Margarine vs. Butter

I like margarine. The soft stuff in the plastic tubs. The ones made with a little olive oil are my favorites. Butter is for cooking; margarine is for the table. (My wife has gone on to prove that a good margarine can work very well for cooking, too.)

I have some friends who seem to believe margarine is made from petroleum products. I say seem because they are very bright and may be just making the claim to annoy me.

I've had robotic heart surgery. I had an ICD with a pacemaker inserted into my chest. I've spent a lot of time chatting with heart doctors. On one matter all agree: use soft, non-hydrogenated margarine, and use it in moderation. Go light with fat but don't fear fat.

And so I did some googling. I found the following — Myth busting: butter versus margarine.

• Margarine is one molecule away from plastic: myth.
• Margarine increases risk of heart disease: no. (Not if it's the non-hydrogenated kind.)
• Margarine was originally made to fatten up turkeys but instead it killed them: wrong again.

No one, other than my friends, seems to have heard the myth that margarine is made from petroleum.