The cream war of the century, natural beats artificial!

Whether it’s the fragrant thick slices of toast or the creamy clam pasta, the soul of these delicious dishes is the taste of "cream"! Modern people pay attention to health and safety when it comes to food, but when faced with a wide range of cream products, they are often confused and find it difficult to choose. In fact, as long as you follow the principle of "natural is best", give priority to natural animal cream and avoid margarine, you can avoid the damage to the cardiovascular system caused by "artificial trans fats" and complex additives!

Natural cream is made from 100% milk, so it naturally exudes a rich milk aroma and yellow color.

Natural Butter vs. Margarine

What is natural butter? Simply put, natural cream is animal cream, made from 100% milk, so it naturally exudes a rich milk aroma and yellow color. Margarine is a cream substitute developed in the late 18th century. It is popular because of its relatively low price and long shelf life.

The raw material of margarine is liquid vegetable oil. Since most vegetable oils are liquid, they must be "hydrogenated" to become solid butter. In addition, in order to imitate the taste and color of animal butter, butter made from vegetable oil will add artificial spices to create a milky aroma, and food coloring will also be added to create a yellow color for the butter.

However, because margarine contains many chemical substances, such as pigments and flavors, it poses many concerns to consumers' health. In the early days of the United States, there was even a ban on dyeing margarine yellow because people were worried that consumers would not be able to identify it. The necessary pigment was set as "pink". Although the ban has been lifted, it also shows that the additives in margarine are not something that ordinary consumers can easily identify at a glance, which is really worrying.

Because margarine contains many chemical substances, such as pigments and flavors, it poses many concerns to consumers' health.

Artificial trans fats may increase cardiovascular disease risk

It is a common misconception among people that vegetable butter is healthier than animal butter. In fact, the originally healthy vegetable oil is converted from "cis" fat into "trans" fatty acids during the hydrogenation process. This increases the amount of bad cholesterol deposited in blood vessels, changes the composition of cell membranes, reduces the ability of cells to fight carcinogens, and causes adverse effects on the cardiovascular system. Studies have shown that if you consume 5 grams of trans fat every day, the risk of heart disease will increase by 25%, and it will also increase the bad cholesterol in the human body, causing obesity, three highs, cardiovascular disease and other problems.

Since 2004, the Danish government has banned the sale of any products containing more than 2% trans fat. Taiwan has also required that the content of trans fatty acids be indicated on food packaging since 2008. However, if the trans fatty acid content is less than 0.3 grams per 100 grams of food, the packaging can be labeled as 0. In fact, when eating "zero trans fatty acid" food, you may still ingest trans fat.

On the contrary, trans fats are also found in animal creams. They are natural products produced by the digestion of ruminants such as cows and sheep, and the amount is small. The most representative ingredient is "conjugated (trans) linolenic acid (CLA)". Such trans fats are natural trans fats, not "artificial" trans fats produced by chemical processing, and do not have negative health effects on our bodies.

Natural butter with good fat-soluble vitamins and Omega 3

Natural butter contains a lot of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, which have a maintenance effect on the brain, skin, bones, blood, etc. In addition, choosing butter produced by cows that eat grass allows you to naturally ingest the essential fatty acid Omega-3, which the human body cannot synthesize on its own.

When it comes to cream, natural cream should be given priority to avoid cardiovascular problems. (Photo provided by An Jiayongniu)

Many studies have shown that Omega-3 can lower blood cholesterol levels and help prevent cardiovascular disease. It can also enhance brain power, prevent memory loss, and improve vision.

In addition, natural cream is also important for pregnant women. Studies have shown that pregnant women should avoid consuming too much artificial trans fat to prevent it from being passed to their babies through breast milk, which will increase the cholesterol in the blood of infants and may have long-term effects on their health.

The more cream there is, the higher the chance of margarine additives

The easiest way to identify commercially available butter is by its product name and ingredients, including "margarine", "ghee" and other "vegetable butters", which are all made through processing methods. In addition, the more additives listed on the package, the more likely it is margarine, because natural cream is made from simple milk.

【Health Tips】:

The daily trans fatty acid intake of adults should not exceed 2 grams. Natural butter should be used as the main ingredient, and fried foods and overly refined cakes should be avoided as much as possible in the diet to avoid cardiovascular problems.