I am always astounded when people tell me that margarine is a better option than butter. Many health professionals recommend margarine instead of butter to lower cholesterol, but in fact, the truth about margarine is rather scary.

To cut a long story short, margarine is vegetable oil that has been chemically extracted. To make matters worse, the oil is extracted at very high temperatures and this therefore ruins the oil completely. Usually what is in margarine is not good for our health at all. Vitamin E is depleted because of the fact that it is treated at such high temperatures. What is left after the extraction process, according to Dr. Wilson of dr.wilson.com, is “nickel, cadmium and other toxic contaminants”.

Butter, on the other hand, especially if it is certified raw butter is good for us. It has many fatty acids that are good for our body. In it you will find vitamin A, D, E and K. Of course if you are lactose intolerant, olive oil is a great substitute.

In India, ghee is used in cooking a great deal. Ghee is actually clarified butter. Basically it is butter with the milk solids taken out of it. The process in which it is made is very gentle. It is even better than butter because when you cook with it, it can be used at relatively high temperatures.

However it is very important to understand that over using butter or ghee can definitely affect your waistline and cholesterol. Both of these options are far better for your health than margarine.

I once did an experiment to test this theory when a friend of mine told me of the dangers of margarine. I took a packet of margarine and left it outside for a few days. When I checked on it, it was completely the same and there was no change to the substance: no bugs, no change to it at all. Imagine having this in your stomach. It’s like have plastic just stuck there.

So the next time you are watching your waistline take heed on what you buy. Advertisements are misleading. Everything we put into our systems need to be in moderation.