food labels, of the many different processed foods that are on offer to us, has become more important to our overall well being than ever before.

This may seem like a real no-brainer choice for me to make, although I know everyone will see this argument a little differently. My personal, and first, choice will always lean towards eating the real thing when I can get it. Second best choice would be the pasteurized version, which is abundantly available in stores everywhere. Both of which would be more preferable options from your body's point of view, than refined (plastic) polyunsaturated vegetable oil spreads. Besides, real butter just plain tastes better than some artificial goop that was invented to mimic the taste of the real thing, but designed to be easier to spread when taken out of the refrigerator.

Somewhere in time we are going to learn that our bodies actually do need a wide variety of different types of fats to maintain an optimal level of health. Eating high amounts of any one specific type of fat, and not enough of another, throws the body into a state of nutritional imbalance. Speaking of which, is highly preventable once you understand a few facts.