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
Is there a butter blend out there? Also I know Earth Balance is a margarine (a butter sub) and GMO free how does it taste?
A thought, grass fed cow can be eating GMO grass! More I read more I find there is nothing wrong with the GMO out there now. Not saying that one day someone make a GMO that back fire..
I came on here to try to learn more about different kind of margarine and this is what I have found out. Genetically Modified was used a lot on this blog. My findings you better not got to the grocery store because 80-90% of the foods have some kind of GM in them. even the fruits and vegetables are GM. The reality is we been eating GM for years with no down side. Going to restaurant is a no no also if you don’t want to eat GM. Planting your own food. If the seeds does not say GM free then your planting GM.
The truth is margarine have been out since 1969 and had no down side since. I have read 100’s of Article on margarine and none of them state any heath problem. The only down side is hydrogenated oil or partly hydrogenated oil. Which I found out may cause problems, but Smart Balance dose not use that process and other manufactures are turning away from that process.
The other lie I found out reading the post on here is “margarine being one molecule away from plastic”. From the research I found that it is not even close to becoming plastic. If anything it is closer to butter than plastic. It was just someone saying it over and over people thought it was true but fare from it.
My over all conclusion is Margarine (the non hydrogenated type) is good sub for butter. With that said yes you can make other home made or some places buy other butter sub but most areas your only going to find margarine and a lot of people are not going to take the time to make their own sub. If I eat margarine it is not for the vitamins but I want a butter sub. I get plenty of vitamins from my food, which most likely are GM.
Some asked how to make or where to buy butter sub other than margarine. When I was searching around I came across a Vegan website/forum. one of the posters post some products but it seem to be very localized since I am not able to find it where I am at. Places i would look would be your specialty food markets, or maybe your local wholefood.
Also there was a post on how to make a butter sub. I quickly look at the ingredient and it look like an olive oil base spread. I did not book mark the site and I am trying to remember how I got there now….
Are you sure about your vitamin intake? Most food today are nutritionally void of necessary minerals and vitamins. Do you know what your vitamin D3 level is? Anything below 20 ng/ml is deficient. You want to be at least at 50, but around 70-80 ng/ml is ideal. And 90-100 ng/ml cures disease like cancer.
I subscribe to the Weston A. Price theory of eating good fats, etc. We used to buy raw milk as we heard it would help with his allergies and I have made butter from raw cream. HOWEVER, with the realization that he has a dairy allergy (and we’ve tried ghee for him also) and he seems to also react to coconut oil, we now default to Earth Balance in lieu of having him eat dry toast and dry baked potatoes. We do use the soy free version. Would love to eat raw butter but, unfortunately, can’t. Do you have another suggestion regarding what to replace Earth Balance with?
lard, palm shortening, etc. Have you tried those? Did you make the ghee yourself or buy it? If you made it yourself, was it with A1 or A2 milk? Was all the milk protein removed, or could trace amounts have been left over in the ghee?
Lard is TERRIBLE for you…………..PURE animal FAT!!!
Lard from a CAFO animal IS junk, I agree.
But Lard from Grass fed cows is VERY healthy for you.
Items from grass fed cows, inlcluding milk, bone broth, etc can and DOES even cure cavities, promote health and healing for your gut, and so much more.
I must admit that I found this almost offensive! As a mother of a 15 month year old baby that is undergoing test after test after test for severe milk allergy, I was RELIEVED to find a SPREAD that may be a possible alternative for him! So in that aspect, it is SMART for us! Unless you have a milk intolerance or allergy, or other food related conditions, yourself or your CHILD, you may not fully understand the simple, small joy of finally finding something your child may be able to eat!
Just the thoughts of a concerned mother…
Have you tried ghee, which is butter, but with NO milk products? Also, is the baby allergic to casein, or just lactose? If just lactose, you should be able to use raw milk, as it is normally the pasteurization process that most people can’t tolerate. If casein sensitive/allergic, have you tried raw goat’s milk?
I was incredibly interested to read an answer to this question but frankly, when I went to look up your sources, I was disappointed in their quality.
Sarah,
Could you speak about Smart Balance Peanut Butter? Is in unhealthy as well? Could anyone comment regarding this?
What are the ingredients? If they are peanuts and salt, it is probably good. But few have only two ingredients… Would be better to make your own, or make another nut butter. So many are sensitive to peanuts, and peanuts are prone to issues with mold… I personally love making my own cashew butter. What types of nuts do you like to eat? Start with that, clean them, put in food processor, add a bit of salt if you wish, and then blend. Stop it occasionally to stir. Stop mixing when it is the consistency that you like. If you need it more creamy, you can either add honey, bit of coconut oil, etc to help smooth it out.
I totally agree with you here, but I was looking for this information written in a more gentle way as someone I love has bought the Smart Balance lie and I would love to find a graceful way to speak the truth. Do you have any suggestion?
I am nether for or against smart balance. I would have to say when I read something like “almost certainly genetically modified” make me wonder. It is ether it is or is not. If your not sure don’t say so. It make me wonder if your just bias against Smart Balance. There are other assumptions on this Article also. Personal I use butter but have been look in to using margarine for my non-baking items. After reading this article it seem more like a rant then informative.
Most places won’t tell you that they are giving you non genetically modified (GM) items, so you can assume they ARE giving you GM foods. Those who don’t, usually brag about never using GMs in their items. Without working there, it is impossible for us to know 100% unless they tell us…
Of course this is not cumulative, but Earth Balance is non-GMO, but Smart Balance is NOT on this list, therefore with all the information we have, we can SAFELY say that it is “almost certainly genetically modified”.
Thank you for the info.
Can you please repost the link it seem to be broken. I would like to keep the list with me when I shop.
Strange, it was there when I posted it, lol.
Here are two other places. I searched google for this string “over-400-companies-who-dont-use-gmos-in-their-products” and it found many places online with this information. I will put two of them here.
I agree with everything in this article. I am a holistic nutritionist and I wrote an article similar to this once (and a book about processed-free foods). I recently received this request from one of my readers: “I am allergic to the proteins in cow’s milk and can’t eat butter. My kids don’t like coconut anything. Any suggestions for butter substitutes besides margarine. Earth balance organic has been my “go to” sub. I may not be willing to give this one up. Help ”
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Is she allergic to the protein in pasteurized milk, or in raw milk? Is she drinking Holstein milk (A1 milk), or Jersey milk (A2 milk)? There is a big difference in the proteins from one to another, and while raw A1 milk might be okay, it is very bad for you when pasteurized. A2 milk, even pasteurized, is much better for you, and less likely to have a reaction to the proteins in it. Also, if she has had A2 raw milk, has she tried raw goat milk??
Most who can’t handle butter can still handle ghee.