5Margarine
Margarine was invented in France for Napoleon III’s armies during the Franco-Prussian war. It was a cheap alternative to butter and did not spoil. While it was originally made from beef fat, the margarine we buy in supermarkets today is a non-dairy spread made out of refined vegetable oil and water.
Vegetable fats can contain anything up to 86% saturated fatty acids, making them terrible for heart health and obesity in general. Margarine was initially produced by adding hydrogen to vegetable oils to solidify them, resulting in the production of high amounts of trans-fatty acids.
A lot of manufacturers have switched to newer methods of producing margarine by interesterification and blending with unsaturated liquid oils. But it doesn’t change the fact that making this butter substitute involves a significant amount of processing.
And unless you’re ready to investigate your favorite brand thoroughly, it’s difficult to say what goes into the spread. As it is, we ingest too much bad fats unknowingly. So why not drop margarine in favor of real butter or better still, nut butters.
Alternative: Use real butter in sensible quantities if you’re not allergic to dairy. Healthy alternatives to this include mashed avocado, homemade butter made from peanuts and/or almond and coconut butter to name a few.