I seriously wanted to preface that with, “For the LAST time…” but, let’s be honest. This will not be the last time I preach about the wonders of one of nature’s most perfect and healthy foods. The wonderful substance still vilified even by well-meaning but misinformed doctors, nutritionists, and health-conscious consumers.
It drives me absolutely crazy to hear about people dogging on my butter. Just the other day, I was talking with a group of people I had recently met, who had gotten onto the topic of cooking. One mentioned how a certain food blogger (who shall remain nameless) had such delicious-looking recipes, but that she wouldn’t try them because they had “like a cup of butter per serving!” This of course was met with laughter by the rest of the group, while I forcibly bit my tongue.
“Yeahhh… her recipes are unhealthy because of the toxic vegetable oils, refined sugars, and fake, processed flour in them — the butter is their only redeeming quality!!” I thought to myself, feigning a smile.
*sigh*
Poor butter. You’ve done nothing but nourish my body and keep me healthy. I won’t stand for the lies being spread about you!
If you are a Real Food-er, you already know how great this stuff is. Butter is full of essential vitamins and nutrients, and that all-important dose of saturated fat our bodies crave down to a cellular level.
Listen to this glorious little testimony from the Queen of Butter herself — her Highness — Ms. Sally Fallon Morell (also author of Nourishing Traditions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfsM_6zA95g
Butter is amazing.
Now, if you are still doubting that butter is a miraculously healthy food, or thinking that even if it may have some good qualities — that the fat in butter logically leads to making YOU fat — let’s just go ahead and have a look at Exhibit A — me. As you may know, I have had a lifelong struggle with being chronically underweight and “failing to thrive.”
I still am underweight.
I’m too self-conscious to tell you how much I actually weigh, but I will say that my GOAL is to get into the triple digits.
I CONSUME OVER A POUND OF BUTTER A WEEK.
I gave this blog its name for a reason, people!
NO, I am not a freak of human genetics with some magical, get-out-of-fat-jail-free strand of DNA.
It’s NOT that I have “high metabolism.”
I’m NOT “lucky” in any way when it comes to this — my body is no more resistant to gaining fatty tissue from butter than anyone else’s.
We are all dealt the same hand when it comes to how our bodies process the short-and-medium-chain fatty acids ever-present in the saturated fat component of butter.
Saturated fat gives you energy, not fatty tissue
My friends over at the WAPF have got my back.
“The notion that butter causes weight gain is a sad misconception. The short and medium chain fatty acids in butter are not stored in the adipose tissue, but are used for quick energy. Fat tissue in humans is composed mainly of longer chain fatty acids.15 These come from olive oil and polyunsaturated oils as well as from refined carbohydrates. Because butter is rich in nutrients, it confers a feeling of satisfaction when consumed. Can it be that consumption of margarine and other butter substitutes results in cravings and bingeing because these highly fabricated products don’t give the body what it needs?“
Uh, yes. Yes it can be, ignorant butter-haters of America! I plan on writing up another post with more detail about those things which actually do make you fat. But can we just all agree for now that butter is not the gut-growing, thunder-thigh-inducing, flab-fattening devil it’s been portrayed as for the past half a century?
Don’t fear butter.
Don’t accuse it of such terrible things.
And sheesh — please stop making fun of it!
= SO NOT TRUE!!
How do you feel about the way our culture views healthy traditional foods like butter? Let’s hear your rants!
I am so totally with you on this! Earlier this year I changed my eating habits to a more healthy option. Butter is still on my list of healthy! Why do people not understand that healthy fats are actually a requirement for your body to properly absorb other nutrients!?!
All that to say… good post, I agree. 🙂
Hi, as a nutritionist, I would just like to say that the calories you consume from butter are 100% fat.. meaning you aren’t getting any calories from protein or regular carbs for that matter. Fat does provide the most amount of energy but carbohydrates are fast acting and supposed to supply the majority of our energy needs. Also, yes it is true that we need fats in our diets on a daily basis, but the key here is HEALTHY fats. Let’s not forget that butter is almost entirely composed of saturated fat, which is the kind of fat that sticks in your arteries and causes hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart disease, which is the #1 cause of death in the world today. The healthy fats we need to nourish our bodies are monounsaturated fats, which come from foods like nuts, avocados and olive oil. You may be underweight and your body may be able to handle that fat because of your metabolism and that you are young, but butter is in no way, shape, or form healthy! Yes, butter is okay in moderation but there are other alternatives such as, i can’t believe it’s not butter to avoid over consuming of unhealthy saturated fats!
Oh my word…this is exactly why our medical system is so jacked up. I spent 10 years of my physical therapy career working beside “dietians” and “nutritionists” hanging on their every word thinking they knew everything about making my patients diets healthy…when I started researching nutrition myself when I had my first born I discovered (very humbly) that I had NO CLUE. I’ll make a long story short and just let you know that by not starving my body of saturated fats like butter and coconut oil I was able to loose 15 pounds of baby weight I couldn’t get off. Without exercising. I thought clearer, looked healthier in my skin, and was the thinnest I had been even before I got pregnant. After my second was born I did the same thing and they weight just falls off. My blood panels couldn’t be healthier and I never get sick like I used to. Do yourself a favor Maria, humble yourself and look at the facts.
whenever you respond to arguments by giving a personal story, it is not proof of any sort. your story is exactly that, your story. you cannot generalize your story and say, this is what is healthy, those other people saying other things are idiots. that is the first flaw in your argument. the second flaw in your argument is that you argue that by eating butter you lost weight. you did not control for any other factors, like you did not mention what your total calorie intake was or your protein intake or your stress level from having a newborn around. weight loss is dependent on so many factors and your case study doesn’t prove anything.
This has been true for me. I hate to admit that I have been forty pounds overweight since the birth of my first child. I bought into the hype about calorie restriction. I was vegan for seven years leading up to my first pregnancy. Six years later, I have finally found something that works for me. I have been eating coconut oil off the spoon. I no longer cook with canola oil. I don’t buy it. I don’t cook with EVOO anymore either. I just use butter and lard. I have lost that forty pounds and am back to my prepregnancy size. I feel so much better. I don’t count calories anymore. It may not be scientific proof but it has changed my life.
That is so awesome. Thanks for sharing!!
Thank u for posting this!! I totally agree with you. Any nutritionist that would suggest we eat spray butter which is FAKE butter, you better watch out for! You wouldnt be able to have that fake butter without knowing about the real thing in the first place! Hello!!
I love that you eat it and keep the weight off. I have been trying to lose weight and just discovered butter is good for you and essential to our health. We have been fed lies from the food industries that butter, coconut oils are bad because eventually we will then need all the pharmaceuticals we can get to fix our deprived bodies!
I agree. The dietician I worked with (to lose weight) specifically said to stay away from fake butter and just use real butter in moderation.
That’s like saying that smoking and doing drugs is good for you because it made you lose weight, made people actually look at you, and made you feel better. Then you stop doing drugs and smoking and you have terrible withdrawals, so you say “Since my body wants more, I should give it more!!” Next thing you know in 10 years, you are laying in a hospital bed on oxygen and having most of your organs replaced. I’m not saying that this will necessarily happen to you because of butter, but if you abstain from butter, and you exercise, eat fruits and vegetables and stop bad habits, then you will eventually look and feel better.
Can I ask simple question? Why are you responding to a blog you obviously do NOT regularly follow? Because if you did… you wouldn’t be here. Just sayin.
HOGWASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I totally agree that olive oil, avocados, and nuts have good fat. But so does butter!
The latest research is showing that saturated fats only clog your arteries if they are inflamed. These fats are nature’s bandaids for arteries rubbed raw by the Standard American Diet which is full of inflammatory sugars, grains, and starches.
Additionally, the vast majority of the research on saturated fats that showed them to be damaging was done using CAFO raised fats. These are very different in their properties than fats grown in animals who live a healthy life, eat foods their bodies were designed to digest, and are not pumped full of drugs.
Our family switched to a high protein, high fat diet over a year ago and each of us has seen numerous health problems resolve.
We are better nourished than ever and at very healthy weights for our heights.
Hi Maria,
Personally, I think it is completely irresponsible on so many levels that you are actually recommending “I can’t believe it’s not butter” – an ADULTERED, toxic, frankenfood – that was literally just created in 1986 by Unilever, over butter – a food nearly as old as time and vital to our health.
I am quite astonished and disgusted all at the same time that you actually were taught – and believe – that saturated fats “stick to your arteries and cause hypertension.” It really is such a shame that you did not learn that it is the cholesterol in your body that works to REPAIR INFLAMMATION of the endothelium as a result of man-made chemicals, sugar, processed foods, vegetable oils (e.g. “I can’t believe it’s not butter”), and a plethora of other stressors in our modern world. Without cholesterol to repair eroded and ulcered arteries, they would surely rupture a lot quicker.
Did you further not learn in school that CVD was not even in medical textbooks at the turn of the 20th century, as it was that rare? May I remind you – or inform you, rather – that butter consumption in the US in 1900 was nearly 20 lbs/person/year? This fact alone is telling enough.
Before you share any false information to an unsuspecting victim, I strongly encourage you to do more research on the topic.
Despite whatever arguments you all think you have to prove that butter is innocent and is the best thing in the world, you have to see that the world around you does not agree. The research of millions of ethical scientists who are not funded by pharmacy companies or food industry are in disagreement with your butter is awesome stance. I find it unfortunate that you disparage and belittle the hard work and dedication of so many scientists. I also find it unfortunate that you present here an extremely biased view based on personal experience and opinion. I think you are unethical in giving recommendations that are based on your opinion and some unsuspecting person who comes upon this blog may try this and suffer poor consequences as a result of having a different body and metabolism than you do and cannot handle the same things you can. The purpose of the scientific process is to come to conclusions in an unbiased, controlled way. Your blog is only a case study and at best a case series. This is the lowest level of evidence. I challenge you to be a researcher and prove your theories in a general population through randomized control trials.
Show us the money for a study and we’ll take on the challenge any day.
I’m actually glad that you wrote this because I agree. This opinion (not break through) about butter is from one person who runs a blog and has probably not done extensive research on how butter affects one’s body. Although many people have believed that butter is bad for you, the alternative is even worse. Let’s be honest and say that most people here defending the position that “butter is good for you” are only agreeing with that statement because they want to believe it is. If someone said it was healthy for you to eat 50 chocolate chip cookies a day, why would you go against that statement? Instead, you would want to embrace your good fortune and go out and buy yourself a box of cookies. The reason why people are defending this statement is because they wish it were true. I honestly think butter is much more healthy than other alternatives such as I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, because it’s more natural and not 100% artificial. However, no, it is not good for you to eat a pound of a it per week. Eating it on toast or cooking with it is fine, as long as you don’t scarf it down and chance you get. Butter isn’t terrible for you, but it’s not that great.
The Registered Dietitian certification is given by the American Dietetics Association. The American Dietetics Association is funded by Pepsi, Coke, Big Ag, etc. . . . ‘Nuff said.
yup.. follow da money
When a human loses weight from the “digestion” of fat, what type of fat is consumed by the body? Would that be SATURATED fat? Saturated fat is the fat the body is “designed” to digest. That is the only fat available to the body when it “loses” weight.
God help your clients I feel bad for them You are nothing else but brainwashed So called modern nutritionist You don’t have no clue about human science or history . And for recommending I cannot believe it’s not butter You Prove How dumb you are. I don’t care where did you finish your nutritional school or degree . Even two-year-old knows Today Carbohydrates are going to be used For energy From our bodies Before fat But carbohydrates Because they convert to sugar easier and faster Causing Spike in insulin And disturbing all other hormones. Saturated fat Doesn’t spike our insulin It is very slow absorbed And very stable source of energy .
It is so sad that this is still an issue. I read a book in 1984 (I was a precocious child ;)) explaining why butter was not bad and why margarine other was bad. Seriously, 1984! I don’t understand why we still have to defend real food, but unfortunately we do. Keep at it!
🙂 This post made me smile. Just recently I had someone tell me that butter wasn’t healthy. I’ve had to totally change how I think about things, because before our family made this switch we DID think butter was bad for you. Kids are taught that…..and it’s everywhere you look.
So, THANK YOU for educating people about the wonderfulness of butter. Now, I need to go butter a slice of bread.
I’ve been doing lots of butter and olive oil for years, but I thought olive oil was good for me. Guess I’ll go back to the tastier all butter sauteeing!
Olive oil is good for you, but not for cooking on high heat. For that you want fats with high smoke points like coconut oil, schmaltz, or tallow. Butter will brown (due to the milk solids). That’s why we use ghee for sauteeing rather than butter.
Obviously I am in total agreement with everything you said here, though had it been me I would have spoken up and defended the butter. But I’m also getting to be known for such things. 😉
I believe butter is good too! None of the margarine processed stuff. I also believe in good lard and coconut oil!
Aaron from
Easy Asian and Western Recipes
kubeen81.blogspot.com
mmmmmmmmmmmmm luv me some butter!!! and cream!!!!!! and coconut oil!!!!!!!!!! and olive oil!!!!!!!!! and ghee!!!!!!!!!! and lard (pig and beef)……. and chicken..!!!!! well i guess that would be tallow and schmaltz!!! boooooooooooo margarine and i can’t believe it’s not butter and canola oil too!!!
we are avid butter eaters 🙂 My 7 children have thrived on it and are very healthy. But my problem is finding affordable grass fed butter 🙁
When I switched from a moderate carb, moderate protein, high fat diet to a low carb, moderate protein, high fat diet (I just love fat), I lost weight. And I was already skinny.
Stand strong, Butter Believer! More butter!
I absolutely LOVE butter! We go through lots of it each week. 🙂
Butter helps me to feel satiated after I’m done eating AND it helps to combat my sugar cravings. It’s yummy and healthy. Besides, we absolutely need fat to keep us at our optimal health.
One of my relatives shuns butter, eats hardly any protein, uses vegetable oils to cook with and eats LOTS of carbs. She is obese, depressed and having a lot of other health problems (including having a recent gallbladder removal). I’ll keep my butter.
I Love butter. It has to be organic butter though and salted. i lay it on thick on toasted homemade organic whole wheat flax bread. Yum! my kids love it too. I think it’s so important to eat simple real food.
I trust the cows more than I trust the chemists. You are right on about this.
I trust the cows too! (I have about 100 and they are more honest than chemists, plus ours eat only grass…so produce organic everything.)
do cows eat butter too?
Great article, love the way its worded.
I still get friends ask me if they can have margarine instead of butter, or texts from friends asking me for “fat free baking”….oh how my skin crawls!!!!! I agree, grass fed butter is very hard to find (at least where I live). But i love it none the less.
I am thin too and only eat butter! I also live on a cattle and sheep property and have made my own butter in an old-fashioned butter churn. Delicious!
My kinesiologist/chiropractor also said to NEVER eat margarine…and I said, I never do. He said that some of the ingredients in margarines can even cause eye problems.
The worst part IMHO, is they manufacturer margarine to look yellow like butter, why? Because they know it’s healthy! Maybe if its yellow…you will think it is!
There is nothing healthy about margarine…not even the color.
Eat butter and enjoy! I do 🙂
Yayuh! Another margarine hater!! 😀 It is kind of disturbing that they add the fake coloring. I actually heard that margarine is, get this — GRAY — without it! Yellow in butter of course indicates a higher concentration of fat-soluble vitamins, and all the good stuff that comes from being grass-fed. Lucky you that you get to see it in action down on the farm! Thanks for stopping by, Jennifer. 🙂
Yes, I heard it is gray too! I bet nobody would spread it on their bread if it was that color ‘naturally’!
…and yes, I am very lucky. I eat all healthy foods from off our land…eggs, vegetables, fruits and meats (although I am more a veggie girl.)
How can anyone advocate junk “foods” such as margarine an vegetable oil over real butter? Vegetable oil and products made from it is absolutely terrible for anyone, and why is this garbage being promoted as “healthy” when there are numerous studies showing just how bad these “foods” really are.
Thank you for defending the butter. I give butter the credit for the fact that my kids love to eat steamed broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, beets and chard (covered in butter and sea salt of course). You’ve inspired me to write a post defending whole milk yogurt. People have been asking me for low-fat yogurt recipe…ugh!
You are more correct than you may realize. But why unsalted?
Sorry I hadn’t realized there were comments that included other issues. The more correctness alludes to the healthiness of butter as a food and the unsalted refers to the picture showing unsalted butter.
Hi Emily! I have a question and I’m sorry if it’s been answered before I’m kind of a new follower…is butter still as good for you if it’s salted? I mean I know too much sodium is bad but I really don’t eat a lot of sodium elswhere and I love my salted butter!!
Good question! If you like your butter salted, go for it. The salt they use is usually the processed table salt kind, as opposed to mineral-rich sea salt, but I wouldn’t worry about that too much. The best option would be to buy unsalted and then salt it yourself with some good sea salt, but I’ve never bothered to do that, myself.
I have just come across your blog and I absolutely LOVE it 🙂 Thank you for putting all of this information out there on what is truly healthy and nutritious for our bodies. I did want to mention one thing about unsalted butter though0 just be careful to check the ingredients because I have found on two different brands of unsalted butter (Aldi and Costco) that “natural flavorings” was an ingredient…um, what?! Who even knows what that means. So I went back to salted butter. Thankfully we have a small family owned store nearby where we get most of our butter, it is very yellow and I am not sure if the cows are completely grass fed but it’s obviously better than regular butter from the store. When we can’t get that then I just buy butte from Aldi or Costco, but always salted.
Amy
Thank you so much, Amy! What a nice compliment. 🙂
Whoa… have not come across the “natural flavorings” in butter before — yikes!! That is good to know to look out for that. Usually, “natural flavor” is MSG! Great tip.
And you know, processed salt really isn’t the end of the world. Definitely way better for you than some mystery ingredient like that!
I love butter, but real butter IS fattening if you eat too much of it. 😉 Too much of a good thing….is a bad thing.
Question for you. We have switched to real butter but I still miss having a spreadable butter on good bread. Have tried adding EVOO to butter and whipping it, but the taste is quite different. Do you have any suggestions?
Too much of anything is “fattening!”
Yes I do have a suggestion for that! I looove using this cute butter crock. It keeps the butter fresh, and spreadable, on the countertop a lot longer than a regular butter dish will because it has an airtight seal. You’ll love it!
I used to eat cultured butter. It’s impossible or out of my price range to find in Korea, so I “settle” for coconut oil. Yum! It doesn’t feel like settling.^^
Anyway here’s a true story: I had just come back from a month- long honeymoon in Thailand, where I consumed just about no milk or dairy at all and my skin was amazing…perfectly smooth and bump free. After that, I really got into making milk kefir/fermented foods with organic and/or raw milk in florida, I noticed hella pimples on my face and body.
Then I stopped making milk kefir for a couple weeks and noticed an improvement. I then went to New Zealand (for 2 months) to visit my husband’s folks. Pimples galore ensued.
-_-
I also noticed more pimples a day or so before my period. Just so people know, NZ cheese and milk is among the finest in the world.
I’ve been in Korea for 2 periods now and I’ve stopped drinking milk, eating cheese, and butter and milk kefir. My skin is bump and pimple free. Those two periods have been almost pain free as well lasting about 6 to 8 hours vs 2 or 3 days of suffering. It was so remarkable to have a relatively painfree period that I definitely took note. It could have due to a number of recent changes in my life. Recent also being relative. I changed my diet only last year to real foods. Thanks for reading!
Hi, since you are such an advocate for butter, I thought you might find something I just read to be interesting. Try to get your hands on the book ” Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon, and find the butter exerpt on page 618. You may like the book altogether actually.
Let mev know,
Jennifer
Oh yes, very familiar with Nourishing Traditions. Great book, but a little on the orthorexic (health food obsessive) side for my current tastes. I still recommend it, though! Thanks for your comment, Jennifer.
Almost exactly a year ago, a nutritionist claimed we should use “I can’t believe it’s not butter” because butter is so fattening. You told your story of losing weight on butter and she said a personal story is not scientific proof. She is right. Absolutely, and without a doubt. There are smokers who have no health problems and don’t die of cancer. That doesn’t mean smoking doesn’t cause cancer.
The good news is that the scientific studies are now coming in. Rather than citing a personal experience, there are now numerous studies you can use, and more coming soon. This is an interesting area for science. Google “butter study” for some great reading that shows butter is far better for you than “I can’t believe it’s not butter” or any other similar man made crap. Here is the first one I found: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100209124352.htm
Science is slow to change, but is does, eventually, catch up.
I have a few questions. I can’t get raw dairy where I live and so it’s not possible for raw grass fed butter, not even pasteurized grass fed butter. The best I can get is certified organic butter which is mostly grass fed but also supplemented with certified organic grains including corn and soy. I can however go to the States because i’m quite close to the border and get some Kerrygold butter from Trader Joe’s but I’ve heard that Kerrygold cannot guarantee that their grain feed is GMO free. So is Kerrygold butter worth stocking up for? Is it better than the butter I have now? May I ask what brands of butter you normally use on a daily basis because I go through quite a lot of butter everyday?
The idea that butter supplies energy which doesn’t cause weight might or might not be true – I haven’t done the research. However the argument does remind me, somewhat, of the *successes* reported by Atkins who advocated a high fat/low carb means of losing weight. Yes, people *did* lose weight and the logic of Atkins’ argument sounded clever, but the science later showed that high fat/low carb diets were horrible for triglycerides, lipoproteins (the really bad cholsterol that inflammes arteries) and overall cardiovascular health. I do agree, however, that butter – in moderation and in its natural state (not fried) is probably okay. But I wouldn’t recommend a ticker-tape parade in its honor.
This article is ancient and I now basically agree with everything you said.
I stand by my original theory that butter is not inherently fattening nor unhealthy, however, I also wish people would quit with the “ticker tape parade” over saturated fats that we’re seeing with the low-carb/high-fat dieting trend. You *can* have too much of a good thing, and I absolutely agree that an Atkins-like diet is not health-supportive in the long-term.
Cheers for you!!!
After going through “Bipolar” depression, breast cancer, Hashimoto’s thyroid dsyfunction and the connecting gluten sensitivity….I feel like I’ve found a secret that we’re all not suppose to know! Fat is what we need, carbs are a big problem.
I’m 52 and going to a Wholistic health clinic. I’ve read the “GAPS” book, with everything I’ve learned so much. Our Gut and the imbalances in them are pretty much the root of many illnesses. Our Gut is a source of our immune system, it is also considered “the 2nd brain”. Mine was a mess, causing all kinds of inflammation and problems.
My big cure now is diet. At the clinic, they preach this high fat, no grain, paleo-type diet. The more I learn, the more it makes sense and my health and improvement prove it to me.
Jen