# Butter Vs Margarine fact list - true? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 19, 2005, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054 "2005-04-19T14:33:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![flapcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@flapcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flapcats)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/1 "2005-04-19T14:33:53Z")
Got this in my inbox. Is it rubbish? Is Margarine really black and only 1 molecule from being plastic? " Butter vs Margarine DO YOU KNOW…the difference between margarine and butter? - ``` 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 ``` flavours of other foods. Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years. Margarine. - ``` Very high in trans fatty acids... ``` - ``` Triple risk of coronary heart disease. Increases total ``` cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) Lowers HDL cholesterol, (thegood cholesterol) - ``` Increases the risk of cancers by up to five fold. ``` - ``` Lowers quality of breast milk... Decreases immune response... ``` - ``` Decreases insulin response. ``` And here are the most disturbing facts… - ``` Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC....... ``` - ``` Margarine is initially BLACK, but it is DYED YELLOW to look like ``` butter. " ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/2 "2005-04-19T14:38:10Z")
[Snopes on butter](http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/butter.asp). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/3 "2005-04-19T14:38:45Z")
Margarine is really WHITE and then dyed yellow to look like butter. Margarine is made from vegetable fats and oils. Plastic is made from petroleum. If there’s only one molecule difference, then a lot of stuff you eat is only one molecule away from being plastic. I’ll leave the nutritional analysis to someone else – but I notice the list fails to mention that butter has cholesterol and margarine doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/4 "2005-04-19T15:09:23Z")
> [@flapcats](#): > > Got this in my inbox. Is it rubbish? Yes. Isn’t that obvious from the hysterical tone, the vague statements, the complete lack of references for any of these alleged ‘facts’? Just looking at the labels on margarine & butter in my refrigerator shows that the first one (" Both have the same amount of calories.") is clearly false. Margarine can be made from various vegetable oils. And so, the color will vary depending on the vegetable. Margarine made from corn is a bright yellow color, maybe even more so than butter. But I can’t think of any vegetables that are mainly black. Growing up in the midwest dairy states in the 1960’s, I can clearly remember margarine coming with a separate coloring package. That was a legal requirement, and corn farmers complained that the law required corn margarine, which was naturally yellow, be bleached white and then packaged with a yellow coloring agent. But dairy farmers thought that was a good thing. As far as “one molecule away from plastic”, that is so scientifically vague as to be a pretty meaningless statement. I put fertilizer with Phosporus to my lawn to make it grow better, but that is “one molecule away” from arsenic, a deadly poison. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/5 "2005-04-19T15:14:59Z")
I guess the real question comes down to which one of trans fats or cholesterol is worse for you, since those seem to be the main unhealthy components (besides butter/margarine being 80% fat!). Anyone know anything about this? ---
**Author:** ![xbuckeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9e8a1a/32.png) [@xbuckeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xbuckeye)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/6 "2005-04-19T15:16:19Z")
**pulykamell**'s snopes link pretty much says it all. The most recent science can’t really say that any of it is too safe in huge quantities. TFA’s do seem to block arteries better than their cis- cousins and cholesterol is bad for you. Margarine doesn’t rot or mold…but neither does butter, both have too much fat and not enough available water for microbial growth. Microbes like water and fermentable carbohydrates, neither of which are abundant in butter or margarine. They will both go rancid. Lipid molecules react with oxygen radicals making icky smelling and tasting compounds that \ are chemically close to plastics :gasp! the horror!: Incedentally…you actually _can_ make plastic out of milk. Plastic is a very general term, that describes a physical charachteristic… [plastic definitions](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=plastic) I have also heard that you can overheat vegetable oil and make a decent furniture varnish…but I cannot tell you more. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/7 "2005-04-19T15:18:38Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Margarine is really WHITE and then dyed yellow to look like butter. Would a kind Canadian (or Ontario-ian specifically) please tell us if margarine still is sold white with a separate packet of yellow dye? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/8 "2005-04-19T15:19:17Z")
Indeed; water is ‘but one molecule away’ from the deadly nerve gas called Sarin - if you removed the H[sub]2[/sub]O molecules and simply replaced them with molecules of (CH[sub]3[/sub])[sub]2[/sub]N-P(=O)(-CN)(-OC[sub]2[/sub]H[sub]5[/sub]), we’d all be DEAD! ---
**Author:** ![xbuckeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9e8a1a/32.png) [@xbuckeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xbuckeye)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/9 "2005-04-19T15:19:37Z")
**bump** the jury is still out on that one…it probably depends on family history, diet, exercise, etc. I’m sure they’ll get back to us in a few decades. High cholesterol in the fam’…I’d go margarine, a couple bypasses already…go butter…or oil. I can’t suggest eating large quantities of either. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/10 "2005-04-19T15:20:09Z")
Also, while most margine _is_ high in trans fats, which _does_ raise your heart attack risk, you _can_ get brands that much less trans fat. They are often labeled as _no trans fat per serving_, but that’s a bit sketchy, because if the amount is less than 0.5 g they are alllowed to round down to zero. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2005, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/11 "2005-04-19T15:21:03Z")
I just switched to olive oil for just about everything, and not much of that. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/12 "2005-04-19T15:35:58Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I guess the real question comes down to which one of trans fats or cholesterol is worse for you, since those seem to be the main unhealthy components (besides butter/margarine being 80% fat!). > > Anyone know anything about this? While there a certain amount of cholesterol is permitted in a healthy diet, in 2002 a panel at the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine concluded that there is [no safe level of trans fatty acids in the diet](http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8011/352346.html), and that they should be avoided where possible. This page has some studies on trans fats that show that they [raise the level of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the blood, lower the level of good cholesterol (HDL) and raise the risk of heart attack.](http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/reviews/transfats.html) According to one study, the effect of trans fats on your HDL vs. LDL ratios is _twice as bad_ as the saturated fats–which is what the trans fats are supposed to be a healthy alternative to! Whoops! But as **xbuckeye** says, not all the data are in. As someone with a high cholesterol level, though, I’m avoiding the stuff where I can. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/13 "2005-04-19T16:38:25Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Would a kind Canadian (or Ontario-ian specifically) please tell us if margarine still is sold white with a separate packet of yellow dye? Nah, I’ve never seen that (although I’ve heard my mother talk about it), and I’m not a kid any more. I don’t think that Ontario law even requires that margarine be dyed a different shade of yellow than butter any more, but I can’t swear to that. ---
**Author:** ![LionelHutz405](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lionelhutz405/32/536_2.png) [@LionelHutz405](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LionelHutz405)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/14 "2005-04-19T19:16:13Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Would a kind Canadian (or Ontario-ian specifically) please tell us if margarine still is sold white with a separate packet of yellow dye? I’ve lived in Ontario most of my life (I’m 45) and I’ve never seen margarine sold this way. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/15 "2005-04-19T19:29:36Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I guess the real question comes down to which one of trans fats or cholesterol is worse for you, since those seem to be the main unhealthy components (besides butter/margarine being 80% fat!). > > Anyone know anything about this? Unquestionably trans fats are worse to eat than cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol \*\*does not \*\* have that great a bearing on blood cholesterol levels, as most of the cholesterol in your blood is manufactured in the body anyway. One of the biggest misconceptions out there about butter seems to be that eating cholesterol = high blood cholesterol. Well, maybe slightly, but the effect is minimal. > [@](#): > > Dietary cholesterol does influence the level of plasma cholesterol, although its effect is much less than that of the amount and the nature of dietary fatty acids. The relationship between cholesterol and the concentration of plasma cholesterol is not linear. For every additional 100mg of cholesterol consumed up to a total intake of 500mg per day, there is a 2-3% increase in the concentration of plasma cholesterol. In contrast further increases in cholesterol intake beyond 500mg per day have little additional effect on the plasma level (Hopkins AJCN 1992; 55: 1060-70). ([Cite](http://www.healthyeatingclub.com/info/articles/fats-chol/cholesterol.htm)) As a chemist I would rather double the amount of cholesterol in my diet than increase the amount of trans fats by 10%. FWIW I use butter rather than margarine for most uses. When spreadability is an issue I use olive-oil margarine that has virtually no trans fat. As to the original email, parts of it are true or at least based in truth. Other parts, as noted above, are cobblers. What I do know is that hydrogenated fats, made using nickel catalysts, are packed with trans bonds and very bad news indeed for your arteries. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/16 "2005-04-19T19:35:07Z")
Your blood cholesterol level is affected more by eating meat than eating food with a high cholesterol level, since meat induces your body to make more cholesterol. Unless you have hypercholesteremia, you are better off eating sat fats vs trans fats, if you had to make a choice. Fortunately, you don’t have to choose between butter and margarine when there are several unsaturated oils available. I also use olive oil in place of either butter or margarine for everything, including on my baked potato. In addition, I’ve read reports saying that trans fats can induce diabetes. [http://wellnessletter.com/html/wl/wlFeatured.html](http://wellnessletter.com/html/wl/wlFeatured.html) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/17 "2005-04-19T19:38:29Z")
Canada banned margarine entirely until 1948 (later in some provinces) to protect the dairy industry. New Zealand also forbade margarine production. In German towns over 5000, buyers had to enter shops by a separate entrance or go to a partitioned off area of the shop to buy margarine. While imitation butter was first known as “butterine” in Britain and the U.S., both countries banned the use of any variation of “butter” in the name. In 1902 in the U.S., margarine became classified as a “harmful drug” and stores had to be licensed to sell it. Sales of golden margarine was not legally banned, but subject to a heavy tax, although five states demanded that it be dyed _pink_. Tubes, bags or tablets with yellow dyes had to be kneaded into the white margarine, leaving the final product often streaky and unpalatable. Hydrogenated vegetable oil became the main raw material by the 1920s and yellow oils were available to make a naturally yellow product and get around the tax. The dairy industry managed to get a yellow oil tax passed in 1931 and in 1934 any kind of unbleached oil was made illegal. Oleomargarine became just margarine in the U.S. in 1950. All of this is taken from chapter 3 of Margaret Visser’s utterly fascinating [Much Depends on Dinner: The Extraordinary History and Mythology, Allure and Obsessions, Perils and Taboos, of an Ordinary Meal](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802136516/qid=1113939364/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-8213027-4916912). In this 1987 book she, a Canadian, claims that “the law still prevents margarine from looking like butter in Ontario” although it was permissible to dye it a darker yellow than butter. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/18 "2005-04-19T19:46:42Z")
Hmm, after a little digging, it looks like Ontario repealed the _Oleomargarine Act_ as of November 3, 1997. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/19 "2005-04-19T21:13:24Z")
> [@](#): > > While imitation butter was first known as “butterine” in Britain and the U.S., both countries banned the use of any variation of “butter” in the name. Is this law still in effect? Because there’s a brand of margarine called “I can’t believe it’s not butter”. As to the benefits of margarine, I only know of three: It keeps longer, it’s cheaper, and the recipe can be varied for various reasons (it’s possible to make a low-fat margarine, but not a low-fat butter, for instance). Healthwise, there’s not much difference between them: They’re both pure lipid. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054/20 "2005-04-19T21:49:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is this law still in effect? Because there’s a brand of margarine called “I can’t believe it’s not butter”. This reminds me of something – I think that this stuff isn’t even “margarine” but rather a vegetable oil “spread.” Or is it that “spreads” _are_ margarines, but just trying to avoid the bad publicity that margarine’s had for the last several years? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-vs-margarine-fact-list-true/300054.md?page=2)