3 ms·

Until not all that long ago (in my lifetime, anyway), there was a lot of false information out there about cholesterol. Respected experts believed that choleste

Until not all that long ago (in my lifetime, anyway), there was a lot of false information out there about cholesterol. Respected experts believed that cholesterol in became blood cholesterol, and it became government policy, and was considered conventional wisdom. Dairy products also cost a lot more than non-dairy alternatives a few decades ago. People my age grew up largely eating margarine. Butter was something expensive and decadent and to be eaten in moderation. A whole generation got used to it. Most of us wised up and moved to butter. I still see a lot of people using various non-dairy alternatives now, but when I was younger, it was ubiquitous. Margarines taste a lot better now than they used to, too, so it was worse than you might imagine. Mixing meat and dairy isn't kosher, so there are cultural reasons keeping it around as well.

taeric 5y ago
This implies that the current established view is that butter and friends are somewhat healthier. Is that the case? I still get a ton of odd looks when I use/eat a lot of fat.
- philliphaydon 5y ago
  People used to cook with lard but that got declared as bad and the cause of obesity. Once you remove lard you remove the taste, as a result we ended up substituting with sugar and such, and obesity problem skyrocketed in the west, especially the US.
- caymanjim 5y ago
  Diet and nutrition are complicated and there's little universal consensus. I think there's broad support now for the idea that dietary cholesterol does not become blood cholesterol, though. Back in the 70s/80s, the USDA heavily pushed low-fat/high-carb diets. It's a direct, significant cause--along with other contributing lifestyle and food processing factors--of the obesity epidemic that really took off then. It still influences dietary decisions today. I'm not a nutritionist, and there's still disagreement among professionals, but I think the ship has sailed on that thinking. It's clear that a high-carb, low-fat diet is bad for you, leads to higher blood cholesterol, leads to obesity and diabetes and a host of other problems. As far as butter vs. margarine, their calories and fat content are comparable. Beyond that, the impact on health comes down to whether "trans fats" in margarine are worse for you than the fats in butter. Again, no one can agree, and the scientific evidence leads to different conclusions. Like everything related to diet and nutrition, most people are talking out their ass, or are at best uninformed. Especially me.

taeric 5y ago

This implies that the current established view is that butter and friends are somewhat healthier. Is that the case? I still get a ton of odd looks when I use/eat a lot of fat.

philliphaydon 5y ago
People used to cook with lard but that got declared as bad and the cause of obesity. Once you remove lard you remove the taste, as a result we ended up substituting with sugar and such, and obesity problem skyrocketed in the west, especially the US.
caymanjim 5y ago
Diet and nutrition are complicated and there's little universal consensus. I think there's broad support now for the idea that dietary cholesterol does not become blood cholesterol, though. Back in the 70s/80s, the USDA heavily pushed low-fat/high-carb diets. It's a direct, significant cause--along with other contributing lifestyle and food processing factors--of the obesity epidemic that really took off then. It still influences dietary decisions today. I'm not a nutritionist, and there's still disagreement among professionals, but I think the ship has sailed on that thinking. It's clear that a high-carb, low-fat diet is bad for you, leads to higher blood cholesterol, leads to obesity and diabetes and a host of other problems. As far as butter vs. margarine, their calories and fat content are comparable. Beyond that, the impact on health comes down to whether "trans fats" in margarine are worse for you than the fats in butter. Again, no one can agree, and the scientific evidence leads to different conclusions. Like everything related to diet and nutrition, most people are talking out their ass, or are at best uninformed. Especially me.