The heavily industrialized frankenfood known as Smart Balance should more aptly be named Stupid Balance when you examine the ingredients list!
I’ve had it. Everyone has her limits and I’ve reached mine. If one more person who claims to eat healthily tells me that he/she uses Smart Balance or any of those health robbing butter substitute “spreads”, I think I’m going to scream. This includes other pseudo-foods like Egg Beaters too.
A loud, obnoxious, ear piercing, wine glass shattering SCREAM!
You see, there is nothing remotely “smart” about Smart Balance unless of course, you happen to be a shareholder of the company. In that case, you would be very happy with the cheap, rancid, genetically modified vegetable oils used to manufacture substitutes for butter resulting in a very low cost of production and handsome profit margins.
Don’t think for one moment that Smart Balance could possibly be made in the comfort of your own kitchen the way lovely yellow butter can easily be churned from cream in a bowl with a hand mixer.
No way! A frankenfood as complex as Smart Balance or any of the many other “spreads” on the market requires synthesis in a factory in all its high tech, food denaturing glory. Smart Balance and margarine spreads like it is chemistry experiments, not food!
Get a load of the catchy marketing on the Smart Balance website:
It’s funny how these margarine manufacturers always talk about “using it” and “loving it” like butter.
Why would people do that anyway?
Mmmm. Maybe because these folks need some healthy fats like REAL butter perhaps??
I know a die-hard vegetarian who once told me that every now and again when she craves a big, thick juicy steak, she gives in and eats one.
Smart gal. Cravings can tell us a lot about ourselves – if we’ll only listen – from the state of our gut as in the case of craving sugar and having a gut imbalance problem to craving a steak due to the complete proteins only animal foods can provide (soy is NOT a complete protein, by the way. Don’t even get me started on that one).
So, when that craving for all things buttery comes over you, it is always best to get some Real Butter and slather it on anything that seems remotely feasible at the moment.
A vegan community in South Florida suffering from severe dental decay issues likes to eat raw butter straight out of the tub with a spoon, I’m told. Now, that’s a serious craving for the “buttery taste”!
What Exactly is in Smart Balance?
Let’s take a look at the ingredients in Stupid, er – I mean, Smart Balance:
When this post was originally published, here were the ingredients in Smart Balance (original):
Natural oil blend (soybean, palm fruit, canola, and olive oils), water, contains less than 2% of whey (from milk), salt, natural and artificial flavor, vegetable monoglycerides and sorbitan ester of fatty acids (emulsifiers), soy lecithin, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, Vitamin D, dl-a-tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), lactic acid, beta carotene color, and potassium sorbate, and calcium disodium EDTA (to preserve freshness).
Ingredients Analysis
Shall we analyze this rather long list of ingestibles?
- The soybean and canola oils are almost certainly genetically modified. Frankenfood at its finest!
- The olive oil isn’t even extra virgin olive oil and is likely cut with cheap vegetable oils like most olive oil on the market. Can we say cheap, cheap, CHEAP?
- Natural and artificial flavor – this must be where that “buttery taste you crave” part comes in. Excellent stuff if you dig tricking your taste buds (newsflash, you won’t trick your tummy though. At least not for long. You’ll be craving that “buttery taste” soon after and more than likely sticking your head in a big bowl of ice cream by 9 pm).
- Soy lecithin – yet another genetically modified ingredient.
- Vitamin A palmitate – the synthetic form of vitamin A – the kind that is dangerous. Since there’s not much natural about Smart Balance in the first place, “fortification” with synthetic vitamins seems logical!
- Vitamin D – the label doesn’t even specify what type, but I can pretty much guarantee it’s synthetic D2, which won’t help at all in avoiding vitamin D deficiency symptoms. Is this the wondrous, natural vitamin D3 everyone – even Oprah – raves about? Brilliant marketing and wishful thinking don’t make it so.
- Beta carotene color – the normal color for factory-produced margarine like Smart Balance is a very unappetizing grey, so the color is definitely needed here to fool the masses. Don’t be fooled that this beta carotene adds natural Vitamin A either. Beta carotene is not true vitamin A!
- Potassium sorbate – a supposedly safe food preservative that inhibits microbial growth. Safe at least until they find it isn’t. Three cheers for being a guinea pig!
- Calcium disodium EDTA – an organic pollutant which breaks down in the environment into ethylenediamine triacetic acid and then diketopiperazine. Diketopiperazine is a persistent organic pollutant, similar to PCBs and DDT. Not only does Smart Balance pollute the bodies of those who eat it, but it also pollutes the environment too!
Smart Balance 7 Years Later
Let’s analyze the ingredients again 7 years later. Smart Balance has, in the interim, gotten significant press on its “pledge” to remove GMOs from its ingredients. Has it happened yet? Apparently not. Don’t hold your breath on that one. Not much improvement here despite an outcry from consumers to do better.
- Vegetable oil blend (canola, olive, and palm oil)
- Water
- Contains less than 2% salt
- Pea protein
- Natural and artificial flavors
- Sunflower lecithin
- Vitamin A Palmitate
- Beta-carotene (color)
- Vitamin D
- Monoglycerides of vegetable fatty acids (emulsifier)
- Potassium Sorbate
- Lactic acid
- Calcium Disodium EDTA
Let’s analyze the (few) changes.
Little Improvement in Smart Balance Ingredients
First, the GMO soybean oil has been removed. While this is a positive, unfortunately, GMO canola oil is still in there as the primary vegetable oil.
Second, pea protein has replaced the whey protein from before. This is apparently an effort to make Smart Balance dairy-free. Is pea protein any healthier than whey protein? Unfortunately not. All protein powders are highly processed and not a healthy choice.
The GMO soy lecithin has been replaced with sunflower lecithin. This is a solid improvement and a step in the right direction.
Two new ingredients include lactic acid and monoglycerides of vegetable fatty acids. While lactic acid is not really a problem, it could be from a GMO source. The originating food for lactic acid is not specified. Similarly, the vegetable oil that is used to derive the emulsifying fatty acids is not specified. In those situations, I’ve learned to pretty much assume the worst … they are most likely of GMO origin. If they were nonGMO you can be sure Smart Balance would trumpet as much on the label like they have identified the source of the lecithin as nonGMO sunflower.
Everything else appears to be the same.
All in all, Smart Balance has improved from a grade of “F” to a “D-” in seven years. Is it healthy to use? Nope. It’s still frankenfood and not a good choice for those who understand the critical importance of natural, healthy fats in the diet.
Butter is Always Best!
Nothing manufactured in a factory can ever beat the simple, natural, whole nutrition of plain BUTTER and other whole traditional fats. No genetically modified, artificial flavors or organic pollutant preservatives needed. Loads of natural form of vitamins A, D, and E that really will boost your immune system unlike the synthetic versions in margarine spreads like Smart Balance.
Be sure not to buy butter from cows fed genetically modified feed, however, like Kerry Gold is rumored to do.
Grass-fed butter is what you are looking for (quality sources)!
Butterfat is far superior to the rancid, highly processed vegetable oils in Smart Balance. While not hydrogenated, the edible oil processing, called interesterification, is still very much denaturing and is arguably worse for cardiovascular health than transfats.
On the other hand, butter, particularly grass-fed butter, is one of the richest sources of vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 is the magical X-Factor written about by Dr. Weston A. Price which is known to prevent arterial calcification which is a very strong (if not the strongest) predictor of cardiovascular disease risk, NOT cholesterol levels. Natural cholesterol in the diet supplied in forms such as grass-fed butter and eggs are extremely beneficial to health!
Folks with low cholesterol suffer from heart disease at the same rate as those with high cholesterol. Don’t tell that to the folks in the marketing department at Smart Balance, though. They’re doing really well with that catchy marketing slogan that associates the use of Smart Balance with “healthy” cholesterol levels.
What if You Have a Dairy Allergy?
For those with dairy allergies, natural and truly healthy butter substitute spreads made with unrefined traditional oils are now becoming available. This one is my favorite which blends virgin coconut oil and that anti-oxidant powerhouse, red palm oil without any additives, fillers, GMOs or destructive processing.
Once you get past the marketing hype, it sure seems that the more appropriate name for Smart Balance would be “Stupid Balance”, don’t you think?
References
Interesterification of Vegetable Oils, by Dr. Mary Enig
Whole Health Source, Butter, Margarine, and Heart Disease
I admit we used to eat Shedd’s Spread Country Crock (shudder). I say we as in my parents and myself. In my household it’s always been butter – I have always loved it and ate it off a spoon as a child. My 6.5 year old is warming up to butter lately – he unfortunately prefers his Philly (like DH).. sigh. Even though right now I can’t have milk or cream, I tolerate butter just fine and eat it often!!
I remember years ago there was a plant in Tracy, CA that made the butter flavoring for popcorn, etc. The workers there were getting very sick and even developing lung cancer from working with whatever the chemicals were. I am sure that plant is still producing their “edible” poison!
As my husband and I were watching tv last night, a commercial came on for “I can’t believe it’s not butter”; I decided a better name would be: “I can’t believe it’s not healthy.”
I just wanted to say that I love butter. It is one of my favorite foods!
Great post! And so true about needing to listen to our bodies cravings sometimes.
I found it very interesting that I craved fish and grapefruit like CRAZY when I was pregnant. Funny part is that I usually don’t even care for fish! My body was asking for some healthy fats and vitamin C.
We don’t have Kerrygold butter available around here. So, I’m remedying that problem by finally getting our own milk cow! Picking her up with weekend. My mouth is already watering when I think of all the rich cream and homemade butter!
Just a tip for those who like their REAL BUTTER spreadable: invest in a butter bell! Google “butter bell” or look on Amazon; my favorite is the Emile Henry – beautiful colors, but pricey at $36. You can get them for under $10 if you aren’t picky like me. ;). Anyway, the butter bell is two pieces – the top is filled with butter and placed upside-down into the bottom, which holds a little water. The water forms a seal to keep the butter fresh, but you can then leave it out on your counter and it’s always soft and spreadable.
I found a butter bell at the discount store Ross for $5.99. (It is like a TJ Maxx) it pays to keep your eyes opened for items like that.. and yes I love it!
Okay, I need help finding grass fed butter and cheese. All our grocery stores carry are the typical name brands and store brands. I will not eat those because the cows are raised on cattle lots and grain fed. I get my milk from a farm in my area that sells the milk from cows that are pasture fed 365 days a year. I can get it at an Earthfare store near me, but I am having a real problem finding butter and cheese, and this farm does not make butter or cheese, and they do not offer cream so I cannot make my own. My thought was to look at my local farmer’s market, but they do not open until the last part of April. So my question is , do you know of a name brand that IS pastured that I could try until then (if I even find it at the farmer’s market)? I saw Kerrygold butter at my Earthfare, but I do not know anything about them. I have also seen local Amish butter, but I don’t know about them or their practices yet.
Many thanks!!
Holly, Kerrygold is from grassfed pastured cows in Ireland, where the soil is rich in minerals, and the grass is green and perfect food for cattle. It is a wonderful product, and we use it whenever there is a shortage of local pastured butter, which is quite common these days.
Hear Hear! A woman after my own heart! There’s nothing like real budduh!
Amen Sista!
Did anyone catch the newest ad on TV for SILK milk? (the soy crap) They show a family stocking their fridge with all the different types of silk milk products and at the end of the ad the Mom says “Mama said – we’re changin’ over ” or something like that. Makes me want to strangle the Mom right through the screen, and knock the rest of the family members upside the head and say “what on earth are you thinking”? ; -> The Dad says “it tastes a lot better than I thought it would”. . . taste?? What taste? If it tastes like the soybeans it’s made from it must taste awful, and if it tastes “good” then it’s only because they’ve added other stuff to HIDE the soy flavor, right? This must be some good product, huh? Hide the real flavor of the soybeans with vanilla or some other artificial flavor because the soy is so gross. Wonderful. GM soy and artificial flavor. Sounds healthy, no? (I’m wearing my sarcasm hat)
YES! I was shocked! They must be getting nervous about WAPF and the rediscovery of real raw milk! They should be scared. Their sales are probably falling off now that people are getting wise to the dangers of soy!
Actually, the soybeans in Silk milk are guaranteed to never be genetically modified, and there is also an organic line available. As for the health benefits, you should do some research. I can’t argue taste, because I think anything with that consistency is disgusting unless you heat it and add sugar/coffee/chocolate – cow’s milk, soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, or goat’s milk – but I do prefer to taste of soy milk in my coffee (not to mention I am lactose intolerant).
What about Silk Almond Milk? I can’t drink regular milk because I’m lactose intolerant, so for the past 6 months or so, I’ve been using Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened, and I love it.
The wonderful thing about raw milk is that you can’t be lactose intolerant to it, because it has lactase in it, which digests lactose for you. I understand they say they don’t use GM soy, but they use soy in a ton of things, so to me it seems hard to imagine that they don’t use GM seeds for soy….