| Now that's been reversed. U. S. Department of | | | | led to the big increase in blends a |
| Agriculture statistics cited by Ehrhart show | | | | combination of butter and margarine. |
| that in 1987, Americans averaged 10.5 pounds | | | | |
| of margarine and 4.6 pounds of butter. And | | | | And the field is further crowded by what are |
| despite the nearly $14 million a year spent | | | | called "spreads." To be called margarine, a |
| by the Dairy Board to convince people to | | | | product must by law be pretty much synthetic |
| stick with butter, Chuck Timpko, the board's | | | | butter it must be 80 percent fat, just like |
| manager of consumer research, notes that in | | | | butter. But spreads can be just about |
| 1988 in home consumer use of butter dropped | | | | anything they want, and what they tend to |
| another 6 percent. The reason: Besides being | | | | want to be is lower in saturated fat. So |
| about half the cost, margarine is viewed as | | | | spreads have much higher percentages of pure |
| being "healthier." A tablespoon of butter has | | | | vegetable oil unhydrogenated and thus even |
| about 100 calories, I I grams of fat (about 7 | | | | less saturated fat. They're also easier to |
| grams saturated and 4 unsaturated), and 30 | | | | spread hence the name. In fact, there are |
| milligrams of cholesterol. Margarine, | | | | even spreads in bottles now, but even Ehrhart |
| manufactured from vegetable oils and | | | | admits that "most people aren't used to |
| artificially flavored and colored to look | | | | pouring spread on their toast." Butter or |
| like butter, has no cholesterol and is low in | | | | margarine, spreads or blends? The bottom |
| saturated fats. (Of the 1 I grams of fat in a | | | | line: Moderate use of all of these products. |
| tablespoon of margarine, usually 2 or 3 are | | | | For example, if you're worried about those |
| saturated fat.) But it's not a hands down | | | | weird fatty acids in margarine but you're |
| victory for margarine. "Margarine has no | | | | worried about your cholesterol too, you can |
| nutritional value all you get is fat," says | | | | have butter just not very much of it. |
| Robin Bagby, M.Ed., R.D., of the Penn State | | | | Likewise, if you switch to margarine, you're |
| Nutrition Center. "The big misconception is | | | | not free of saturated fats: Eat 6 table |
| that margarine has fewer calories. So people | | | | spoons of margarine and you may as well have |
| use it liberally. For people on a diet, you | | | | had a couple of butter. You can even make |
| have to watch your total fat intake." For | | | | your own blends in a food processor (try 60 |
| those who believe margarine is just a | | | | percent butter and 40 percent vegetable oil), |
| manufactured collection of undesirable artery | | | | as suggested by Dr. Green. So whether you |
| clogging components, Michael Green, Ph.D., | | | | favor your taste buds, your wallet, your |
| associate professor of nutrition science at | | | | arteries, your fear of the unknown, or any |
| the Pennsylvania State University, says that | | | | combination, there's a product on the shelves |
| no study has conclusively linked any of | | | | with your name on it. "If you're confused," |
| margarine's fatty acids to negative outcomes. | | | | says Bagby, "there's always jelly. |
| But he notes that "this concern has obviously | | | | |