Butter is Best!

This is a topic which has been hounding parents for some time. Let’s put it to bed permanently. 

One of the healthiest whole foods you can include in your family’s diet is butter. 

WHAT??? I can hear many of you saying, “Isn’t butter bad for you? I thought margarine and spreads were better because they’re low in saturated fat and cholesterol?” 

Be not deceived folks! Butter is truly better than margarine and other vegetable spreads. Despite unjustified warnings about saturated fat from well- meaning, but misinformed nutritionists, the list of butter’s benefits is impressive indeed: 

Vitamins: 

Butter is a rich source of easily absorbed vitamin A needed for a wide range of functions in the body; from maintaining good vision, to keeping the endocrine system in top shape. Butter also contains all other fat- soluble vitamins such as E, K, and D. Awesome stuff! 

Minerals: 

Butter is rich in trace minerals, especially selenium, a powerful antioxidant. Ounce for ounce, butter has more selenium per gram than either whole wheat or garlic. Butter also supplies iodine, needed by the thyroid gland as well as vitamin A, also needed by the thyroid gland. 

Fatty Acids: 

Butter has appreciable amounts of butyric acid, used by the colon as an energy source. This fatty acid is also a known anti-carcinogen. Lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid, is a potent anti-microbial and antifungal substance. Butter also contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which gives excellent protection against cancer. Range-fed cows produce especially high levels of CLA as opposed to stall-fed cattle. It pays, then, to get your butter from a cow that has been fed properly. Butter also has small, but equal, amounts of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, the so-called essential fatty acids. 

Glycosphingolipids: 

These are a special category of fatty acids that protect against gastrointestinal infections, especially in the very young and the elderly. Children, therefore, should not drink skim of low-fat milk. Those that do, have had higher rates and incidents of diarrhea than those who drink whole milk. Who needs that? 

Cholesterol: 

Despite all the misinformation you may have heard, cholesterol is needed to maintain intestinal health, endocrine health and is also needed for brain and nervous system development. This emphasizes the need for cholesterol-rich foods for children. Human breast milk is extremely high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Standing in direct opposition to all these healthful qualities is margarine and assorted vegetable oil spreads. While these may be cheaper, you’d never eat them again if you knew how they were made. All margarines are made from assorted vegetable oils that have been heated to extremely high temperatures. This ensures the oils will become rancid. A nickel catalyst is added, along with hydrogen atoms, to solidify it. Nickel is a toxic heavy metal, and some amounts always remain in the finished product. Finally, deodorants and colorizers are added to remove margarine’s revolting rancid oil smell and its unappetizing grey color. And if that is not enough, harmful carcinogenic and mutagenic trans-fatty acids are created in the process. YUM! To top it off, margarine is one hydrogen atom away from being a plastic. How would you like to spread some Tupperware on your toast? 

When looking for good quality butter, raw and cultured is best. Organic butter is your next best thing, with store-bought butter being at the bottom. It’s a few extra cents to get high quality butter for you and your family. 

Very simply, butter is far superior, especially the organic, grass-fed, and raw-milk variety. There is no substitute. Double YUM!