A: Margarine is undeniably unnatural. It came out years ago when people started worrying about eating saturated fat. Since butter contains saturated fat, it became a nutritional bad guy and margarine took its place. The problem is, margarine is hydrogenated, which converts it to an unnaturally saturated fat, which is a definite no-no. Unnatural saturated fats are full of trans fatty acids, and those are dangerous to your health. Margarine dramatically increases the risk of coronary heart disease as compared to butter. In fact, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53 percent over eating the same amount of butter. If you're still not convinced, try this home experiment. You don't need a million-dollar grant or a $100 million laboratory-all you need is a tub of margarine. Open it, then leave it in your garage or in another shaded area. Within a couple of days, you will notice a few things: First, it doesn't rot or smell different. Second, nothing will grow on it. And finally, no bugs-not even those pesky fruit flies--will go near it. That should tell you something. Stay away from margarine. There are plenty of better options to try. And don't worry about the saturated fat content of butter. You'd be amazed at how many sophisticated medical people are still hung up on "saturated fat," which has nothing to do with our health problems. It's important to note that natural saturated fat-like palm oil or coconut oil-are nutritious and completely safe in any quantity. Butter contains both saturated and unsaturated fats, but these are natural components of butter and are not trans fats.
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