Margarine’s popularity has grown significantly enough since the mid 20th century to overtake butter, making the production of margarine a multi-billion dollar industry. Exports from the US clear more than two million pounds a year.
The development of margarine came from the need to provide a substitute for butter during times of scarcity. After many road blocks that margarine manufacturers faced, lobbyists and good marketing eventually catapulted margarine’s popularity.
The marketing ploy was to promote margarine as a healthier substitute for cholesterol-containing butter. Meanwhile, lobbyists worked on lifting excessive taxes and restrictions on substances used to make margarine.
The process of hydrogenation of oil became profitable for manufacturers in the United States because it allowed for a longer shelf life of baked goods and an extension of time frying oil can be reused.
Misleading Marketing Claims Questioned – The Birth of Trans Fats
As the use of margarine increased, studies began to surface questioning the dubious health benefits listed in the marketing claims for margarine. Even though the vegetable oils used for the making of margarine were beneficial, the processing and the additives used were not.
The hydrogenation, or the addition of hydrogen to a vegetable oil, makes the vegetable oil more solid. This process requires the use of a metal catalyst. Although several metals can be used, both nickel and aluminum are used because they are cheaper.
One important drawback is that they both require higher temperatures of about 520 degrees F. The higher temperatures flip certain molecular bonds, making them "trans" fats.
Another drawback is that heavy metals gravitate to the neurological system and require a series of detoxification techniques to eliminate even a small amount of the metals from the body.
The residue of nickel and aluminum remain in the margarine product and are cumulative in the body. Nickel causes blood to thicken, promoting blood clots. It also causes fungi that live in the body to become more solid as tumors.
Aluminum interferes with the retrieval of memory and has been identified on CT scans as aluminum deposits in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients.
Substances Added to the Making of Margarine
Other substances added to margarine are solvents, preservatives, alkalizers, acidulants, defoamers and caustic sodas that destroy the natural vitamin, minerals and essential fatty acids normally found in vegetable oil.
Coloring agents, anti-splatter compounds, flavor enhancers and emulsifiers are also added to create a specific butter-like taste and appearance.
Health Deficits Caused by Margarine
Trans fats are man made and don’t occur in nature. Consequently, the fats are used by the body incorrectly in places they don’t belong. In one very important area, the trans fats interfere with the liver’s disposal of excess cholesterol, causing increased cholesterol levels in the blood, including an increase in LDL levels and a decrease in the HDL.
Good substitutes for margarine are tropical oils like coconut and palm kernel oil, which are naturally semi-solid without hydrogenation and are much higher level of nutritional quality.
Another option is to combine equal amounts of butter and olive oil, blend and keep in a container for when needed.
Sources:
1. Margarine, Butter Through the Ages, Webexhibits.org, 2009
2. Claek, Jim, The Hydrogenation of Alkenes: Margarine Manufacture, 2009
3. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2005
4. Mozaffarian, D., et al, Trans Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease, New England Journal of Medicine, 2006
5. What’s in a Margarine Spread, 2009
Kathryn Picoulin - Dr. Kathryn Picoulin, BSN, ND, PhD received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from California State University of Chico in 1978. After ...
