Is vegetable oil spread healthy or not?

[Playitsafe]

When I make Macaroni and Cheese (from a box), the recipe calls for 1/4 cup of butter or margarine. I've been using a half stick of the Imperial spread: https://www.foodservicedirect.com/im...yABEgLlsvD_BwE

The stuff I get says 0 grams of trans fat, and yet I keep hearing that the stick form of this stuff is high in trans fat. So, does it have trans fat or not? The ingredients say nothing about partially hydroginated oils. It says Vegetable oil blend (soybean and palm oil, palm kernel oil) Total fat is 7g, Sat. fat is 2.5g

I was looking into alternatives such as olive oil, but now I don't know if it's really necessary. The sticks of vegetable oil spread is much more convenient to use.

[totallypants]

Nah, not really. Polyunsaturated fats like soybean and a lot of other vegetable oils are so easily oxidized (expired, toxic, etc) that they're often oxidized just during the process of even extracting them. Same with nuts. Don't avoid nuts entirely because of that, but try to get them as fresh and raw as possible.

For cooking, I strongly recommend using saturated fats, or monounsaturated fats mixed with saturated fats (which increases their stability on the stove). Saturated fats are the most stable cooking oils, meaning they hold up to heat and air exposure without oxidizing better than any other fats. When oil oxidizes it becomes a toxic waste product your body needs to remove and most of the nutritional benefit is lost or counteracted. So healthy monounsaturated fats like olive and avocado that can go bad easily, you want to store in a dark, cool place, for a maximum of 6 months, and you want to source them well.. Get olive oil that's IOOC-approved (international olive oil council, yes its a real thing and yes it's actually worth something). It's the freshest, highest-quality (most nutritious and least-oxidized/toxic) olive oil. I would just pour the stuff straight onto a salad or something and eat it raw. You can't absorb vegetable nutrients nearly as effectively without fat anyway so it's perfectly convenient to use that way.

Saturated fats come mostly from animals and coconuts. Saturated fat from animals gets a bad rap because of crappy science and astronomically worse farming methods. When animals are raised properly/ethically/traditionally, i.e. grass-fed beef or chickens who are free to run around and eat insects and compost and whatnot, those are healthy animals that will produce healthy animal fats which are actually really good for you. Factory-farmed animals store all of the toxins from their crap diets and stress from their terrible living conditions in their fat and their bones, and they just pass that right along to you. That's why so many studies on people eating animal products seem to show saturated fats from animals as a bad thing, because by the numbers most people are eating these horribly raised animals and so a survey of meat eaters is going to be based mostly on factory-farmed meat.

For polyunsaturated fats that go bad super easily, just avoid them. You can definitely eat nuts sometimes but get them fresh and raw as possible or don't consume very many. All of the polyunsaturated fats you need can come from fresh fish. Vegetable oils like soybean oil are just damaging to the body as far as the science I've read on how they cause inflammation and metabolic disorders and even heart problems. Really well-made sesame oil can be good, but can also be hard to find. The convenience of margarine, if it comes down to its consistency, is not worth the health tradeoff. Everything you can do with it you can do with the other fats which are vastly more beneficial for you health and fitness goals.

[Mrpb]

I was looking into alternatives such as olive oil, but now I don't know if it's really necessary.

Yes much better idea. Refined olive oil has a high smoke point.

[totallypants]

Yes much better idea. Refined olive oil has a high smoke point.

Refining olive oil strips it of its antioxidant compounds, even if it has a higher smoke point it is much more easily oxidized. ***EDIT: Okay I just did some research to make sure I wasn't misremembering, but turns out extra virgin olive oil might actually be as stable for cooking as coconut. Previously I'd said extra virgin olive oil was best used raw and saturated fat was more stable at high heats but I'm going to refrain from saying anymore on that until I'm better acquainted with the actual information...

but OP I strongly recommend not using anymore of that margarine and getting yourself some extra virgin olive oil. Soybean oil is terrible

[Mrpb]

Refining olive oil strips it of its antioxidant compounds, even if it has a higher smoke point it is much more easily oxidized.

I agree for lower and medium temperatures EVOO is the better choice. For higher temperatures I'd prefer refined olive oil instead.

[andy0w]

Palmoil creates a rainforest problem. I try to refrain from food that contains palm oil.
Not easy. You find it everywhere.

I use sunflower oil for frying, or butter, or lard, and extra Virgin olive oil for salads.

But not a quarter of a cup. Rather just a tablespoon to fry the onions, that should give enough liquid to add herbs.

For macaroni sauce I start with 2 or 3 chopped anchovis. They come with oil and thats sufficient.

Anchovis, garlic, onions, tomatoes, oregano. Mix in the boiled macaroni, add the grated parmesan on top of the hot meal.

[Mrpb]

I use sunflower oil for frying

High oleic sunflower oil is good for frying. Regular not so much.