100 years ago, when people flocked to cities
to work in factories, they often became sick from lack of fresh food, clean
water and sunshine. The cure was a stint in the country, nourished on farm
foods and breathing the country air. With Farmer’s Markets we now try to
bring the farm to the city because live whole foods, grown and eaten
seasonally, are still our best defense against disease. The development of
chemical additives and dead, factory-made foods may turn out to be a greater
health hazard than cigarettes. Consider the changes in the environment
and the food supply just in the last 60 years since World War II.
But, let's go back to a new discovery in the
1880's that brought about a dramatic change in a staple food and how that is
affecting us today and may even be contributing to cancer. Emperor Louis
Napolean III offered a prize for anyone who could invent a substitute for
butter, to be used by the lower classes and armed forces. French chemist
Mege-Mouries took up the challenge and invented oleomargarine in the
laboratory. Since it was white in color, and the addition of yellow coloring
was banned in many countries, including the U.S., for almost 100 years,
margarine did not intially threaten the dairy industry or the use of real
butter in the marketplace. For example, it was not legal to sell colored
margarine in Australia until the 1960's.
In the mid 1880's, margarine was taxed at 2 cents
a pound in the United States, and in several states with big Dairy interests,
legislators passed laws demanding the addition of pink coloring to make
margarine unpalatable to consumers.
In the 20th century, bootleg colored margarine
became common and yellow coloring was sold separately so that people could make
their own white margarine appear yellow. What happens when you ban a product?
Human nature seems to demand that it become desirable. So, despite added
taxes, margarine did sell.
World War I brought strict rationing of dairy
products, and margarine consumption increased enormously, both in the U.S. and
Europe.
Originally margarine was made from beef fat,
until hydrogenation of plant matter was developed. This makes the melting point
of plant oils higher, so that you get a solid spread at room temperature and
not a pool of oil for your toast. And herein lies the problem with margarine.
Hydrogenation is a process that takes place in a chamber so that heat and
pressure can be applied to the oil, along with a metal catalyst of nickel or
palladium, to force hydrogen into the chains of fatty acids. This creates
trans fats, which have been linked to cardiovascular disease. Newer methods of
manufacturing have attempted to limit the risk of hydrogenation, but all
spreads and margarines are still laboratory made, not natural foods.
My advice is always to stick to the nature-made when it comes to food. Real butter is a fat that also contains
Vitamins A and D, Vitamins E and K, anti-oxidants, selenium, conjugated
linoleic acid for lean muscles, iodine, and other factors essential for human
health.
Margarine contains no nutrients and has the same calories as butter.
All fats have about 100 calories per tablespoon. Altered, laboratory made,
adulterated foods are a giant science experiment. We don't really know the
effects of these foods. But we do know that we have far more heart disease and
cancer, obesity and Type 2 Diabetes and the numbers keep growing. There appears
to be an inverse relationship to the consumption of nature-made fats and heart
disease. The more processed fats consumed the higher the rates of heart
disease.
The first written reference to butter dates
back to 4500, hammered on a limestone tablet that illustrated how butter was
made. Humans have consumed butter as long as they have lived with domesticated
animals, pre-dating farming and raising grains. There are many religious
references to butter, both Biblical and Hindu.
Taste test? No contest! Look for organic
butter, as many synthetic hormones and petro-chemicals, such as might be in the
feed of cattle, are fat-loving. Butter is truly a health food.
Should you worry about saturated fat? There is
no proof that saturated fat (fat that is hard at room temperature) winds up in
your arteries. Sugar is probably far more dangerous, because triglycerides are
made from sugar, not fat. We really don’t know why some people have clogged
arteries and others don’t. All the studies are inconclusive. We do know that
some people who die from heart attacks have clear arteries on autopsy, while
others, who die of other causes have completely clogged arteries but had no
symptoms of heart disease.
We also know that indigenous (native) people
on local diets of animal or fish protein, fermented or raw dairy, natural fats
and carbohydrates from vegetables and fruits had no Diabetes, Heart Disease or
Cancer until they began eating the white man’s processed diet of white flour
and white sugar. They also had no dental cavities or gum disease.
The French have one quarter the heart disease
of Great Britain. With their low incidence of heart disease but high butter and
cheese consumption, the French also enjoy great tasting food!
By the way, ever wonder what shortening is?
Often made from soybean or cottonseed oil, shortening is a hydrogenated fat
that is used in baking because it is 100% fat. Butter and margarine are only
80% fat. It is called shortening because it “shortens” the gluten strands in
bread, making the dough more elastic thus yielding a softer loaf.
Nature-made fats are vital for human health
and are referred to as “essential fatty acids”. Any nutrient that is vital for
health is going to be cancer-protective, since human cells need the genuine,
unprocessed fats for cellular metablolism, and they don’t need Frankenstein
fats made in the laboratory.
In my next Health tip I will tell you more
about food and lifestyle choices that may help protect you against cancer.
Dr. Anne Dunev
PhD, is a Naturopath (Practitioner of Natural Medicine),
Certified Nutritionist, and Certified Health Educator
http://www.lisabenestmd.com/nutrition/index.php
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