Ever since man  domesticated cattle, he developed and continued the process of making butter. “ Bread and Butter” became synonymous with the diet. (‘Ghee and rice’ in South East Asia) This kept the people healthy until the advent of the Industrial revolution. With the demand exceeding the supply, coupled with the change in life style and the advances in medical and food research, the health benefits of butter became questionable.

Fig 1 Avocado fruit .

Butter

Butter which  is made by separating the fat from milk is generally used as a spread on bread and for cooking purposes. Anything fried in butter gives a better taste to food  than when a plant oil is used. As butter has a very high saturated fat content , especially those who consumed it in high doses, with less physical exercise became obese and were prone to heart attacks.  With the finding of high cholesterol in blood, as a cause of heart problems and as this is present in butter,  people started looking for substitutes. ( An average person needs only 200mg of cholesterol for a day)

Margarine

The most favorable substitute was Margarine.  Margarine is made from plant oils by passing hydrogen over a catalyst at high temperature and pressure. A chemical change takes place with the addition of H atoms to Carbon double bonds.in oils. More such bonds are made lower will be the melting point and better will be the keeping qualities . As Margarine hardened in excess would have adverse effects to the health the process had to be carefully controlled. Unfortunately during this hydrogenation  process of  making margarine, formation of trans fatty acids became unavoidable.At  the beginning no body knew about that. Now  it has been discovered that these compounds are much worse than the saturated fat, present in butter.                                      

“Flora pro-activ” is an expensive brand of Margarine. It has a  cholesterol-lowering quality.  “It contains a high percentage of plant-based fats known as plant sterols, which medical research shows can reduce levels of ‘bad’ or low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol – the kind that clogs arteries”. Pat Thomas-

But he goes on to say that these sterols can cause the following health problems.

1.    Sterols in excess could reduce the absorption of cholesterol and bring the blood cholesterol below the

       required level.
2.    A Swedish study in 1998 has shown that they can affect the fertility in male children.

3.    Some manufacturers could use a toxic form of sterols coming out of wood pulp which has been found to be      responsible for changing the sex of fish.

4.    These may also be a cause for breast cancer in women though it has not been proved. 

                                                     Courtesy:-  Guardian Environment network

Avacado ( Persea Americana) Butter fruit.)

Avocado is the healthiest fruit in the world. It is the most suitable substitute for butter for the following reasons. ( But of course except for cooking)

 1. They contain carotinoids that prevent eye disease.
2.They help the absorption of carotenoids from other fruits and vegetables. (An ideal substance for salads.
3.The presence of fibre and healthy fat along with the  smooth creamy taste,will make you feel full.

4.Oleic acid can lower the cholesterol level.

5. While It can enhance the texture and the flavour of other food it can also prevent many forms of cancer..

Nutrition Facts in Butter and substitutes.

	Butter (unsalted)	Margarine (Flora Proactive)	Butter fruit (Persea americana)
Quantity	100g	100g	100g
Kilo Joules	2999kJ	2388  kJ (717kCal)	670kJ  (160kcal)
Saturated fatty acid Poly -un saturatedfatty acid Mono unsaturated	51g 3g   21g	14.8g 25.6g 19.2g	0.5g 0.5g 3.0g
Trans fatty acid	0	5.6g ?	0
Cholesterol	0.2g	0	0
Sodium	0	0.4g	0
Carbo hydrate
fibre	0	0	6.7g
sugar	0	0	0.66g
Protein	2.0g	<1g	2g
Vitamin  A	86%	10%	0
B	0	0	5mg
C	0	0	10mg
D E	60IU 0.2g	0

In New Zealand now it is the practice of using fresh avocado fruit as the spread on sandwiches.

Fig. 2 Yummy  and healthy Avocado sandwich

  

Recipe for Avocado sandwich

What you need for 4 sandwiches.

1. Half a small well ripened  avocado fruit
2. 10ml milk. (skimmed better)
3. One small green chilly. (only if you need it hot)
4. A pinch of salt and black pepper
5 A few slices of tomatoes.
6  One tea spoon lemon or lime.

Preparation.

Cut the avocado fruit into quarters. Then its easy to remove the seed. Scoop off the greenish yellow pulp into a cup and crush it to a creamy consistent. Adding a little milk will make this easier. Add a little lime juice to prevent oxidation which may result in a brownish colour. Garnish the cream with salt and pepper including your other
favourites such as garlic ,ginger etc. Apply the mixture freely on the bread and place the thin tomato slices and some green salad leaves.

You can either take it raw or after heating on a sandwich maker. This would be a filling and a thrilling breakfast for two.