My Sunday Star-Times column from 13th April.
I’m always being asked which is ‘better’ between two foods. Which
is better: butter or margarine? Milk or soy milk? Sugar or honey? Olive oil or
coconut oil?
We always want to know the definitive answer to this question. But
unless the question is burgers versus broccoli or water versus cola, the answer
is usually “It depends”. It all depends on context – the context of your day,
your overall diet and your personal situation.
For example; you may see a lot of stuff online about how butter is
‘better’ than oil spreads or margarine because it is more natural and less
processed. You could certainly say that butter is less processed and has fewer
ingredients than your average margarine. Personally I prefer the taste of a
scrape of butter on my toast. But does that make it ‘better’?
Margarine is not necessarily the terrible evil you might think
from reading stuff on the internet. (In fact for something to technically be
called ‘margarine’ it has to be 80% fat, just like butter, so you don’t see a
lot of actual margarine on the shelves these days). It is all about context. If
you are eating a fabulously healthy diet and don’t have weight or cholesterol
issues, a little butter won’t hurt. You may prefer the taste and be happy
keeping the quantities low. But if you’re loading up on butter and are
overweight or have high cholesterol, you’re probably better off switching to a
reduced-fat spread for your toast, which has far less saturated fat and is
lower in kilojoules. Or swap to avocado or nut butter so you’re getting some
healthy fat. Context is everything. Margarine is a more manufactured product,
and that can be a turnoff for some. But it doesn’t mean it’s ‘bad’ for
everyone. We have to choose what works for our own situation.
It’s the same with all the other ‘either/or’ questions about food.
Milk is a nutritious and useful food for most people. But soy milk may be
better for you if you can’t tolerate dairy. Too much sugar is not good for
anyone – but neither is too much honey. It’s the same with oils – all are
energy dense so too much of any oil, whether it’s coconut or olive or canola,
is not a good idea. Coconut oil is high in saturated fat, so it’s a good idea
to treat it like butter and use sparingly, if at all. But if your diet is full
of healthful whole foods and tons of veges and you like the taste of coconut
oil, a little bit is not going to hurt.
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