What is so different about Smart
Balance?
Other spreads claim to have no trans fats as
well. What is the difference?
What's so wrong with trans fatty acids?
Why is Smart Balance so firm out of refrigeration?
Can you cook, bake and fry with Smart Balance?
Why do you include palm fruit oil?
Isn't palm oil bad for you?
Why does Smart Balance Bottled Oil
and Light Mayonnaise contain no palm fruit oil? Yet
you call it, Smart Balance.
What's the difference between your
Omega PLUS™ and other phytosterol spreads?
How does Smart Balance Buttery Spread
compare to leading spreads in taste?
How about Food Service? Does Smart
Balance sell to restaurants and institutions?
How long can I keep Smart Balance
out of refrigeration?
What's the difference between Smart
Beat® and Smart Balance®?
What proof do you have that Smart
Balance really works to improve blood cholesterol?
What makes the Smart Balance Food
Plan different from other similar programs?
What is so different about Smart Balance?
The essence of Smart Balance is its unique and very important blend of natural
vegetable oil blend that avoids the "bad" things, such as dietary
cholesterol and trans fatty acids but, equally important, is proactive by
providing the right balance of fats in the diet.Our lead product, Smart Balance
Buttery Spread (Regular and Light) is one of a kind in its delicious flavor
and remarkable formulation. It is the original spread with no hydrogenation
and no trans fatty acids.
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Other spreads claim to have no trans
fats as well. What is the difference?
There are three key ways to avoid trans fats in spreads - namely, 1) low fat
content to limit trans fats to under one-half gram per serving, thereby qualifying
to claim trans fats as zero per serving; 2) full hydrogenation and interesterification,
two separate chemical processes using heated oil with a metal catalyst which
saturate the fat with hydrogen so that trans fats cannot be formed and 3) use
of natural saturates in place of partial hydrogenation or full hydrogenation
and interesterification. Smart Balance uses natural saturates (palm fruit oil)
and balances it with polyunsaturates from soy and canola oils.That is what
makes it unique and makes up the patented blend which we believe to be superior
to other methods of avoid trans fatty acids.
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What's so wrong with trans fatty acids?
Growing evidence has shown that trans fats are actually more damaging than
saturated fat in that it actually can raise the LDL "bad" cholesterol
and lower the HDL "good" cholesterol in blood.While natural saturates
raise both, Smart Balance harnesses that effect by allowing the right kind
of saturated fatty acid to sustain or raise HDL "good" while balancing
the saturated fatty acid with polyunsaturated fatty acid to help lower LDL "bad" cholesterol
- thus, improving the ratio of the "bad" to good" type of
blood cholesterol.This effect is discussed in US patent numbers, 5,578,334;
5,843,497 & 6,630,192.
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Why is Smart Balance so firm out of
refrigeration?
One of the ways Smart Balance is so much like butter is its firm texture when
cold. But unlike butter, Smart Balance softens quickly at room temperature.
Other spreads with hydrogenated oils are softer when removed from the refrigerator.
However, even when cold, you can spread Smart Balance by scraping the surface
with a knife as it fans out in an attractive pattern on the blade of your knife.
Even in this little way, Smart Balance is different. Viva la difference!
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Can you cook, bake and fry with Smart
Balance?
The regular, 67% oil Smart Balance tub contains enough fat to use for most
baking and is excellent for cooking and pan frying. Smart Balance Light (37%
oil) is primarily a spread but you may also use for light sautéing,
broiling and melting on veggies.
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Why do you include palm fruit oil?
Isn't palm oil bad for you?
There is a major difference between the oil from the fruit of the palm tree
and the nut kernel which contains, palm kernel oil. Palm fruit contains far
less saturates, myristic and lauric acid. Another plant source of saturated
fat is coconut oil. This, too is much higher in saturates, myristic and lauric
acid than palm fruit oil. Our nutrition scientists chose palm fruit to replace
hydrogenated oils as the best and lowest source of natural saturates.The palmitic
acid in palm fruit oil is an excellent way to sustain HDL "good" cholesterol
when balanced properly with polyunsaturated fatty acids.
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Why does Smart Balance Bottled Oil
and Light Mayonnaise contain no palm fruit oil? Yet you call
it, Smart Balance.
These products are used in the Smart Balance Food Plan so that by the end of
the week you balance your total fat intake. Our oil and mayonnaise contain
an ideal balance of polyunsaturates and monounsaturates but no added saturates.
That allows you get a total balance of fats as you get saturates from meats,
fish and dairy foods.Most Smart Balance foods provide a total balance of fats.
The oil and mayonnaise are partially balanced by design.
Click Here for more details on why we
use palm oil.
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What's the difference between your
Omega PLUS™ and other phytosterol spreads?
Omega PLUS is unique in several ways. First, it contains the patented blend
of balanced oils developed by nutrition scientists at Brandeis University.
It contains no hydrogenated oils and no trans fatty acids to help enhance HDL/LDL.
Secondly, it contains a phytosterol we call Natucol to help reduce LDL cholesterol.
Unlike the other brands which use sterol or stanol esters, Natucol tm is a
free sterol (not chemically modified by hydrogenation nor esterification).
In addition, Omega PLUS contains organic Menhaden Oil, rich in long chain omega-3's
to help promote a healthy level of blood triglycerides.That is why we call
Omega PLUS, The Ultimate Spread™. It is like no other brand, not even
like regular Smart Balance.
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How does Smart Balance Buttery Spread
compare to leading spreads in taste?
The remarkable taste of Smart Balance comes from its unique formula as well
as the distinctive Danish butter flavor we use. The formula with no hydrogenated
oil to "cushion" the release of taste, allows the spread to melt
on your tongue instantly, flooding your mouth with wonderful butter flavor.
So flavorful, it even comes through in cooking and baking. That is why Smart
Balance won a "Best Taste" award by the American Culinary Institute
for three years in a row.
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How about Food Service? Does
Smart Balance sell to restaurants and institutions?
We recently created individual portion cups of Smart Balance Spread and are
making them available wherever possible. In addition, we make bulk containers
of our margarine, shortening and oil for restaurants and institutions who cook
vegetables and meats in hydrogenated oils to make it possible to remove the
trans fatty acids. In addition, now bakers can also eliminate trans fats with
Smart Balance Margarine and Shortening.If you have any specific questions,
ask or email us ASAP.
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How long can I keep Smart
Balance out of refrigeration?
We suggest that you not exceed about 5-hours out of refrigeration to maintain
quality. After that, it may start to oil off, unlike hydrogenated margarine
or spreads that may be kept out of refrigeration for much longer periods. That
is your proof that Smart Balance is quite different from regular margarine
and spreads.
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What's the difference between
Smart Beat® and Smart Balance®?
Smart Beat offers excellent fat free and low fat cheeses, mayonnaise, spreads
and squeeze spreads. They're all lactose free and very low in calories. We
consider Smart Balance to be healthy fats to help promote healthy blood cholesterol
levels with no trans fatty acids or hydrogenated oils.
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What proof do you have that
Smart Balance really works to improve blood cholesterol?
Brandeis University nutrition scientists developed the Smart Balance oil blend
over many years to support the contention that precisely balanced fats with limited
dietary cholesterol and no trans fatty acids can help improve the HDL/LDL cholesterol
ratio entirely through dietary means.Other conditions to help achieve this
blood cholesterol effect include a balanced intake of at least two-thirds of
dietary fat; limiting total fat to 30% of calories; saturated fat to 10% and
regular exercise. Detailed information is available in the Smart Balance Backgrounder
in our web site or is available free by mail.
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What makes the Smart Balance
Food Plan different from other similar programs?
The Smart Balance Food Plan is not just a compilation of recipes and nutrition
tips. It is a plan to assist consumers to achieve properly balanced fats in
the diet to help improve blood cholesterol. We use the Smart Balance Buttery
Spread and our other foods as a convenient fat source but we recommend other
foods as well, including fresh vegetables, fruits, meats and fish. We hope
you enjoy our Food Plan.
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