I heard from a few med students discuss butters that are not 100% real butter, but made out of vegetable oil are far worse for your heart than the original article.

Is that true with Fleischmann's olive oil butter? I basically cook everything with this stuff, I don't know if it's 100% real olive oil, but if it's bad for me I would stop.

Anyone knowledgeable out there?

3/12/2007 10:41:31 PM

Read the label, then report back.

3/12/2007 10:57:56 PM

in order to make it solid, it has to be partially hydrogenated. Which means it is not good for you.

3/12/2007 10:58:11 PM

Um. . .is it still harmful when rubbed liberally on the skin? This. . .uh. . .guy I know was wondering.

3/12/2007 11:23:25 PM

Quote :

"in order to make it solid, it has to be partially hydrogenated. Which means it is not good for you."

Quote :

"In 1996, Brandeis University licensed us to produce and market its blend of natural vegetable oils which they developed and patented to help improve the important cholesterol ratio. We utilized this precise blend of natural oils and created Smart Balance® Buttery Spreads (no hydrogenated oil or trans fatty acids), "

http://www.smartbalance.com/home.html

am i missing something?


[Edited on March 12, 2007 at 11:37 PM. Reason : ]

3/12/2007 11:31:15 PM

the smart balance spreads are liquid at room temperature..... and frozen in the fridge. i found this out the hard way, but on the bright side, it will refreeze without going out of solution

3/12/2007 11:46:34 PM

they use palm oil, which is a saturated fat.

which is solid at room temps.

its on their website

3/12/2007 11:56:47 PM

Who Fleischmann?

3/13/2007 12:05:20 AM

Smart Balance, FTW!

If you want the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil then just use olive oil instead of butter... its doable in most non-baking recipes

3/13/2007 12:06:30 AM

I'm not coating pancakes with olive oil, blow me.

3/13/2007 12:08:17 AM

^ have you guys substituted olive oil for margarine and/or butter in recipes before? what type of recipes does this work in...I assume this wouldn't taste good accross the board.

and it sounds like Smart Balance is the best spread out there. anyone disagree?

3/13/2007 12:09:29 AM

EVOO is what we always use at my house.

can be a bit more expensive than your normal oils.

but its all GEWD

3/13/2007 12:36:43 AM

look, as a rule of thumb, margarines, shortening, and other solid at room temperature edible fats made out of vegetable oils, contain partially hydrogenated fats, which results in trans-fatty acids, which are medically proven to be worse than saturated fats.

however, the newer ones, contain no hydrogenated oils or TFAs, and they advertise that prominently on the tubs/bottles. but, i still don't know how they do that, i.e, make them solid without hydrogenating them.

to hydrogenate is to just pass hydrogen through the oils. this solidifies them, which is advantageous for many reasons:

improves shelf-life
easy to transport
easy to comsume

but it also makes them killers. the harder the product, the worse it is for you. so, you should avoid hard margarines at all cost. however, some of these newer spreads contain no TFAs or hydrogenated oils, as i said, and i still don't know how.

however, i still don't consume them, because maybe something will be found in them 5 years now which turns out to be harmful.

i like the real thing: olive oil.

i put it on (drizzle on cooked foods) every food imaginable: main meals, salads, sandwiches, hot cereals (porridges), etc.

there is nothing healthier than it. countless scientific and population studies back it up.

there is a reason greeks on a certain island drink it by the glass in the morning.

3/13/2007 5:35:48 AM

damn, i'm thirsty. i think i'll reach for a glass of olive oil.

3/13/2007 6:44:12 AM

ok i did a bit of research on their website.

they have 4 kinds of spreads:

original
light
unsalted
made with olive oil

and they have stick version of the first 3 kinds. avoid the sticks at all costs, or use them sparingly. or use butter if not using too much.

the spreads (not the sticks) are advertised as containign 0 grams TFAs.

see this:

Quote :

"5. How did you remove the trans fats from Fleischmann's? We use a unique blend of oils to deliver the same great taste without the trans fats. 12. Is it possible for a food product to list the amount of trans fat as 0 g if the ingredient list indicates that it contains "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil?" Yes. Food manufacturers are allowed to list amounts of trans fat with less than 0.5 gram (1/2 g) as 0 (zero) on the Nutrition Facts panel. As a result, you may see some products that list 0 gram trans fat on the label, while the ingredient list will have "shortening," "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil," or "hydrogenated vegetable oil" on it. This means the food contains very small amounts (less than 0.5 g) of trans fat per serving. "

so, i still don't know how they do it.

and they do contain TFAs, just less than 0.5 grams per serving, which is negligible (the ingredients labels on the website for all varieties show "partially hydrogenated oil")

anyway, i compared the 4 different spreads and my informed opinion says they are not bad for you. maybe even healthy, depending on which one you pick.

carbs = 0 grams for all.
salt = trivial for all.

so the deciding factor is the fatty acid profile. (remember, transfatty acids = 0 grams for all spreads)

the original, unsalted, and, made with olive oil all contain:

20% saturated fat
50% polyunsaturated fat
25% monounsaturated fat

(as a percent of the fat, not total weight)

ideally, you want to decrease the saturated and polyunsaturated, and increase the monounsaturated.

here is the profile of the light spread:

0% saturated fat
22% polyunsaturated fat
55% monounsaturated fat

so my judgement says eat the light one. it also has 40 calories (4.5 grams fat) per tablespoon (14 grams), as opposed to 70 calories (8 grams fat) for the others. the main ingredient in the light one is water, so i guess it would be less substantial in taste and texture.

so, my advice would be to eat the light one, and if extra flavor/texture is desired, eat the one made with olive oil.


[Edited on March 13, 2007 at 7:05 AM. Reason : http://www.fleischmanns.com/products/index.jsp]

3/13/2007 7:00:36 AM

smart balance tastes like shit though

3/13/2007 10:02:17 AM

All your whiny parents created trans-fat, blame them.

3/13/2007 10:40:59 AM

I use the spray butter.

3/13/2007 11:05:35 AM

Quote :

"All your whiny parents created trans-fat, blame them."

Trans fats can occur naturally. But thanks for playing.

3/13/2007 11:15:41 AM

A small amount of trans-fat occurs naturally, but the majority of the trans fat in the American diet is created industrially because too many people cried about the effects of animal fats.

3/13/2007 11:19:31 AM

^ exactly.

3/13/2007 11:20:28 AM

I never said otherwise. But nobody created trans fats.

3/13/2007 11:22:52 AM

3/13/2007 11:24:23 AM

you are wrong.

transfats that are added to foods are not natural transfats, they were created by proctor and gamble back in the first decade of 1900s.

3/13/2007 11:27:15 AM

In conclusion, TFA's are bad, the corn surplus is ruining the American diet, organic foods are now industry and we are all going to die.

3/13/2007 11:30:38 AM

^^ No, I'm not. You can't create something from nothing (unless you have some religious beliefs that permit you to naively believe such). These trans fats have existed in cow's milk for a very long time. Scientists merely hydrogenated the oil in the lab. That's not the origin of trans fats on the Earth, sorry. I also never said that the trans fats in foods were "natural."

^ Well, we'd all die eating better foods, too.

[Edited on March 13, 2007 at 11:43 AM. Reason : .]

3/13/2007 11:41:25 AM

CONTEXT

we are talking about added transfats in this thread, not natural ones.

3/13/2007 11:47:00 AM

Yeah, but he used the word "created." So I wanted to clarify that trans fats are not only in processed foods and solely made by humans to increase the shelf-lives of food products.

Trans fats aren't some freak human accident, despite that they're being used detrimentally toward our health as a species.

3/13/2007 11:49:37 AM

Quote :

"Smart Balance uses natural saturates (palm fruit oil) and balances it with polyunsaturates from soy and canola oils.That is what makes it unique and makes up the patented blend which we believe to be superior to other methods of avoid trans fatty acids."

3/13/2007 2:20:41 PM

I use Smart Balance and think it works great as a butter substitute.

3/13/2007 2:45:06 PM

So, the Olive oil butter contains some tfa's, but it's not as much as others.

3/13/2007 7:05:37 PM

still some misconceptions to answer:

1 - they are not "butters". butter is a natural product made from cow's milk (or sheep, yak, etc), and that's the only butter there is. peanut butter is not butter, apple butter is not butter, and these spreads and margarines are not butters.

2 - all the spreads contain TFAs, as long hydrogenated oil is listed in the ingredients. the ones that say 0 grams, contain < 0.5 grams. (again, if hydrogenated oil is listed in the ingredients) so, if you are trying to decide between spreads that say 0 grams TFAs, your deciding factor is not TFAs anymore, but other types of fat, namely, saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated.

3 - you want to minimize saturated and polyunsaturated, and maximize monounsaturated fat.

now look at my detailed post earlier, where i compared the 4 spreads made by Fleischmann's.

Quote :

"anyway, i compared the 4 different spreads and my informed opinion says they are not bad for you. maybe even healthy, depending on which one you pick. carbs = 0 grams for all. salt = trivial for all. so the deciding factor is the fatty acid profile. (remember, transfatty acids = 0 grams for all spreads) the original, unsalted, and, made with olive oil all contain: 20% saturated fat 50% polyunsaturated fat 25% monounsaturated fat (as a percent of the fat, not total weight) ideally, you want to decrease the saturated and polyunsaturated, and increase the monounsaturated. here is the profile of the light spread: 0% saturated fat 22% polyunsaturated fat 55% monounsaturated fat so my judgement says eat the light one. it also has 40 calories (4.5 grams fat) per tablespoon (14 grams), as opposed to 70 calories (8 grams fat) for the others. the main ingredient in the light one is water, so i guess it would be less substantial in taste and texture. so, my advice would be to eat the light one, and if extra flavor/texture is desired, eat the one made with olive oil."

but remember, there is no substitute for pure extra virgin olive oil. no man-made spread/oil can be healthier than it. so use it as much as possible. mix it with the spread that you use in a 1:1 ratio. but remember also, extra virign olive oil cannot be used for high heat cooking, such as frying or baking. sauteing, stewing, etc, are ok. the best way to use it is to drizzle it on prepared foods. use some cooking spray to cook, and then drizzle olive oil on prepared food.

now let me compare Fleischmann's with Smart Balance:

Please see this before the comparisons:

Fleischmann's spreads: < 0.5 grams TFAs (because they do contain hydrogenated oil)
Smart Balance spreads: precisely 0 grams TFAs (because they don't contain hydrogenated oils)

Although there is clearly a difference, I would say it is insignificant, and shouldn't really sway anybody's decision one way or another, unless one is really gung ho about not eating any TFAs at all.

It could add up though, over the course of a day. All dietary information is for a serving, which is one tablespoon. So if you are consuming, say, 4 tablespoons of a Fleischmann's spread in a day, you are getting up to 2 grams of TFAs.

You decide.

*************************************************************************

Fleischmann's Original Soft Spread (corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean)

19% saturated fat
50% polyunsaturated fat
25% monounsaturated fat

Smart Balance® 67% Buttery Spread (palm, soybean, canola, olive)

28% saturated fat
28% polyunsaturated fat
39% monounsaturated fat

Clear winner: Smart Balance® 67% Buttery Spread (also contains a lot more added vitamins)

*************************************************************************

Fleischmann's Made with Olive Oil (soybean, olive, hydrogenated soybean)

19% saturated fat
50% polyunsaturated fat
31% monounsaturated fat

Smart Balance® 67% Buttery Spread (palm, soybean, canola, olive)

28% saturated fat
28% polyunsaturated fat
39% monounsaturated fat

Clear winner: Smart Balance® 67% Buttery Spread (also contains a lot more added vitamins)

*************************************************************************

Note: The light spreads are not recommended for high heat uses, such as baking and frying, rather for sauteing and spreading. Moreover, if a spread contains flax oil or fish oil, it MUST NOT BE heated at all.

Fleischmann's Light Soft Spread (canola, hydrogenated corn)

0% saturated fat
22% polyunsaturated fat
56% monounsaturated fat

Smart Balance® 37% Light Buttery Spread (palm, soybean, canola, flax [large tub only], olive)

Note: large tub contains flax oil, but less vitamins, small tubs contain no flax oil, but more vitamins.

30% saturated fat
30% polyunsaturated fat
40% monounsaturated fat

Clear winner: Fleischmann's Light Soft Spread

*************************************************************************

Now, there are certain products that Smart Balance makes which have no equal from Fleischmann's. And I believe these products are far superior. Let's look at them:

Smart Balance® Omega PLUS™ Buttery Spread

Same fat profile as the regular 67% spread, but contains [/b]fish oil[/b], and also plant sterols (Plant sterols, or phytosterols, are similar to animal sterols, such as cholesterol, but are known to block absorption of chlesterol by competing with it, and may reduce incidences of some cancer. They are naturally found in soybean oil, canola oil, flax oil, etc).

NOT TO BE HEATED AT ALL, since it contains fish oil. Use it as a spread.


Smart Balance® Bottled Oil

This seems to be an excellent product, providing the benefits of 3 different oils, the only oils recommended for use (soybean, canola, oil). It is basically a blend of those 3 oils, without any useless additives (those spreads contain a lot of additives).

One thing, though, is not mentioned on their website: if the olive oil used in the blend is extra virgin or refined. Those who are interested can contact the company and ask. If it is extra virgin or virgin, great. If it is refined, still not bad at all.

You can use it for cooking, and for drizzling on foods.

Here is the fat profile:

7% saturated fat
32% polyunsaturated fat
57% monounsaturated fat

Compare with extra virgin olive oil:

14% saturated fat
11% polyunsaturated fat
71% monounsaturated fat

Obviously, the real thing is better. Again, I would repeat what I said at the top:

Quote :

"but remember, there is no substitute for pure extra virgin olive oil. no man-made spread/oil can be healthier than it. so use it as much as possible. mix it with the spread that you use in a 1:1 ratio. but remember also, extra virign olive oil cannot be used for high heat cooking, such as frying or baking. sauteing, stewing, etc, are ok. the best way to use it is to drizzle it on prepared foods. use some cooking spray to cook, and then drizzle olive oil on prepared food."

*************************************************************************

Smart Balance also makes other products than spreads and oils, and they seem to be far superior as well to national brands:

http://www.smartbalance.com/omega3.html

Smart Balance® Omega Peanut Butter
Smart Balance® Omega Plus™ Light Mayonnaise
Smart Balance® Omega™ Cooking Oil
Smart Balance® Omega™ Oatmeal

As an example, look at the ingredients of the peanut butter:




Wow, I wish I could get my hands on that

Just peanuts, oil, salt, and molasses (YUM)! No refined sugar, no hydrogenated oils, no TFAs, no preservatives, colors, etc.

*************************************************************************

God damn, I wish I were getting paid to do this. Instead of a career, it is just a hobby .

I studied the wrong thing at undergrad AND grad school. What I should have done is gotten certifications/degrees in this stuff, so that I could practice it officially .

3/14/2007 10:21:37 AM

The Smart Balance PB is the bomb, it was on-sale at Food Dog the other week.

3/14/2007 10:25:37 AM

do they make that smart balance peanut butter in crunchy form? is it sweet like jif/peter pan/etc or does it taste like the more natural kind that is less sweet? i like peanut butters that aren't sweet, the other kinds are way too sugary tasting to me.

3/14/2007 1:01:21 PM

Does smart balance taste better than ht naturals--i've got to find something better

3/14/2007 1:03:01 PM

yes, both creamy and crunchy:



and although i have never had it, i can vouchsafe that it tastes a lot less sweet:

national brand: 3 grams sugar / 2 tablespoons

smart balance: 1 gram sugar / 2 tablespoons

3/14/2007 1:19:22 PM

Yea the chunky is what I eat, its pretty oily compared to other brands but its still good. Omega-3's are the new thing in 2007, but there is still a bunch to be know about them as in ratios of Omega-3's to 6 in the body.

[Edited on March 14, 2007 at 4:41 PM. Reason : Not really new, but they are going to be featured by food companies more. ]

3/14/2007 4:41:24 PM

I've always heard that the ratio should be about 1:1 Omega 3's to Omega 6's, but I'd guess the average american is closer to 1:6 or 1:10.

Just wait until the public finds out that grass fed cattle are rich in Omega-3's, and then you can watch the cost of a good steak skyrocket. Unfortunately, cattle that are fed a high corn diet don't produce the higher Omega-3 fat content.


EDIT:

OEP11, what I meant to say. grain-fed usually infers corn-fed. For some reason my mind drew a blank and started thinking about my cows back home chewing off the grain tops of the grass they're eating.

[Edited on March 14, 2007 at 5:20 PM. Reason : tww just lost DST again.]

3/14/2007 5:05:00 PM

Pretty old hat, but the general public is starting to learn. So safesmart is less sweet than Harris Teeter Natural pb? I didn't think it could get more un-sweet.

3/14/2007 5:14:49 PM

those of you who are interested, look up "paleolithic diet" on the intArweb.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet

in the american population the ratio is around what eleusis said: 1:5 to 1:10, but typically on the higher end. it is hypothesized that early humans had the ratio 2:1 to 3:1 (or in other words, they got 10-30 times more omega-3 compared to omega-6, compared to humans today). although that is nearly impossible to do these days, achieving 1:2 is not hard, which would make a big positive impact on anybody's health.

free-range (and natural diet) animal products contain good amounts of omega-3 FAs, but most people don't eat free-range animals. try to buy free-range eggs, free-range meat, etc.

and eleusis, better (a lot) than grain-fed cattle is grass-fed cattle, as nature intended. you can buy grass-fed beef on the intArweb. check out

http://www.blackwing.com they have the following organic and/or free range and/or naturally fed meats:

Free Ranged Buffalo
Organic Piedmontese Beef
Ostrich
Lamb
Venison
Elk
Organic Free Ranged Chicken
Pheasant
Quail
Muscovy Duck
Guinea Hen

but, the best source is fatty-fish. buy salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, etc, but here are some rules:

1 - stick to small fish
2 - don't buy farmed fish
3 - buy deep cold-water ocean fish

other sources include flax seeds/oil, walnuts. but plant omega-3s are short chain, and marine omega-3s are long chain, and in the brain, we have the marine kind. you would have to comsume 10 grams of plant omega-3s to be made into 1 gram of the marine kind inside the body.

so, plant omega-3s are not nearly as effective.

stick to fish. try to eat at least 1-2 times a week. more is better. and/or take fish-oil capsules, but again check the source and purity of those.

[Edited on March 14, 2007 at 4:52 PM. Reason : ]

3/14/2007 5:43:08 PM

the unfortunate byproduct of fish oil supplements is the gas that they produce. you'll be farting nastily for about a week until your body adjusts

3/14/2007 4:54:14 PM

I just finished up The Omnivore’s Dilemma and man it was eye opening. The whole corn surplus and cattle aspect of food is mind boggling.

3/14/2007 8:14:07 PM

what is it about? how the corn industry has oversaturated the market and ended up in every food product in America?

Soybeans are the same way to an extent. there is so much of a surplus of soybeans that we'll gladly put them in everything and forget the consequences of a high soy diet.

3/15/2007 10:15:41 AM

Basically its about that, and the whole "Organic" industry. It's by Michael Pollan, here is an article of his that is a really good read....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28nutritionism.t.html

He writes a lot about how we have begun to cherry pick out nutrients and cram them into our diets without knowing the full extent of their interactions and how we have forgotten how to eat real food.

[Edited on March 15, 2007 at 10:59 AM. Reason : dfdsfsd]

3/15/2007 10:58:48 AM