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“Eat Margarine or Your Family Will Die” – Really?

“Health food” commercials are getting worse and worse – and of course I'm not referring to adverts for kale or grass-fed beef. I'm talking about products with a list of unpronounceable ingredients – products I go out of my way to avoid. And given that you're reading my blog, I suspect you do too.

There seems to have been a huge turn here. It seems to slow be becoming the norm to eat an unprocessed diet of real, whole foods. Avoiding processed carbs like bread and pasta seems to be slowly becoming mainstream, and a feat of fat is definitely starting to disappear. I get the impression the manufacturers of all those other food-like-products are getting worried…

So which advert has been annoying me most this week?

Flora Pro-Activ

Cue upset wife that her husband has high cholesterol. He undertakes the Flora Pro-Activ challenge for three weeks, has his cholesterol re-checked. Ends with happy wife, now her husband isn't about to drop dead due to a high cholesterol invoked heart attack.

So what is the Flora challenge? For three weeks you eat 25 g of Flora every day, make sure you eat your wholegrains, replace BAD saturated fat with healthy saturated fat and generally keep your fat as low as possible. Nooo!

And what does Flora Pro-Activ actually contain?

Ingredients: Water, Vegetable Oils (30%), Plant Sterol Esters (12.5%), Buttermilk, Modified Waxy Corn Starch, Salt (1%), Emulsifiers (Mono-and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Sunflower Lecithin), Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Citric Acid, Flavourings, Colour (Beta Carotene), Vitamin A and D

And evil butter? Let’s remind ourselves of the dangerous ingredients that contains: Pasteurised Cream (from Milk), Water, Salt. Three ingredients that I have in my kitchen; compared to unidentified “vegetable” oils and a host of ingredients not available at the local farmers market.

Despite a lot of research showing a higher cholesterol actually lowers the risk of heart attack, of course, these companies still like to keep us fearing cholesterol. More worrying is the margarine they want us to eat to benefit our health – so chemically processed, they are a fat that our bodies don’t recognise at all.

The other issue, is the claim that the plant sterol esters in this product actually lower your cholesterol. The adverts make it sound like a magic potion, with the ability to dramatically cut your cholesterol in a matter of days. The reality is that alone, these chemicals can supposedly only reduce cholesterol by a maximum of 10% (average results presumably a lot lower) – and of course that’s assuming reducing cholesterol is a good thing.

All in all I find the advert extremely misleading and think it’s outrageous that they come into our homes every day, suggesting that if you love your family, you need to make sure they eat 25 g of margarine a day – or risk losing them to heart disease.

The Myth of Margarine: What’s the Real Health Risk?

For years, margarine was touted as the heart-healthy alternative to butter — a spread allegedly designed with your arteries in mind. But now that we’ve pulled back the curtain on what margarine actually contains, many of us are asking a far more sensible question: why were we ever told to eat this in the first place?

The truth is, margarine is an ultra-processed product engineered in labs and pumped full of chemically altered fats. These fats, including trans fats and processed polyunsaturated oils, are nothing like the natural fats our bodies evolved to metabolise. And no amount of rebranding or health halo marketing can change that.

What Happened to “Natural”?

It’s amazing to witness the food industry’s efforts to redefine what’s “healthy.” Butter, cream, eggs — once demonised — are now slowly regaining their rightful place in real-food circles. And while health-conscious communities have been embracing whole foods and ancestral eating patterns for over a decade, mainstream advertising is only just starting to notice. But instead of embracing these shifts, many brands are scrambling to cling to their outdated models, doubling down on their margarine and cholesterol-fear campaigns.

“Cholesterol Lowering” – But At What Cost?

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: cholesterol. The suggestion that lowering cholesterol is always a positive outcome is deeply flawed. Numerous studies have shown that cholesterol is essential for hormone production, brain function, and cellular repair. Lowering it artificially through chemical means, without addressing the underlying cause of poor health, could actually be harmful.

Not to mention, many of these cholesterol-lowering spreads (like Flora Pro-Activ) aren’t doing anything particularly miraculous. As mentioned, their key active ingredient — plant sterol esters — might reduce LDL cholesterol levels by around 10% at best. And that’s in ideal conditions, alongside a textbook-perfect low-fat, grain-heavy diet. But does this reduction equate to reduced risk of heart attack or stroke? The evidence simply isn’t conclusive.

Marketing vs Science: Who Do You Trust?

When you see a glossy commercial that plays on fear and emotion — a worried wife, a serious voiceover, a heartfelt pledge to “take control” — you’re not watching science. You’re watching marketing. These ads aren’t concerned with long-term health outcomes; they’re focused on brand loyalty, product sales, and cleverly timed emotional triggers.

Compare that to the growing body of independent research that’s highlighting the role of nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods in long-term wellbeing. More and more nutritionists, doctors and ancestral health advocates are saying the same thing: eat real food, minimise inflammatory ingredients, and don’t fear healthy fats.

The Paleo Perspective on Spreads and Fats

If you’re following a Paleo lifestyle, the idea of margarine probably seems laughable. Why would you swap something like grass-fed butter or ghee — both rich in vitamins A, D, E and K2 — for a synthetic product with preservatives, chemical stabilisers, and ambiguous “vegetable oils”?

Butter, coconut oil, animal fats and olive oil have stood the test of time. These are fats our ancestors consumed, often in abundance, without the chronic health epidemics we face today. Margarine, by contrast, is a modern invention born out of post-war industrialisation and misguided dietary guidelines — guidelines that are only now being dismantled as the science catches up.

The Bigger Problem with “Health” Products

Flora Pro-Activ isn’t the only product blurring the line between food and pharmaceutical. Every aisle in the supermarket is filled with processed products dressed up with buzzwords: “cholesterol friendly,” “heart smart,” “low GI,” and “plant-based.” But if you flip the packet and read the ingredients, it’s a different story entirely.

These labels exist to distract you from what’s really going on: ultra-processed food manufacturers are cashing in on health trends without genuinely supporting better health outcomes. They’re relying on outdated nutritional myths and fear tactics to keep consumers locked into a cycle of dependency on fake food — while real food sits quietly on the perimeter of the store.

What Can You Do Instead?

So, what’s the alternative to taking a “cholesterol challenge”? It’s simpler than you might think. Here are some truly health-supportive swaps:

Use butter or ghee from grass-fed sources — it’s natural, nourishing, and doesn’t require a marketing campaign to prove it.
Choose olive oil or avocado oil for cold applications, and coconut oil or animal fats for high heat cooking.
Eat a nutrient-dense diet full of vegetables, pastured meats, nuts, seeds and wild seafood — real foods your body recognises.
Get your fats from whole sources like eggs, oily fish, olives and coconuts.

You don’t need a challenge. You need information — and real, nourishing food that doesn’t come with a side of marketing spin.

Conclusion: Trust Your Instincts, Not the Ad Break

The next time an ad tries to scare you into believing your breakfast spread will determine whether you live to see your grandchildren, pause. Think critically. Ask yourself: does this message align with what I know about real health and real food?

If something feels off, it probably is. If a product needs a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign to convince you it’s good for your heart, maybe it isn’t. Trust your instincts. Trust your body. And above all, trust the food that humans have eaten for generations — not the version that was created in a lab to mimic it.

What do you think about the Flora Pro-Activ challenge and the health commercials that come into your home each day?

Another Margarine or Butter “Health” Article

4 Comments

I was reading the Summer 2012 edition of “Woman’s Weekly Health” earlier, when I came across this double page spread debating whether Margarine or Butter is better for your health. Fighting the corner for butter was a cook, Fran Abdallaoui. Arguing the case for margarine was Barbara Eden, Nutrition Manager at National Heart Foundation of Australia. I'm not sure how pitching a cook against a nutritionist (especially one representing the national heart foundation) is a balanced debate. I don’t think they want their readers to side with butter, do you?

Eden says “It comes down to your health and that’s the main factor your (SIC) considering when choosing between margarine and butter, there’s really no choice to make”. She also tells readers that “A regular butter is made up of… more than four per cent trans fat”, which I find frustratingly misleading, since natural, completely inert trans fats – as found in animal products – are completely different to the harmful trans fats found in many processed foods.

This is all because Eden believes “It’s the saturated fat and trans fat in our food supply that elevates your blood cholesterol levels which increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, and that’s one of the leading causes of death in Australia”

The article also adds “there is the convenience factor of the immediately spreadable product with a longer shelf life” as another reason we should go for margarine instead of butter. Well, using that argument, shouldn't we all have frozen pizza for dinner – it’s a lot more convenient and has a far longer shelf life than whole food…

In a “health” magazine, readers are going to place much more confidence in a nutritionist (especially one representing the national heart foundation) than they would a cook. If they really want to present a debate, surely they should present both sides, equally? Or better still, finally run an article about how wrong they've had it for the past few decades. I must stop reading “health” magazines – they raise my cortisol levels more than almost anything else and that’s definitely not good for my health!

Butter vs Margarine: Looking Beyond the Label

At face value, it seems like a simple choice — opt for the spread that has fewer saturated fats and a longer shelf life, right? But when you dig deeper into the origins, composition, and long-term health implications of both butter and margarine, it’s anything but simple. And yet, mainstream media continues to present the argument in binary terms, usually casting margarine as the sensible, science-backed choice and butter as an indulgent relic of a less informed era. Let’s dismantle that narrative.

The Origins of Margarine: A Processed Solution

Margarine was invented in the 1800s as a cheap substitute for butter. Over time, it became a Frankenstein’s monster of hydrogenated oils, colourants, emulsifiers, and synthetic vitamins — all engineered to resemble butter while undercutting it in cost. Early margarine was rich in industrial trans fats, which numerous studies have since linked to inflammation, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease.

Even though many manufacturers have reduced or removed trans fats in modern margarine, the product is still made by highly processing seed oils, often through chemical extraction and deodorisation — not something your great-grandmother would have recognised as food. In contrast, butter is made by churning cream. That’s it.

The Demonisation of Saturated Fat

One of the pillars of margarine’s marketing success lies in the demonisation of saturated fat. For decades, saturated fat was blamed for rising heart disease rates, based largely on flawed observational studies. Yet more recent research, including meta-analyses, has challenged this narrative. The relationship between saturated fat and heart disease is not as clear-cut as once believed.

Butter contains saturated fat, yes. But it also offers conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K2 (especially from grass-fed sources), and a natural fatty acid profile that humans have consumed for millennia. Margarine, by contrast, may be artificially fortified, but it simply doesn’t compare in terms of nutrient bioavailability or synergy.

The Role of Seed Oils in Inflammation

Many margarine products are made using vegetable oils such as canola, soybean, and sunflower oil. These are rich in omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). While omega-6 is an essential fatty acid, excessive intake relative to omega-3 can tip the balance toward systemic inflammation — a key player in many chronic diseases.

Modern diets are heavily skewed toward omega-6, thanks to the widespread use of industrial seed oils in processed foods. Butter, on the other hand, offers a more balanced fatty acid profile, with less potential for disrupting the body’s natural inflammatory responses.

Marketing vs Real Nutrition

The margarine vs butter debate often hinges on one key phrase: “heart healthy”. That label has been stamped on numerous low-fat, processed products over the years — many of which are far from nourishing. The real question is: who decides what qualifies as heart healthy?

Organisations like the Heart Foundation have historically relied on industry funding and outdated dietary guidelines. Their views on fat have slowly evolved, but they remain rooted in a model that favours products fitting a certain nutritional profile on paper — low saturated fat, high unsaturated fat — without always considering the real-world impact of ultra-processed replacements.

Whole Food Wins Every Time

If your primary goal is health, it’s hard to beat food in its natural state. Butter is a whole food — minimally processed, nutrient-rich, and easily recognisable as such. Margarine, no matter how it’s reformulated, remains a product of food science — not nature. This matters.

Our bodies evolved consuming fats from animals and plants in their natural form. Introducing chemically altered versions designed for cost-efficiency or shelf life doesn’t support optimal health. In fact, it raises a bigger question: how many chronic diseases are driven not by dietary fat itself, but by the kind of fat we’re consuming?

Butter in the Context of a Balanced Paleo Diet

For those following a Paleo-inspired approach, the choice between butter and margarine is crystal clear. While strict Paleo purists may exclude dairy altogether, many modern interpretations include ghee (clarified butter) due to its lactose-free profile and traditional roots.

Butter from grass-fed cows can be a fantastic source of nutrients — and it supports satiety, hormone production, and fat-soluble vitamin absorption. Used in moderation, it can be part of a deeply nourishing, anti-inflammatory way of eating. Compare that to margarine, which serves no purpose other than to mimic something better than itself.

Why Butter Is Still Under Fire

So why do health magazines and public health campaigns still push margarine? It often comes down to lingering dogma, commercial interests, and an unwillingness to challenge outdated paradigms. Once a narrative takes hold — “saturated fat equals heart disease” — it’s remarkably difficult to reverse, even in the face of new evidence.

It also doesn’t help that margarine is often cheaper and more profitable than butter, especially at scale. It’s easier to mass-produce, tweak to hit target fat ratios, and promote as part of heart-healthy “lite” diets. But none of those factors make it the better nutritional choice.

Don’t Be Fooled by Convenience

Convenience is another red herring in this debate. Sure, margarine spreads straight from the fridge and lasts for months, but that’s not a good enough reason to consume something that may compromise long-term health. Butter may require a bit of softening before spreading, but it’s a small trade-off for something real.

Real food isn’t always the most convenient option. Neither is prioritising your health. But when the long-term benefits include reduced inflammation, better metabolic health, and a lower toxic load, it’s hard to argue that convenience should win.

The Bottom Line

The truth is, no matter how “improved” margarine becomes, it will always be a product designed to imitate something nature got right the first time. Butter, especially when made from the milk of healthy, pasture-raised cows, is a naturally nourishing fat with a track record spanning centuries.

Rather than buying into a narrow, fear-driven debate about saturated fat, let’s zoom out. The real issue isn’t about butter vs margarine. It’s about real food vs ultra-processed food. It’s about tuning out the noise of marketing and trusting what our bodies have thrived on for generations.

So next time you find yourself reading a health magazine that sings the praises of margarine, remember this: just because something spreads easily, doesn’t mean it should be spread on your toast.

Margarine or Butter paleo diet primal health nutrition-min

Margarine or Butter? Seriously?

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I couldn't help myself. I read through October's Issue of “Good Health” magazine today. Our ideas on what constitutes good health couldn't be much further apart.

I thought conventional wisdom was starting to come round to realising that natural, animal fat maybe isn't so bad after all. Clearly not.

So, let's compare the ingredients: –

Butter

Cream

Margarine (this example is Flora)

Water
vegetable oils (including sunflower oil) (so other vegetable oils are also in the mix, with a high omega 6 ratio)
plant sterol esters (12.5%) (this is an additive that reduces cholesterol, but interferes with absorption of fat soluble vitamins & hormones)
modified tapioca starch, salt (1.0%) (this is a chemically altered thickener)
buttermilk
Emulsifiers: Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, sunflower lecithin
Preservative: Potassium sorbate, citric acid, vitamin E, flavouring (often synthetic chemicals), vitamin B6, folic acid
Colour: Beta carotene, Vitamins A, D and B12

So, this article specifically mentions trans fats. Well, as Julianne Taylor clearly explains, “trans fat free” margarine doesn't sound too great either. And as for the trans fat in butter – natural trans fats are created in the stomachs of ruminants (like cows) – and have a completely different fatty acid profile to trans fats found in artificial foods. A lot of evidence suggests that these natural trans fats may actually be beneficial.

The Real Food Argument: Why Butter Still Wins

After comparing the minimalist ingredients of butter with the lengthy, chemical-laden list in margarine, the choice becomes glaringly obvious. Butter is a real, whole food. Margarine, on the other hand, is a synthetic product engineered to mimic something natural — and not very successfully at that.

What’s often overlooked in mainstream advice is that real food doesn’t need a health claim. Butter doesn’t come with flashy packaging or boast cholesterol-lowering promises — it simply nourishes. And unlike margarine, which is manufactured using industrial seed oils, butter comes from cream that has been churned, traditionally from pastured, grass-fed cows. No solvents, no mystery additives — just a natural fat that has been part of the human diet for thousands of years.

The Trouble With Plant Sterols

One of the most celebrated features of many margarine brands is the inclusion of plant sterol esters. These are promoted as heart-healthy due to their ability to lower LDL cholesterol. But here’s the catch: reducing cholesterol isn’t inherently a good thing. Cholesterol is essential for hormone production, brain function, and cell repair.

By interfering with cholesterol absorption, plant sterols may also impair the absorption of critical fat-soluble vitamins — like A, D, E and K2 — all of which play vital roles in immune function, bone health, and cellular metabolism. So, while margarine may lower a single biomarker, it may compromise broader health in the process.

Omega-6 Overload: The Inflammatory Downside

Most margarine products rely heavily on vegetable oils such as sunflower, soybean, and canola. These oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids — fats that are essential in small amounts but easily overconsumed in the modern diet. When omega-6 intake exceeds omega-3 intake by a wide margin (as is common today), it can tip the body into a chronic inflammatory state.

This imbalance has been associated with conditions such as cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and autoimmune disorders. Butter, especially from grass-fed cows, contains a more balanced fatty acid profile, including a small amount of omega-3 and beneficial saturated fats.

Natural Saturated Fat vs. Artificial Ingredients

Saturated fat continues to be demonised in many mainstream publications, yet the science behind this vilification has always been shaky. The human body is well adapted to using saturated fat as an energy source. It’s stable at high temperatures, which makes it ideal for cooking, and it supports structural integrity in cell membranes.

Meanwhile, margarine's complex cocktail of emulsifiers, thickeners, preservatives and colourings offers nothing that the body recognises as food. Rather than being metabolised and utilised, many of these synthetic additives must be processed and detoxified by the liver — a completely unnecessary burden for the body to carry.

What About the Vitamins Added to Margarine?

It’s true that margarine is often fortified with vitamins — but this is only because the original product has little to no nutritional value. These added nutrients are typically synthetic and may not be well absorbed. Butter, on the other hand, is a rich natural source of vitamins A, D, E, and K2 — especially when produced from grass-fed cows grazing on pasture.

These fat-soluble vitamins work synergistically. For example, vitamin D helps regulate calcium levels, while vitamin K2 ensures calcium is deposited in bones, not arteries. This delicate interaction is part of the brilliance of real food — something a laboratory simply cannot replicate.

Butter and CLA: The Unexpected Bonus

Butter from grass-fed cows is also one of the best dietary sources of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a type of fatty acid that has been linked to anti-inflammatory benefits, improved insulin sensitivity, and even fat loss in some studies. CLA is another naturally occurring fat that you won’t find in margarine.

Moreover, butter contains butyrate — a short-chain fatty acid that supports gut health, reduces inflammation in the digestive tract, and plays a role in energy metabolism. Once again, real food provides additional benefits that go far beyond calories and fat percentages.

Cooking With Confidence

If you've been cooking with margarine out of habit or perceived health benefits, it may be time to revisit your pantry. Butter, tallow, ghee, coconut oil and duck fat are all excellent for high-heat cooking and sautéing. They’re not only more stable and resistant to oxidation, but they also add delicious flavour and richness to dishes.

In contrast, cooking with margarine or vegetable oils can create harmful compounds when heated, including aldehydes and other oxidation products — particularly dangerous when reused or exposed to high temperatures.

Don’t Fear Real Food

The shift from butter to margarine was born out of 20th-century nutritional dogma, not long-term evidence. As more studies revisit the impact of dietary fats, it’s becoming clear that traditional fats like butter deserve a place back on our tables.

A Paleo perspective encourages you to ask better questions — not just “Is this food low in fat?” but “Is this food real?” and “How has it been processed?” When you answer those questions honestly, butter emerges as the clear winner.

Making the Switch

If you’re ready to replace margarine with butter in your everyday cooking, here are a few ideas to get started:

Spread it on veggies: Melt a knob of butter over steamed broccoli, carrots or zucchini for added richness and nutrients.
Bake with it: Use butter in your Paleo baking instead of margarine or vegetable oil for better flavour and stability.
Cook eggs in it: Scrambled or fried eggs taste infinitely better when cooked in butter or ghee.
Try ghee: If you’re sensitive to dairy proteins, ghee (clarified butter) is a great alternative that retains the benefits without the casein or lactose.

Final Thought: Margarine Has Had Its Day

Margarine was born from an industrial need and kept alive by outdated nutritional advice. Butter, by contrast, is a time-honoured, nutrient-dense fat that has earned its place in the kitchen. So next time you see a health magazine promoting the latest “heart-healthy” spread, take it with a grain of salt — and maybe a pat of grass-fed butter too.

Margarine, seriously?

Soy, Grains & Margarine for Better Health!

2 Comments

I really shouldn't read health supplements any more. They generally just annoy me. But I could resist. I found this gem in the Sunday Telegraph yesterday.

Just before I ditched Paleo and went out to buy some soy and margarine, I thought I'd see if I could find out a bit more about the study.

So it appears the study split 351 men & post menopausal women into two groups for the six-month period. One ate low fat, the other low fat – with “special cholesterol lowering foods”. Hmm, interesting, low fat compared to low fat… The group with the special cholesterol lowering foods lowered their LDL by 13%. But then there was also a 22.6% drop out rate. This is taking me back to Tom Naughton's Science for Smart People lecture at the AHS…

The group with the “special food” also received sessions with a dietitian. The other low fat group did not.

They summed up saying that because the diet was complex, researchers couldn't tell which foods made a difference in lowering cholesterol. Excellent. Regardless, write ups of the study, like the one I saw are still identify these foods as being proven to help lower LDL: –

Soy proteins such as soy milk and tofu.
Viscous or “sticky” fibres from oats, barley and psyllium.
Nuts, including tree nuts and peanuts.
Plant sterols in margarine.

Whilst Loblaw (a Canadian food retailer), Solae (who sell Soy products) and Unilever (who own lots of products, including margarine) sponsored the study and provided some of the foods used, that obviously had no impact on the study. Whatsoever.

I think I'll stick to my high fat diet…

Digging Deeper: When Studies and Sponsorships Collide

It’s always wise to read between the lines when encountering “science-backed” nutrition claims, especially when those claims align neatly with processed food marketing. Studies funded or supplied by companies with direct financial interest in the outcomes — like Unilever, Solae, or Loblaw — are not inherently invalid, but they do deserve extra scrutiny. When a study concludes that “cholesterol-lowering foods” (conveniently available from the sponsoring companies) improve health outcomes, the conflict of interest should at least raise eyebrows.

In the case of this particular study, the fact that both groups followed low-fat diets makes it impossible to determine if the outcomes were related to the removal of saturated fat, the addition of sponsor-supplied foods, or simply the regular dietitian check-ins only one group received.

The Real Problem With Cholesterol-Lowering Narratives

Public health messaging has long been obsessed with lowering cholesterol, particularly LDL, as though it’s the single most important marker of health. But this is an oversimplification. Cholesterol is essential for producing hormones, supporting cell membranes, and helping the body produce vitamin D. Rather than blindly pursuing lower LDL numbers, a more balanced conversation around lipid ratios, inflammation, and metabolic health is overdue.

Numerous studies have shown that total cholesterol — or even LDL alone — is a poor predictor of heart disease in isolation. Far more telling are factors like triglyceride to HDL ratios, insulin resistance, and chronic inflammation. Yet articles like the one in the Sunday Telegraph continue to focus on LDL reduction via dietary tweaks that promote processed food products.

What the Study Didn’t Say: The Role of Inflammation

Interestingly, there’s little to no mention of inflammation in the article — or the study itself. Chronic inflammation is now widely recognised as a key driver of cardiovascular disease. Reducing inflammation through a nutrient-dense, low-toxin diet is a far more holistic and effective strategy than simply trying to push down cholesterol levels with soy milk and margarine.

A Paleo diet, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and bioavailable nutrients, naturally addresses inflammation by removing the root causes: seed oils, refined sugars, grains, and ultra-processed foods. But this concept rarely makes headlines, perhaps because there’s no branded margarine to sell alongside it.

The Soy Dilemma

Soy protein is frequently positioned as a “health food” — particularly for its supposed benefits on cholesterol. However, soy comes with its own list of issues. Most commercial soy is genetically modified and heavily processed, often treated with hexane and other chemicals. Additionally, soy contains phytoestrogens, which can interfere with hormone function — especially concerning for those with thyroid issues or hormone-sensitive conditions.

In a wholefood-based Paleo context, soy is excluded not only because of its antinutrients and processing, but also because there are far more nourishing, less controversial sources of protein available — like grass-fed beef, pastured eggs, and wild-caught fish.

What About Oats, Barley and Psyllium?

The “viscous fibre” component of the cholesterol-lowering formula mentioned in the study usually comes from oats, barley, or psyllium husk. While soluble fibre can certainly support gut health and slow digestion, it doesn’t require grains to be effective. Vegetables like okra, sweet potato and pumpkin, as well as chia seeds and flaxseeds, also provide soluble fibre — without the blood sugar spikes and gluten-related inflammation grains can cause for many.

Barley and oats both contain gluten or gluten-like proteins that can trigger gut irritation and immune responses, especially in those with sensitivities. And let’s not forget: these grains are almost always heavily processed before they reach the supermarket shelf.

Peanuts and the “Nut” Misunderstanding

Yes, nuts were included in the study's cholesterol-lowering foods. But it’s worth noting that peanuts are not actually nuts — they’re legumes. This distinction matters in the Paleo world, where legumes are typically avoided due to their antinutrient content (like lectins and phytic acid), potential to cause gut irritation, and high omega-6 content.

Tree nuts, when consumed in moderation and in their whole, raw form, can be a good addition to a Paleo diet. However, over-reliance on roasted, salted nuts as a “health food” — especially when they’re used to bulk out ultra-processed snack bars — often leads to more harm than good.

And Then There’s Margarine

The inclusion of margarine in any list of “cholesterol-lowering foods” is perhaps the most telling sign of industry influence. Margarine is often made with hydrogenated or interesterified vegetable oils, designed to stay shelf-stable and mimic the texture of butter. While many brands now avoid trans fats due to public backlash, they still rely on heavily processed seed oils that are high in omega-6 fats and prone to oxidation — both of which can fuel inflammation.

Butter from grass-fed cows, by contrast, contains fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K2), healthy saturated fats, and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) — a naturally occurring fatty acid with anti-inflammatory properties. Yet somehow, margarine is still sold as the “heart-healthy” option. Go figure.

Why Real Food Doesn't Need a Sponsor

One of the most consistent themes in mainstream nutritional studies is that real, whole foods rarely get the spotlight — largely because they can’t be patented, branded, or profitably packaged. When large corporations fund dietary studies, the outcomes often reflect a subtle (or not-so-subtle) preference toward products they manufacture and sell.

A study comparing a standard Western diet to a Paleo template rich in real food would be fascinating — but good luck getting funding from a margarine company.

Final Thought: Stick With What Humans Have Always Eaten

The idea that cholesterol should be lowered at any cost is outdated and oversimplified. Rather than relying on margarine, soy milk and barley to prop up your lipid numbers, focus instead on a nutrient-rich, anti-inflammatory diet that your ancestors would recognise as food.

Eat eggs. Cook with butter. Add fatty cuts of grass-fed meat. Include plenty of vegetables, leafy greens and good-quality fats. These foods won’t just lower your risk of disease — they’ll make you feel better, stronger and more in control of your health.

And next time you read about a miracle food study in the Sunday paper, check who paid for it. You might find the answer is as manufactured as the margarine it’s trying to sell.

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