Margarine is a culinary preparation invented in France in 1869 by the pharmacist Hippolyte Mege-Mouries in order to find a substitute for butter which had become rare and…
Margarine is a culinary preparation invented in France in 1869 by the pharmacist Hippolyte Mege-Mouries in order to find a replacement product for butter which had become rare and too expensive. Basically, margarine was made from heated beef fat and mixed with water and whey. Today, the recipe has changed and has become a healthy product in the eyes of the consumer. Is this really the case?
Today, margarine is an emulsion of water and vegetable oils stabilized by the addition of emulsifiers. We find more or less additives depending on the recipes: flavors, coloring, salt, vitamins, acidity correctors, preservatives… To obtain a spreadable and solid product at room temperature, the oils present in margarine must undergo an industrial transformation of hydrogenation or interesterification.
Un aliment ultratransformé
The hydrogenation of an oil consists of adding hydrogen bonds to fatty acids, thus modifying their molecular structure. This process results in the production of trans fatty acids. The latter are the most feared for health, particularly cardiovascular health.
Interesterification is an operation which consists of modifying the distribution of the fatty acids of the triglycerides of an oil in order to obtain new functional properties. In the food industry, this step is carried out chemically. Some studies indicate that fatty acids having undergone this interesterification disrupt metabolism in different ways: induction of glucose intolerance, alteration of insulin signaling in the liver and muscles, increase in insulin secretion and inflammation. These two industrial processes are therefore unnatural, which makes margarines ultra-processed foods.
Some margarines make the presence of omega 3 in their composition a selling point and a healthy product. Most margarines are only made from vegetable oils: sunflower, olive, soya, palm and rapeseed or flax for those containing omega 3. For good health and to reduce the body’s inflammatory level, you must ensure that you have a good omega 6/omega 3 ratio. It should be ideally 3, it flirts more with 20 in France. Many margarines have a bad ratio. Exit, the health advantage!
Oméga 3 : le faux argument santé
If we look a little closer, the omega 3 contained in certain margarines mostly comes from linseed oil, exceptionally rich in this precious molecule. Flax contains short-chain omega 3, ALA. But it is above all long-chain omega 3 that we are sorely lacking, the famous EPA and DHA. Finally, all omega 3s are extremely sensitive to oxidation and heat. Moreover, the more an oil contains, the more easily it oxidizes. Linseed oil is the oil that holds the record for ALA concentration, more than 50%. This is also why I refuse to advise her because she is so fragile. Oxidized Omega 3 is worse than no Omega 3 at all!
Last thing, some margarines are sold as spreads and cooking fats. Remember that omega 3 should under no circumstances be heated at the risk of seeing all their benefits go up in smoke.
Anaïs Taqourt is dieteticienne nutritioniste à Morlaàs (13 rue Etienne Lenoir). Tel. 06 83 65 52 09. Facebook Page « Anais Taqourt » Site web : https://www.dieteticienne-nutritionniste-pau.fr/
