Butter or margarine

[boyraiser]

OK, I've read as much of the debate as I can handle on-line, and understand that it's a question of 'which is worse' as opposed to 'which is better' - but I am sure that there are some MNers who know their stuff and will be able to give me the latest on what we should be using.

If you think it's margarine, it would be helpful to let me know what brands are supposed to be healthier. If it's butter, then I'll have to stop slicing it onto the toast

Well, I'm not a nutritionist or anything but I go for butter every time. A little of a relatively unprocessed product is waaay better than dollops of som,ething so processed as marge. And going for unsalted makes it a bit less bad too. Just read 'In Defense of Food' by Michael Pollen, in which he suggests that overly processed foods are a far greater risk to our health than fat, which he reckons has been way overplayed as a danger to us. But as I said, I'm NOT an expert.

I always thought it was butter (healthier) (sort of) as at least butter hasn't been mucked about with and had stuff added and stuff taken away.

butter

Butter. I have no idea what's in margarine but it leaves a horrid fatty film on the roof of your mouth which just can't be right... and it's horribly processed.

Don't use much of it mind, and often use a drizzle of olive oil instead if what's going on top of the bread is savoury, e.g. scrambled egg, ham, grilled mushrooms etc...

I think butter, because (I didn't know this for ages) they make those kind of "spreads" by solidifying vegetable oils which are not meant to be solid, and that is a weird thought. Also they go very odd if you leave them out of the fridge, just not "right". I am much more comfortable eating butter and giving DS butter - though he is under 5 so needs full fat stuff anyway.

Watch out though because cheap blocks of "butter" has all sorts of crap in it including palm oil

My dad was saying last night about how in some countries certain brands of margarine are banned because of the high levels of chemicals that they use to make them spreadable.

I don't know if that's true or not- haven't researched it. But I can sort of imagine it to be. Margarine never quite tastes right to me. I would rather go without if I can't have butter.

butter every time for baking (it tastes soooo much better) and i mean butter (though value butter is every bit as muchbutter)

i used to be fussy and only give the dcs unsalted butter - i am a big fan of small amounts of real fat.

marg (or that 'cant believe its not margarine' stuff) for spreading, because its cheap, and easy to spread.

i think ultimately unles you are my husband who is super-liberal with the butter knife, which one shouldn't realy factor are as it makes a small portion of your diet. same for full fat milk (yummy) which i only have in tea....people get wound up about these things, whilst eating diets that are, taken in a whole, widly unhealthy....like my gramps, who had skimmed milk as part of a health drive, with their tea & choccie biccies....

I'd agree with the others on choosing a natural, relatively unprocessed food over a highly processed food every time. If you're interested in staying healthy and being a healthy weight obviously you'd only eat it in small amounts

There's an excellent book by Michael Pollan called 'In Defence of Food'... in which he suggests that if you want to judge which food is better that you look at the ingredients. If a food has fewer than six ingredients it is probably a 'real food' and therefore good to eat. If it has more than six ingredients and if you can't pronounce some of those ingredients then chances are you're looking at a FOOD-LIKE SUBSTANCE.

I'm really surprised and pleased by the comments here. I always have butter as, like the rest of you, I think a little bit (or more if it's crumpets or hot cross buns) is better than a load of icky tasting tasting chemicals.

Icky, btw, is the technical term

Ha, Chil1234, I recomended that book too! It's brilliant isn't it? And his other one 'Omnivores Dilema'. I keep raving about them.

Butter because it's natural and tastes glorious slatherd on freshly baked bread.

IMO, it forms such a small part of your entire diet that you really ought to look at the other things you eat first.

Butter absolutely - can't stand any kind of marg - why do they have to mess about with chemicals and processes when the natural product is far more delicious anyway.

FWIW I like President the best, closely followed by Lurpak

Butter, it's natural. Ideally Country Life.

Much as I would rather DS has sugar than aspartame.

Butter-nurse told us that if you leave unwrapped margarine in a shed or something it will just deteriorate as insects/rodents wont touch it because of chemicals whereas butter will be eaten.Kerrygold is best if you want soft butter as it is the only one that is pure butter with no added vegetable oil.