19 October 2023|General Discussion
https://toasterding.com/f/is-blue-band-margarine-really-healthy#google_vignette
This post is an insight into Blue Band margarine, the ingredients that go into it, the processing, and if the resultant product is good for your health and if you should really ingest it daily as a health-conscious individual.
The real question should be, is margarine really healthy? And the short answer is; It is probably the most unhealthy fat invented.
While that is true, Blue Band, a brand of margarine, also packs some vitamins and fortifications to make it overall healthy and beneficial to the body. So it’s no longer about the fat but about the product as a whole.
Since Blue Band is the mainstream margarine brand anyway, we will be case-studying it here. I’m not a nutritionist or dietician so this info is for educational purposes only, sourced from publicly available information. Let’s start by first defining what margarine is.
What is Margarine?
Margarine is simply a cheaper substitute for butter that doesn’t require special storage conditions like refrigeration while packing a longer stable shelf life of up to a year.
So margarine is basically vegetable oil that has been altered structurally to remain solid at room temperature, no freezing required no softening required. Meanwhile, butter is just itself as it is supposed to be naturally occurring
Margarine is made by hardening fats and oils through a process of hydrogenation, where the carbon atoms in the oil structure are bonded with hydrogen atoms- Yeah Mr White, Yeah Science!
Margarine vs Butter
- Margarine is processed from oils, meanwhile, butter is extracted from milk by churning(spinning milk to separate fat from it). So yeah, butter is natural margarine is artificial
- Butter is richer and tastes better than margarine
- Butter is more expensive than margarine
- Margarine is shelf stable, while butter requires refrigeration
- Butter is generally healthier than margarine
- Margarine is plant-based and thus can be considered vegan, butter is an animal product.
- Margarine is spreadable when cold, butter needs to be softened.
Types of Blue Band Margarine
1. Medium Fat Blue Band (Original)
This is the common mainstream Blue Band type. It has a dark blue lid, almost purple, I’m probably color-blind. This is the original type and it is multipurpose unlike the other two types covered below.
You can use the original BB for everything from spreading, baking, cooking, and even topping dishes.
2. Low Fat Blue Band( Spread for Bread)
Blue Band low fat is a product geared to health-conscious individuals who want less fat intake in their diet. It is distinct with a light blue lid. It doesn’t have Omega 3&6 fortifications like on the original.
Being low fat means it has fewer calories, and it actually does. Packs 798kJ/100g while the original has more than double that, 1880kJ/100g.
Low-fat Blue Band is a single-purpose margarine; just for spreading bread. Trying to use it multi-purposely like you would with the original is just a disaster. It doesn’t melt well thus it is unsuitable for other purposes( as it is low-fat)
3. Baking Blue Band
This is purposely geared toward baking, I haven’t personally tried it, but I imagine it should be better than the original in the baking scene since it is specifically geared towards that purpose.
Discussion
Butter has more saturated fats than margarine, which makes it taste richer. A little saturated fat is okay because it has good cholesterol that helps with sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen.
But again, our livers already make the good cholesterol we need, so it’s not really essential.
Large amounts of saturated fatty acids can be harmful to the liver and heart, so when it comes to saturated fatty acids, spreads like Blue Band and other margarine are considered healthier than butter.
Margarine often contains high levels of trans fats, which are even more unhealthy than saturated fats. Trans fats are so bad for health that they have been banned by the FDA in the USA. From this perspective, butter is considered a healthier option.
Trans fats are typically formed during the hydrogenation of oils, and they can increase “bad” cholesterol while decreasing “good” cholesterol.
However, some premium margarine brands don’t use hydrogenation but another method called “ interesterification.” which is a lot of science that I don’t understand either
Blue Band mentions “hardened oils and fats,” which according to me, is a way of referring to hydrogenation without explicitly stating it. A Google search of “hardened fats and oils” results in topics on hydrogenation, so you can make a verdict on yourself here, I don’t want a corporate lawyer knocking on my door.
So whether Blue Band contains trans fats, will remain inconclusive. One thing I know is that; most products with 0% trans fats will proudly label that on the product packaging (not even on the ingredient listing) – as their selling point. Conversely, products with trans fats may not always explicitly mention their trans fat content.
The biggest advertising point of Blue Band is containing omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids which our bodies cannot produce on their own, but do need. So being a source of those is probably the best thing about Blue Band.
However, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in any product is important to consider. In the Blue Band, the level of omega-6 is significantly higher than that of omega-3, with a ratio of 7:1.
A diet that is high in omega-6 but low in omega-3 fatty acids can potentially lead to increased inflammation in the body, which, over time, can contribute to various health issues, including heart problems. The recommended ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is between 1:1 and at most 2:1
Thoughts?
Blue Band is both healthy and unhealthy from different perspectives. Healthy is the sense that it uses vegetable oils that have lower saturated fatty acids, fortifies the product with essential fatty acids; omega-3 and omega-6, and fortifies the margarine further with a bunch of vitamins; A, B3, B6, B9, B12, D& E
Again, unhealthy in the sense that it is a heavily processed product,( obviously not organic) that also contains additives and preservatives. Also, it may contain trans fats that may mess with cholesterol levels increasing the risks of heart diseases, since most margarine brands have that and it is not stated here as an exception.
Related Links
5 Ways to Make Use of Blue Band Margarine in Kenya
