Friday, December 7, 2012

An Earth Balance Rebuttal


I came across this article a few minutes ago when a friend posted it on Facebook.  I read it, and I take issue with many of her points.

I'm sorry, but it ticks me off that she mentions Earth Balance at the beginning of the article, but yet, none of the claims that she makes about the ingredients of Smart Balance are true of Earth Balance.

I'm holding our container of soy-free Earth Balance right now.  Right on the top it says "Soy Free".  On the side, it says "No Soy, Expeller-Pressed Oil, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Lactose-Free, Non-GMO".  So, right there, I can point out that by including Earth Balance at the beginning of her diatribe, she is incorrect in her assertion that the canola is genetically modified, because at least in soy-free Earth Balance, it isn't.

I can't speak to her assertion that the olive oil in Smart Balance isn't EVOO, but at least in the original Earth Balance, it is.  I'm not sure about our Soy-free Earth Balance though.  The "natural flavor" in soy-free Earth  Balance is plant derived from corn, contains no MSG, no alcohol, and no gluten.  There is no mention of "artificial flavors" on the Earth Balance tub.

Soy-free Earth Balance does not contain soy lecithin. It contains sunflower lecithin, which I've already established is non-GMO, unlike her claims about soy lecithin.

Soy-free Earth Balance does not contain Vitamin A palmitate, Vitamin D2, or Beta carotene color.  It DOES contain naturally extracted annatto for color.

Soy-free Earth Balance also does not contain Potassium sorbate or Calcium disodium EDTA.

Furthermore, the author of the above linked article goes on to assert that "Butter is Always Best", which in our case, isn't true either!  My husband is allergic to casein, which is the protein in dairy products, including butter. If he eats butter, it will erase all the progress we have made with his healing over the last few months since going gluten & casein free.

I'm sure someone will love to point out that we could settle for ghee... but that isn't really an option either, since it's nearly impossible to get all the casein out of homeamde ghee.

3 comments:

  1. Thank you for this rebuttal. As I was reading the other article I couldn't help but to think about the author mentioning earth balance but not going into detail. I feel bad for those who actually believe artery-clogging butter is best.

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  2. I DO believe that high quality butter (and other natural saturated fat) is *usually* best, but we do get soy-free Earth Balance for those times my husband "must" have spreadable spread. After reading labels, I'm all on board with everything you just said, Stephanie! You should tell the author- "All Balance is not created equal!"

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    1. Oh, I DO agree that butter is probably better, if casein can be tolerated! Thanks for the validation of agreeing with me. It makes me feel good when an RN agrees with my posts! :D

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