Is marg and vegetable oils ......

[wildirishrose]

Bad for you?

[Lamazeroo]

Absolutely! I'm a nutritionist and I spend a lot of time telling my patients to avoid anything with vegetable oil in it, and to eat as much pure butter as they like :)

[ninja]

I'm assuming olive oil is ok and sunflower?

[lubeybooby]

Butter isn't great either! I had high cholesterol and have had to quit real butter. I got a tiny cholesterol lump under my eye and that was the shove to stop it. I have flora pro activ olive and in tiny, tiny amounts now.

As with anything, moderation is key I think.

[wildirishrose]

Thank you Lamazeroo, How do companies like Flora get away with convincing people they're healthy and reduce cholesterol when in fact they're worse than butter?

[RikersBeard]

Er worse for what than butter?
You can decide that you don't like marg or that it's less "natural" or whatever but companies have to provide an enormous amount of data to support things like cholesterol claims

[TepidCoffee]

Try reading Gary Taubes - Why we get fat and what to do about it.

Am firmly in the butter good, marg/veg oil bad camp (olive oil good though).

[TepidCoffee]

What they don't seem to have is much data showing that lowering cholesterol in women - particularly middle aged women - has any health benefits!

[Lamazeroo]

Where to start? First of all, there's no evidence that saturated fat has any bearing on cholesterol levels. The factors which most affect cholesterol transport in the blood are genetics, levels of inflammation, insulin sensitivity and liver function. And as TepidCoffee mentioned above, it's questionable whether cholesterol lowering is beneficial.
Then there's the fatty acid composition of fats. Saturated fatty acids are the most stable, unsaturated less stable and polyunsaturated the least stable. These fatty acids are damaged by exposure to heat, light or oxygen. They should only be consumed in their natural states, as processing damages them and it's damaged fats which contribute to cell membrane damage. This means that there's nothing wrong with vegetable oils as long as you consume them in the vegetable! For example, sunflower oil. Fantastic if you're munching on raw sunflower seeds. But I would never buy or use anything containing sunflower oil, as in order to extract the oil from the seeds heat, light and oxygen will all cause damage to the unsaturated fatty acids present in the oil.
And then, briefly, there's the issue of omega 6 overconsumption. Vegetable oils are disproportionately high in omega 6, overconsumption of which increases inflammation, cell membrane damage, and ironically, inability to metabolise cholesterol.
I also second reading Gary Taubes. The Diet Delusion is like the bible of fats.

[lubeybooby]

So am I not actually doing myself any good with the flora pro activ then?

I thought that had proven medical claims about lowering cholesterol?

Thing is I just can't do butter in moderation, it's too nice. What's the lesser of the two evils (if either are evil)

[missmartha]

How am I going to make a stir fry if I can't use peanut oil?

[wildirishrose]

Im sticking to butter and olive oil from now on. Better to be natural V unnatural IMO

[Catsdontcare]

I cook with ghee (clarified butter) which is a much healthier option. I wouldn't cook with olive oil but would use it for dressings.

Am reading a lot about gut and digestive issues at the moment and it's a real eye opener!!

[Lamazeroo]

lubeybooby I am passionately opposed to Flora Pro Activ! It's interesting. The proven cholesterol claims are legitimate, BUT due to the presence of the plant sterols added to the margarine, not to the margarine itself. Plant sterols are chemical compounds which are very similar in structure to cholesterol. They can reduce the amount of cholesterol absorbed in your intestine by occupying cholesterol receptor sites. They absolutely do 'work', but so would eating more fruit, vegetables and nuts! Throw away the Pro Activ crap, eat real organic butter, eat nuts and seeds between meals, aim for seven serves of veg and three pieces of fruit every day and you'll have better results. Processed carbs and sugar are the things to be cutting out, not butter.

[Lamazeroo]

Catsdontcare I always recommend either ghee or coconut oil for cooking.
missmartha try Higher Nature unscented coconut oil for your stirfries.

[inde]

So you are saying that cold pressed rapeseed oil and olive oil are bad for you then Lamazeroo? I thought they were supposed to be really good because they are high in omega-3 fatty acids and other mono-unsaturated fats? There seems to be so much conflicting advice about this it's difficult to know what to believe.

[inde]

Maybe I'm confusing oils with spreads though?

[Lamazeroo]

There is no omega 3 in olive oil. Olive oil is great and has proven health benefits; I am a huge fan. But it shouldn't be heated to high temperatures. Use it for lower heat cooking, salad dressings, spread it on bread etc.
Rapeseed (canola) I'm not a fan of. Almost always genetically modified, very pesticide-thirsty and quite allergenic. No need for it. Use butter/ghee/coconut for cooking, olive for salads, eat liberal amounts of avocado, nuts, seeds, free range eggs and free range grass-fed meats and you'll take in a range of healthy fatty acids.

[GirlOutNumbered]

I'm dairy free, so have to bake with things like stork. I use coconut oil a lot for cooking and love vitality on my toast!

[TepidCoffee]

Ghee, coconut oil or lard should be go-to cooking fats (I'm really keen on re-popularising lard! Such a misunderstood fat).

Agree with everything Lamazeroo has said!

[inde]

Thanks Lamazeroo. I buy olive oil spread, either ASDA or Aldi. Looks like I am going to have to change.

[wildirishrose]

Lamazeroo, does chocolate contain vegetable oil ? Are there any other foods that we should avoid? TIA

[QuickLookBusy]

Gosh this is interesting, I always use olive oil for cooking, with a dash of butter for frying.

Just looked at ghee and coconut oil and it is very expensive. Butter burns at high temps, so is lard a real alternative? I'd always assumed lard was the work of the devil.

[DowntonTrout]

You can buy ghee very cheaply from Asian supermarkets, coincidentally I buy all my spices from Asian supermarkets too- they are so much cheaper.

Or you can clarify your own butter by heating gently and letting it separate, then straining.

I love butter, won't have marg in the house, I also use lard.

[Virgil]

How does lard fit in then? Good or bad?

[TepidCoffee]

Yep, you can also get ghee in the 'ethnic' aisle in supermarkets, where it's not expensive at all.

Agree that coconut oil is expensive, though. They sometimes have it reduced in H&B, although you need to keep an eye on the use by dates there.