The word used in the title first sprang up from watchdog groups, in reference to genetically modified foods. But as far as I'm concerned it should refer to any food that has been invented, oversweetened, or excessively processed.
Margarine is my most hated Frankenfood. Now we've all seen the wild claims on TV about their amazing ability to virtually vaccuum out your clogged arteries and save you from a fatal heart attack. But don't you think it's pretty far fetched that spreading something on your toast can help you avoid the most common cause of death?
Especially when, despite the pictures of pretty flowers, cows and sunshine on the label, there is nothing at all natural about this product..........
Margerines are generally made from vegetable oils, most commonly sunflower, soya, canola and palm oil. The oils are refined to remove impurities before being hydrogenated. This process artifically "saturates", or hardens oils into solid fat making them more suitable for food processing. Oil is hydrogenated by mixing it with fine particles of nickel (a catalyst) heating it to 180 degrees celcius and pumping hydrogen gas through it under high pressure.
After filtering the nickel out again, the oil is bleached and deodorised. As it cools the hydrogenated oil turns into a waxy fat, which can be minced into pellets for blending into any recipes needing solid `dry' fat. The hydrogenated `hardened' fat is then mixed with oil to form a product with the desired texture. Antioxidants prevent the polyunsaturated fatty acids in margarine from going rancid.
So after reading that, do you really think there is much wrong with a little grass fed, made from milk, salt and nothing else, despite the rap it gets for saturated fat (which we all know is ok anyway), actually is almost a third monounsaturated, good ol fashioned, what your grandmama used to eat, BUTTER!?!?
Healthy eating is about real food, not chemistry experiments. Don't believe health claims when you are shopping. In fact if there is a label on any food saying it will do something good for you, just don't buy it.
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