Friday fat facts – Butter

When I set out to write about butter, I approached the topic as a proponent of butter. Certainly it is preferable to margarine; of that, there is no doubt. However, in doing my research, I have discovered conflicting information as to whether butter is healthy or not.

The highest authority that I know of on the subject of oils is Erasmus Udo.  You may know that name from his products: Udo’s Oil Blend, or Udo’s Choice, to name just two. According to Udo, butter is best for taste, digestibility, frying, and naturalness. But his position remains neutral on the question of butter’s healthfulness. It is neither good, nor bad, but it must be organic and grass-fed, of course.

Butter is one of the foods that must be organic because pesticides are pervasive and stored in higher amounts in fat. This is why dairy products tend to retain higher levels of residues and chemicals from feeds and other sources. Milk is a common source of the herbicide atrazine (a known endocrine disrupter) and the growth hormone BGH, which has been genetically modified to boost milk production. Dairy farmers use antibiotics in cattle feed and injections, which find their way into butter. Antibiotics encourage the growth of yeasts and fungi (including candida) in humans, and can cause allergies, tiredness, sugar cravings, hypoglycemia, skin afflictions, among other conditions. The use of antibiotics also kills susceptible bacteria, allowing antibiotic-resistant bacteria to thrive. Their resistance factors can be transferred to disease-causing bacteria.

And the sad truth is that non-organic butter is genetically modified because it comes from cows fed almost exclusively genetically engineered seeds or grains. Organic doesn’t necessarily mean grass-fed. Grass-fed or pasture-raised cows are going to produce more nutritious products than cows raised with grains. Cows were not meant to eat grains! Not to mention, the highest amounts of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) come from grass-fed cows. Grass-fed cows produce butter with 50 per cent more vitamin A and E and four times more beta carotene, which gives the butter a deeper yellow colour, naturally.

Dr. Elson Haas, not an expert on fats, but a nutritionist, says that not all saturated fats are created equal: when fats are short chain, they offer important health benefits that are lacking in long-chain versions.  Butter was once thought to be detrimental to health because of its high saturated fat content. But today, researchers know that the intake of butyric acid, a short-chain fatty acid found in butter, has been associated with reduction of cancer risk and in some cases reduction of tumour advancement. Of course consuming too much butter is not good for you but, a little butter is not bad.

I have found corroborating evidence of the benefits of butter. Scientists have concluded that the CLA in butter protects against tumor growth and cancer, is not inflammatory like some of the man-made oils and is a source of omega 3 fatty acids. CLA also helps you build muscle rather than store fat (assuming you are also engaging in activities that build muscle).

So looking at all the evidence, it would appear that butter really does have health benefits when chosen carefully and consumed in moderation. Here is a recap of the goodness found in butter:

• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Fatty acids
• Cholesterol
• Butyric acid
• Iodine

Choose organic butter made from grass fed cows and enjoy a little butter. It really is better with butter.