# Butter or margarine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-or-margarine/629637 "2012-07-28T02:06:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-or-margarine/629637/61 "2012-07-29T16:00:30Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Right. And even though they’ve been wrong a dozen times before, this time they’ve got it. I guess all scientific experiments should stop then, or maybe we should never publish interim findings? Saturated fats are bad (in excess). Use this other product. So lots of people switch to the other product, which uses trans-fats and we begin to see the effects of trans-fats on the body. Controlling for all other factors, we learn that they are as bad or worse than the saturated fats. So at this point we can warn against trans-fats, or as it seems you are suggesting, keep quiet until we learn everything about everything just so we don’t ever have any contradictory information. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-or-margarine/629637/62 "2012-07-29T16:03:30Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The absolute only thing I ever use margarine for it chicken wing sauce. It’s just got the right consistency that butter lacks. Otherwise, butter for literally every other application I can think of. You are correct here. This is the only acceptable use for margarine. However, I never have margarine in the house, so butter it is, and about a teaspoon or two of honey. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-or-margarine/629637/63 "2012-07-29T16:13:29Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > I guess all scientific experiments should stop then, or maybe we should never publish interim findings? > > Saturated fats are bad (in excess). Use this other product. So lots of people switch to the other product, which uses trans-fats and we begin to see the effects of trans-fats on the body. Controlling for all other factors, we learn that they are as bad or worse than the saturated fats. So at this point we can warn against trans-fats, or as it seems you are suggesting, keep quiet until we learn everything about everything just so we don’t ever have any contradictory information. No, I’m suggesting the use of common sense when it comes to the latest and greatest proclamations about healthy/unhealthy foods. Most foods have both upsides and downsides. It’s only my own observations, but I’ve noticed the healthiest people eat a balanced diet, exercise, avoid other bad habits, and don’t follow fads. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-or-margarine/629637/64 "2012-07-29T16:23:30Z")
Butter, both stick and whipped, but mostly olive oil. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-or-margarine/629637/65 "2012-07-29T16:34:01Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > No, I’m suggesting the use of common sense when it comes to the latest and greatest proclamations about healthy/unhealthy foods. Most foods have both upsides and downsides. It’s only my own observations, but I’ve noticed the healthiest people eat a balanced diet, exercise, avoid other bad habits, and don’t follow fads. That is very true. ---
**Author:** ![oreally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ab992/32.png) [@oreally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oreally)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-or-margarine/629637/66 "2012-07-29T16:42:16Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > With this kind of thinking, we’d still be hunting with sharpened rocks. While experts with agendas will push their agendas, there are plenty of independent, peer-reviewed experiments that are still constantly learning new things about how our body interacts with the things put into it. Actually it’s this kind of thinking that is the danger. I also find it weak that you presume to know what I’m thinking when you clearly do not. I never said anything about “pushing an agenda.” FYI there are plenty of independent, peer-reviewed double-blind/blah etc experiments that turn out to be partially or utterly wrong, yet people take them on faith right out of the gate (and then some) because it came from “experts.” Never be afraid to cast a skeptical eye is my basic point, especially when it come to the alleged experts - who often caveat their findings so much that it’s clear they often aren’t themselves even quite convinced of them. > [@TriPolar](#): > > No, I’m suggesting the use of common sense when it comes to the latest and greatest proclamations Radical dude! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-or-margarine/629637/67 "2012-07-29T17:24:38Z")
> [@oreally](#): > > Actually it’s this kind of thinking that is the danger. > > I also find it weak that you presume to know what I’m thinking when you clearly do not. I never said anything about “pushing an agenda.” > > FYI there are plenty of independent, peer-reviewed double-blind/blah etc experiments that turn out to be partially or utterly wrong, yet people take them on faith right out of the gate (and then some) because it came from “experts.” > > Never be afraid to cast a skeptical eye is my basic point, especially when it come to the alleged experts - who often caveat their findings so much that it’s clear they often aren’t themselves even quite convinced of them. I think you read more into my post than you think that I read into your post. (My god, even after several re-writes, that is a tortured sentence) I think you are making my point. Even when experienced researchers agree, they keep chipping away at the corners and often find things that invalidate earlier findings. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-or-margarine/629637/68 "2012-07-29T17:38:20Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > That’s a myth promoted by the global Margarine & Petroleum byproduct institute. It’s not a petroleum byproduct though. It’s actually made from ground up kittens, and all the workers at the margarine plant refuse to tip at restaurants. All of the owners of maragine companies oppose gay marriage, and are staunch supporters of Sarah Palin and George Bush. Those are the established facts. They’re also suspected of using poor grammar and punctuation, and resurrecting zombie threads. hey, you got sarcasm all over my screen :mad: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-or-margarine/629637.md?page=3)