I got lost in Google-land yesterday while researching for today’s post.
Getting lost in the internet is fun sometimes. I’ve stumbled across some really great stuff! But it’s not as much fun when you realize you’ve spent half of your writing time on research and have nothing actually written to show for it.
I digress.
I had two goals in mind:
- find why butter is good
- find why butter is bad
I’ve already read the chapter on fat in Nourishing Traditions. So I know what Sally Fallon and the Weston A. Price foundation had to say on the topic. But I wanted to know what other researchers and nutritionists have said too.
On the first question, Google returned a full page of sources. A couple hits were bloggers referencing sources on that same first page of results, but even those bloggers are reputable sources in and of themselves.
Tally up the reasons listed on all those pages as to why butter is good for our health and you’ll come up with no less than twenty distinct and legitimate reasons, fully backed up by independent research and studies.
On the second topic, Google returned a full page again, except that nearly half of those results we really about how butter wasn’t bad for you. While this certainly works in my favor (since we’re talking about why butter IS good for you), staking my claim on Google’s bad return of search results doesn’t exactly scream credible. So I kept clicking those “relevant” links, got lost a bit more and read what the skeptics had to say.
As it turns out, they all cling to one statement that isn’t even true: butter is saturated fat and saturated fats clog the heart’s arteries. But we know the truth – that not only is it good for our bodies, but saturated fat is a necessity.
Believe me – I tried to find other reasons to give a solid counter-argument why we shouldn’t eat butter. But all the answers out there are weak.
- Besides the saturated fat statement, some say it’s also high in calories and eating lots of high-calorie foods make you fat. They recommend olive oil instead…
… yet olive oil has more calories per serving than butter.
- Others tack on the fact that butter contains dietary cholesterol and suggest margarine instead.
But dietary cholesterol is required in order to prevent intestinal disorders such as leaky gut, and most margarines contain trans fat, a substance that more closely resembles plastic than food and is toxic to our bodies.
- And to those who hold tightly to the incorrect saturated fat statement – that it clogs arteries?
I wonder if they knew that British researchers published a study in 1994 finding no association between saturated fatty acids and plaque. In fact, they found a direct correlation between arterial plaque and polyunsaturated fats and even suggest “current trends favoring increased intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids should be reconsidered!”
The research under the “con” column for eating butter is slim. I encourage you to get lost in your own search engine and see what others have to say about it. Come back and let us know in the comments. We’ll sift through the information together and try to make sense of it all.
Meanwhile, I’m moving on. Those umpteen reasons of why butter is good for our bodies are screaming at me to be written.
And there’s a loaf of freshly baked rosemary bread downstairs, waiting for its own generous smear of butter.
13 Reasons to Eat Butter
A Source of Fat Soluble Vitamins
I’ve discussed how certain vitamins are fat-soluble – meaning they can only be absorbed through fat. Since our bodies needs these vitamins to function properly, we must eat fat in order to absorb them. Butter is not only a natural source of Vitamins A, D, K and E, but it’s the best source! These vitamins are fat-soluble, so consuming them through butter is the easiest way for our bodies to absorb them.
Dr. Weston A. Price, founder of the Weston A. Price Foundation, extensively studied the effects of butter on various societies. He concluded that without fat-soluble vitamins, our bodies are not able to use the minerals we ingest, regardless of how abundant we may be consuming them. In fact, he went as far as to state that fat-soluble vitamins are required for the absorption of water-soluble vitamins! (source)
Helps Prevent Tooth Decay
When Dr. Price was conducting his research back in the 1940’s, he found a compound in butter that played a vital role in preventing tooth decay and maintaining bone structure and strength (which makes sense since our teeth are essentially bones). He called it “activator X” back then, but Russian scientists discovered over 60 years later that this compound was really Vitamin K2.
Our body makes Vitamin K2 from K1 (found in green veggies like kale, spinach and Swiss chard), but it makes it in a really small proportion – roughly a 10 to 1 conversion. A better way to get K2 would be to just eat butter!
In addition to tooth decay and bone loss, K2 is also being researched for its potential at reversing arterial calcification, as a therapy for rheumatoid arthritis, preventing prostate cancer and in treating leukemia and lung cancer. More studies need to be done I’m sure, but three-cheers for butter!
P.S. – Vitamin K2 is also found in goose liver paste and goose legs, but let’s face it – eating butter just sounds yummier.
Helps Boost the Immune System
A portion of the fatty acids in butter are short- and medium-chained. These types of saturated fat contain antimicrobial (kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms), antitumor (inhibits the growth of tumors) and immune-system strengthening properties. Lauric acid is a fatty acid not found in any other animal fat and is successfully used to treat a variety of viruses, bacterial infections and fungal infections. In fact, researchers in the Philippines have begun studying the effect of lauric acid against HIV/AIDS because of its strong antiviral properties. (source)
Breast milk, butter and coconut oil are the only natural dietary sources of lauric acid. This may explain why research consistently finds fewer infections of all types in breast-fed babies…
Helps Maintain Gastrointestinal Health
Butter contains glycosphingolipids, a type of fat that protects against gastro-intestinal infections that typically affect children and the elderly. Nourishing Traditions reports children who drink skim milk have diarrhea at rates three to five times greater than children who drink whole milk.
Remember the dietary cholesterol that butter-haters say is bad? Our bodies actually need dietary cholesterol to help maintain the cells in our intestinal wall, essentially keeping them strong so the digestive system can properly do its job.
Helps Manage Weight
Contrary to popular belief, butter does not make you fat. The fatty acids in butter don’t even need to be broken down by our gut. They’re absorbed directly from the small intestine into the liver and converted into quick energy. It’s the long-chain fatty acids that are typically found in polyunsaturated oils and refined carbohydrates that are stored in our bodies as fat.
Butter contains the mineral iodine in a way that is very easy for our body to absorb. Our body requires iodine in order for the thyroid gland to function properly. The thyroid gland is what produces the hormones that regular our metabolism. Since the body doesn’t make iodine, it must be consumed through our diet. Our body is satiated when we feed it the nutrients contained in butter. This reduces our cravings for other non-nutrient-dense foods because we’ve actually given our body what it needs! What better way to manage our weight than to eat butter!
Aids in Optimal Growth and Development
Once again, breast milk is touted as best for babies and not only is it high in cholesterol, but over 50% of its calories are butterfat.
The vitamins in butter are absolutely essential for children to grow properly with the most important being Vitamin A. Which plays an important role in developing sex characteristics, healthy bones, and in developing the brain and nervous systems. My daughter asks me nearly every morning for “buttered bread” for breakfast. Hearing her ask makes me smile, and I’m always happy to oblige!
Still not ready to eat butter? Here are a few more fun tidbits thanks to Body Ecology.
- Lauric acid treats fungal and yeast infections.
- A very rich source of the vital mineral selenium.
- Contains conjugated linoleic acid, which is a potent anti-cancer agent, muscle builder, and immunity booster.
- The only source of an anti-stiffness factor, which protects against calcification of the joints.
- Anti-stiffness factor in butter also prevents hardening of the arteries, cataracts, and calcification of the pineal gland.
- May promote fertility in women.
- Contains Arachidonic Acid (AA) which plays a role in brain function and is a vital component of cell membranes.
Butter Lingo Defined
When moving towards better choices in foods, it can often get overwhelming. Not just the decisions but navigating through the names of all the options! Here’s a quick guide to help you figure out which type of butter will work best for your family and your budget.
Conventional
Conventional butter is what we normally see at the grocery store. This is the plain jane, nothing special about it butter. If the label doesn’t have any other annotation (like organic, cultured, etc.) it is more than likely conventional. This type of butter typically comes from big-farm cows, fed mostly grain (unless the farmers add candy to the feed).
Pros:
- affordable
- may contain small amounts of “Activator X,” Vitamin K2 if the cows are not fed cottonseed meal, high protein soy-based feeds or hay
Cons:
- no protection against GMO’s in the feed
- unless we know what the cows were fed, there’s no promise of K2
- use of antibiotics and hormones unknown, likely prevalent
Organic
Organic butter comes from cows who are fed an organic diet. The grain feed and butter production processes conform to and are certified by the US Department of Agriculture.
Pros:
- protection against GMO’s, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge and irradiation used in the feed (not allowed per organic certification guidelines)
- cows used to produce butter were not treated with artificial hormones (important because 60-80% of the hormones injected to cows are filtered through to milk products [source])
- may contain small amounts of “Activator X,” Vitamin K2 if the cows are not fed cottonseed meal, high protein soy-based feeds or hay
Cons:
- unless we know what the cows were fed, there’s no promise of K2
- ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 is unbalanced with a higher level of omega 6
- on average, costs twice as much as conventional butter
Cultured
Cultured butter is made from cultured cream. The United States requires products made from unpasteurized milk to age at least 60 days before being sold. This means manufacturers selling cultured cream in the U.S. have to add the bacteria cultures back into the cream after pasteurization since the pasteurization process kills most culturing bacteria in the first place.
In my humble opinion, it doesn’t make sense to buy cultured butter unless you can guarantee it was produced by grass-fed cows. The cost is simply too great. It would be better to obtain a high quality crème fraiche from a cheesemaker, culture your own buttermilk with raw cream from a local grass-fed cow and use that to make cultured butter.
Pros:
- contains good bacteria to help digestion and promote intestinal health
- may contain small amounts of “Activator X,” Vitamin K2 if the cows are not fed cottonseed meal, high protein soy-based feeds or hay
Cons:
- unless we know what the cows were fed, there’s no promise of K2
- ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 is unbalanced with a higher level of omega 6 (if produced with cream from grain-fed cows)
- use of antibiotics and hormones unknown unless you know the farmer
- on average, costs three times as much as conventional butter
Raw
Raw butter is made from raw cream. It has not been pasteurized in any way, so the beneficial enzymes originally found in the raw cream are in the butter as well. This really only makes a difference though if the cows were grass-fed.
Pros:
- the only butter that contains stigmasterol (a.k.a. The Wulzen Factor or the “antistiffness” factor) which according to Nourishing Traditions, protects humans and animals from degenerative arthritis (calcification of the joints), the hardening of the arteries, cataracts and calcification of the pineal gland
- retains beneficial bacteria and enzymes from raw milk if cows were grass-fed
Cons:
- prohibited to sell by federal regulations
- must have access to larger amounts of raw cream to make at home
- ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 is unbalanced with a higher level of omega 6 (if produced with cream from grain-fed cows)
- use of antibiotics and hormones unknown unless you know the farmer
Grass-Fed
Grass-fed butter comes from cows that are allowed to feed mostly or completely on pasture grass. This butter has been pasteurized (as the U.S. government does not allow the consumer sale of raw butter).
Pros:
- only source of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)
- contain high levels of “Activator X,” Vitamin K2 since the cows are not fed anything but grass
- higher Vitamin A and carotene content (giving it the deep, rich yellow color)
- ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 is equal, 1 to 1
- lesser chance of hormones and antibiotics
Cons:
- made by a limited number of dairy farms
- comparable in price to organic butter, approximately twice as much as conventional butter
Concern of Poisons Accumulating in Fat?
A reader mentioned last week that there is concern with toxins, hormones and other drugs given to the cows being found in the resulting milk, and even concentrated in the fat. This is true to an extent.
The level of hormones resulting in milk is mentioned in the organic section above.
Fat-soluble poisons such as insecticides will certainly collect in the fat cells of the animals, but we must consider the likelihood of the cow ingesting insecticides in the first place. Cows fed grain that has been commercially produced will likely consume a greater amount of insecticide than cows who feed on unsprayed pastures.
Consider this statement from Nourishing Traditions:
The average plant crop received ten applications of pesticides – from seed to storage – while cows generally graze on pasture that is unsprayed. Aflatoxin, a fungus that grows on grain, is one of the most powerful carcinogens known.
Essentially we have to make the best decision we can when it comes to butter, weighing all of the options available. We have to look beyond the label and consider the true source of the food. It doesn’t matter if our butter is conventional, organic, cultured or raw – toxins will be an issue if the cow eats grain.
What Butter Is Best?
When you’re looking to buy the best butter you can, remember than butter is always better than vegetable oil, and some butter is better than no butter.
In my opinion, grass-fed butter is the best. Any leftover money in my grocery budget gets invested in grass-fed butter. If you’re not ready to double (or triple) your investment into butter, here are some baby steps to help you out.
- If grass-fed butter is not in the budget, aim to buy one pound each month and use that butter strictly during raw consumption (i.e. toast or dinner rolls). Continue to use conventional butter for all your other butter needs.
- If you find extra wiggle room after you’ve upgraded one pound of butter each month to grass-fed, buy enough grass-fed butter to cover your family’s needs for raw consumption for the entire month.
- Once your family is eating grass-fed butter for all raw consumption needs on a regular basis, switch your conventional butter (what you’ve been using for everything else) to organic butter. Start with one pound the first month, slowly integrating the change into your budget over time.
- The next step would be to exclusively buy grass-fed butter. Depending on how much grass-fed butter costs in your area, and how much your family consumes, this may take several months to accomplish. Consider this a long-term goal, stocking on what you can, when you can.
- For those who enjoy a good challenge, try to locate a local farmer who sells cream from pastured cows. Make your own raw butter from this cream and use this for raw consumption.
Where to Find Quality Butter
In order to get the maximum amount of nutrients from your butter, you need to source good butter. Good butter comes from grass-fed, pastured cows. If it’s also organic and cultured you’re doing even better. If it’s also fresh from local farm you’ve scored the best butter around!
Quality butter brands that I’ve seen in my local stores like Costco and Kroger include Kerrygold and Organic Valley. (I even saw Kerrygold at Aldi once for an incredible price!)
Tropical Traditions carries a few varieties of quality butter. It’s worth ordering from them when they have free shipping and discounts on coconut oil too. US Wellness Meats carries grass-fed butter that compares to Kerrygold.
If you like to order in bulk, Azure Standard has a variety of organic butters. Another brand that’s been recommended to me is Kalona. I haven’t found it locally and my favorite online stores like Thrive Market don’t carry cold goods.
To really get the best butter possible, you can make your own butter from raw cream. This process is a little more involved and can still be expensive. You can decide for yourself if it’s worth the time to make your own butter.
How to Store Butter
Most of us in the US were trained to store our butter and eggs in the refrigerator. And yes, that is the best place for eggs (unless you get farm fresh eggs that have not been washed). Butter however, can be stored on the counter for a decent amount of time without any problems.
I’m sure you can agree with me that soft butter is so much better for toast and baking! Butter on the counter can be stored in one of these nifty butter crocks. Some use water to help seal out any potential issues. But if you go through butter quickly, a simple covered butter dish works too.
If you bulk purchase butter you will want to refrigerate or freeze it. If I find a great deal on one of my favorite brands of butter, I don’t mind stocking up and filling the freezer!
teeth is not bone then we would have 238 bones in all !!!!!!!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I use a table spoon of ghee 2 or 3 times a week. Ghee is said to increase the fire in the belly and aid digestion and lubricate the GI tract and reduce inflammation of joints, sinusitis etc.
Interesting Indra – any reason why ghee and not butter?
Thanks fo all the information! I’m so glad this information is readily available.
I was wondering, are the health benefits the same (or possibly even better) with homemade butter? As long as you use responsibly raised cream, of course. I just tried making butter for the first time last week, and it tastes SO GOOD and is really, really easy. All you do is whip the cream, past the point of whipped cream, until it turns solid, and then wash out the buttermilk. (There are tutorials all over the internet.) If it is just as good, I might never bother with store-bought again!
Hi Tiffany, I’m a new reader from PRM. I’d love your thoughts on my butter question: Let’s say you can’t afford anything but the cheapest grocery store butter. Let’s say you use it pretty often for pie crusts, pancakes, sauteing, whatever. Is it doing your body more harm than good if it’s from mystery cows? Is it better to eat some butter (even regular) than no butter at all? And if so, WHY? If I’m not getting the amazing benefits one does when eating raw, grass-fed butter, is it really something to get that excited about (other than its yummy taste)? If you can’t answer my question, that’s okay! It’s just something I’ve wondered about for a while, and not just with butter–with lots of real foods (e.g. is whole milk from the grocery store better than 2%, if they’re both extremely altered from their original state?)
Hi Else! Welcome!
From the research I’ve done, our goal should be to eat the best quality fats that we can afford. With that said, if we’re using conventional butter for nearly all our fat purposes, it would be better to include a different fat that’s better quality, like coconut oil, for some of purposes (pie crusts, sauteing, etc.) than using all butter. If cost is the issue, a suggestion would be to incorporate more fruits and vegetables and frugal meals to free up extra money in the grocery budget so that quality butter and coconut is affordable.
On the other hand, if your choice is between conventional butter and processed yellow vegetable oils, ALWAYS choose butter. Conventional butter may not have all the exciting health benefits as an upgraded version, but it’s still far superior to the highly processed (and often hydrogenated) vegetable oils. It’s a purer form of animal fat that man hasn’t gone in a junked up on us, lol. Does that help?
I imagine we’ll get to the milk issue too, but to answer your question now, it goes back to the level of processing. 2% milk has had some of the (good) fat removed in order to be more appealing. When they remove the fat, synthetic vitamins have to be added in to replace what was lost. Whole milk may still be homogenized and pasteurized, but at least we get the whole thing in tact, without missing parts (and usually nothing is added too). ~Tiffany
Thanks, that does help! It seems to me that the fats in grocery store butter and milk must be damaged, though…and if the fats in grocery store whole milk won’t do your body good, shouldn’t we at least try to drink less of them (like 2% milk)? I know SF says we should stick with whole milk if we have to drink the grocery store stuff, I just never fully understood why. Just like if pasteurization kills everything anyway, why is ultra-pasteurization a step worse? Also, I’m pretty sure my raw milk has waaay more fat in it than whole milk from the grocery store…I wonder if “whole milk” is indeed whole, or if they’ve still removed some of the initial fat.
Those are really good questions Elsie. I’m making note to address as much as I can when we get to dairy. I’m curious of the answers myself and want to give them adequate research time. Thank you for the inspiration! ~Tiffany
Thank you for this WONDERFUL resource! It’s so great to have all of this information jam-packed into one spot for all the butter nay-sayers. I love butter, eat it often, and feel sad when I’m out! Same with coconut oil. Healthy fats for the win! 🙂
You’re welcome Rachael! Please share with all those who are missing out on buttery goodness! ~Tiffany
Great post. I wrote several posts last month on fat as our Wellness Challenge was to eat more FAT! Natural fats like butter have many virtues. I’m so glad I learned to research and find out that fat is, indeed, a healthy and essential part of diet – gone are my fat-free dieting days :).
My twin 1 year olds like to eat plain butter, and I believe it’s actually quite good for them. Their brain is growing at an amazing rate. Brains need fat and cholesterol to develop properly. (but I don’t want my mom to know I let them eat butter because she’d have a heart attack)
Thanks so much for sharing this on Wellness Wednesday. I loved the post and I’m going to pin it and share it with my facebook readers!
Trisha,
I cringe when I think of all those days where I avoided fat – think of all the nutrients I was missing!
Thanks for sharing with your readers! ~Tiffany
PS – my mom would have a heart attack too, lol.
I always try to tell everyone not to fear the butter! One time I added butter with my rice and my cousin looked at me and said, “you put butter on your rice?” I said, “of course, it’s DELICIOUS, try it!” She did and she enjoyed it.
Ahh.. butter… Great post by the way, very informative!
I’d love for you to share this at my blog hop on Tuesday. http://www.healthyrootshappysoul.com/2013/03/tuned-in-tuesday-blog-hop.html
Hope to see you there,
Loriel
Loriel,
My husband suggested butter on rice early in our marriage and I thought he was nuts too. I tried it and loved it! I’m officially (and obviously) a convert. 😉
Thanks for the invitation to your hop! ~Tiffany
I love Pasture Raised butter! Yum. Thanks for sharing more great reasons to eat this tasty goodness. You were featured on Natural Living Monday! Congratulations! I would love to see what you have to share this week!
Amanda,
I greatly appreciate you hosting each week, and thank you so much for the feature! I’m heading over to check it out! ~Tiffany
Isn’t it amazing how good butter is for us? This has a lot of really good info. Now I need to go and eat me some butter!
Thank you for sharing on Natural Living Monday. I look forward to seeing you there again!
Angela,
It is amazing, and I love that the amazing-ness comes from a completely unprocessed product! ~Tiffany
I knew butter was a healthy fat, but I didn’t realise it was this good for you! I was so happy to read this post as butter is a great favourite of mine. I use unsalted butter as a preference to almost every other fat, although I am a fan of olive oil as well.
April,
I prefer unsalted to baking, but salted for spreading on top of things. I bought cultured one time, on accident, and thought it was way too salty… but we ate it nonetheless, lol. ~Tiffany
I love butter. I didn’t realize it had iodine in a form good for use in our bodies. Great info.
Thanks for sharing at Wildcrafting Wednesday.
Thanks Jennifer!
Great info! Thanks for sharing this on The Creative HomeAcre Hop! Hope to see you this Sunday at:
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/03/the-creative-homeacre-hop-7.html
What a great post! Kerrygold is my absolute favorite butter. Ironically, I can’t even eat other brands because they give my allergy symptoms, so it’s quite a testament to me about the purity of their product. Who’s going to challenge this idea? 🙂 Makes me a happy girl!
Lauren,
That IS strange, but reassuring in the quality of Kerrygold. I’m not challenging you, that’s for sure. I’m a KG fan for life! ~Tiffany
Great Article! I love that KerryGold is easy to get and grass fed. I also love Organic Valley brand, and they sometimes offer coupons on their website. Not sure if it is available everywhere, I’m in MA.
Sherri,
We have Organic Valley here in Cali, but I can only get it at Whole Foods and even with a coupon it’s still expensive. 🙁 I would like to try it someday though! ~Tiffany
I think the trick is to eat butter as one of the main fats in your diet and to resist thinking a super-low-fat diet is healthy…not to say, “Butter is a health food, so I’ll just eat it by the stick!” 🙂 Moderation is important.
One concern I do have about butter is that some types of toxins, hormones, and drugs consumed by cows are passed on in their milk and concentrate in the fat. That’s a good reason to buy the healthiest butter you can get and support laws against feeding yuck to livestock!
Well said!
Becca,
Your comment came up in a discussion with a friend last weekend when she was why butter was so good. I couldn’t get the thought of eating sticks of butter by the handful out of my head, lol!
There is concern of toxins concentrating in the fat of animals, but if we take a better look at what the animal is eating, we can get a better idea of the chances of toxins being present. Conventional cow being fed GMO corn that’s been sprayed repeatedly? Or grass-fed cow that grazes naturally on pasture that’s never sprayed. Things to chew on! ~Tiffany
Way to go with the research! I didn’t see the reason that said “butter makes everything DELICIOUS”…but your reasons were probably better. I have yet to try Kerrygold but I hear it’s awesome.
Thanks for sharing on Healthy 2Day Wednesday!
Steph,
I thought the delicious factor was de-facto! 😉 You MUST try Kerrygold when you can; you won’t regret it! ~Tiffany
Great post 🙂 We love our butter! I couldn’t return to eating margarine especially now that I know how unhealthy all those unnatural processed fats are.
Thanks Josee! Neither can we!
Tiffany-what is the biggest difference between regular butter at the store and a brand like Kerrygold? I have learned so much from your site and you constantly challenge me to make better choices for my family!
Amy,
I had intended on answer that question in today’s post, but that would have been a novel! The short answer is that Kerrygold is grass-fed. Much more info and lots of details coming up next week. Thanks for being a loyal reader – I’m so glad we’ve been able to help! ~Tiffany
Grass fed butter is by far, better than regular butter. Everything grass fed/pasture raised will be better for you and better for the animals. But yes, the explanation would be lengthy. Its unfortunate its so much more costly .
I haven’t quite made it through the free download yet….. however, so far I think its great!
KerryGold Butter is from grass fed cows!!! It is richer tasting!
Thanks for all this fabulous information on one of my favorite foods!
You are very welcome!
I am seeing this 4 years after you wrote it. Tiffany, just wondering. I buy my butter here in India from a local ‘organic’ store and not a supermarket. Still, is there any way to check the Wulzner factor or its ‘goodness’, so to speak. Are there some rough methods to check out the quality- you know, home tests?
I haven’t heard of any home kit, but have you tried searching online for the brand? Or asking someone at the store what they know about it?