Healthy alternatives to butter

[Taz]

I've been using Benecol spreads for a few years know and don't really miss real butter. I'm convinced that using such spreads is beneficial to my health. But they are very costly so could my perception be all in the mind?

Are foodstuffs that contain 'plant stenol esters' really good for you? The problem that I can foresee is that products like Benecol have to be taken like medicine: four servings a day. I tend to have toast only every other day so i'm probably not gaining any benefit from the plant stenol esters.

[Funkstar]

i'm not a massive butter fan (the fact it is too hard to spread from the fridge out ways the taste), but i don't like my food to have things i can't pronounce in it if it can be avoided at all. Using Anchor spreadable now, you can understand the ingredients

Sure it might have higher fat content etc. than other spreads and doesn't give your heart (or whatever) a clean out, but in my mind it is 'safe' (as in not full of weird stuff).

[bertoli]

Not using butter! I never use butter for sandwiches etc.


I understand the supposed bebefits of using polyunsaturated this and that, surely it's more healthy not to use at all?

[herulach]

Gah, more butter, margerine is for girly men. Ill admit to going for mayonnaise from time to time, but not of that low fat crap, mayonaisse = egg+oil, how can you make that low fat without putting allsorts of crap in it?

[Rave]

i'm not a massive butter fan (the fact it is too hard to spread from the fridge out ways the taste), but i don't like my food to have things i can't pronounce in it if it can be avoided at all. Using Anchor spreadable now, you can understand the ingredients

Sure it might have higher fat content etc. than other spreads and doesn't give your heart (or whatever) a clean out, but in my mind it is 'safe' (as in not full of weird stuff).

Please tell me you weren't taken in by those adverts with two cows holding a list of the ingredients? Of all the ingredients the advert listed for Flora there was literally one that I didn't know, all the rest were either hydrogenated vegetable oils (all margerine is based on this), vitamins, or basic food colourings. Beta-carotene is a food colouring- it's also the safe form of Vitamin A, carrots are full of it.

As for butter- I bought some the other day to make shortbread- and ended up just eating it all. I can just eat butter on its own I love it so much, spread on toast, crumpets or bagels it's just fabulous. At 53p a block I intent to start eating it again regularly. I personally was in full agreement with these guys long before I found their website. My argument is- how often to fit, slim people have heart attacks? IMO, fatness and unfitness causes heart trouble, not cholesterol.

[herulach]

My argument is- how often to fit, slim people have heart attacks? IMO, fatness and unfitness causes heart trouble, not cholesterol.

More often than you might think, but that doesnt stop me subscribing to the same argument. The way i see it food is there to be enjoyed, not obsessed over how many calories or salt or whatever it has, the body is remarkably adaptable, and so what if i only live till 65? better that than be confined to an old peoples home barely able to do anything bar change the tv channel.

[steve threlfall]

My dad who is not overweight but not exactly fit due to not having time to exercise has t ocontrol his cholesterol. It was running too high a couple of years ago so hes been more careful with what he eats since then.

At the time he was advised to use benecol and the flora one (pro active?). Just recently another doctor had advised him to eat butter or regular margerine instead, allbeit in moderation.

I suppose moderation is the key to everything really. Surely its better to eact less salt than to buy lo sodium salt and pile more on to get the taste

[Funkstar]

Please tell me you weren't taken in by those adverts with two cows holding a list of the ingredients?

No it wasn't the cow, it was just the back of the pack. <shrug> guess it doesn't really matter anyway, i usually bin them before they are finished becasue of the use by date anyway