When it comes to fat, it’s all about the butter. But are there things you don’t know about America’s favourite saturated fat?
1) All butter is not created equal.
There is no golden ticket when it comes to butter; your butter is as clean as its source. Cows store toxins in both fat tissue and dairy fat, so that bioaccumulation of toxic substances from factory farms- hormone injections, cows living in filth, and contaminated feed gets passed on to you and your detoxification system. You see, cows are meant to be fed grass, but the milk yield is much lower on a natural diet. In order to increase milk production and profits, diets of GMO corn and soy (often mixed with animal by products) are the cow’s dietary delight at factory farms. So choose to get your butter from happy grass-fed cows—your body will thank you.
2) Colour matters.
Butter colour varies from pale yellow [white] to a deep buttercup yellow. Generally speaking, the darker the yellow colouring of the butter, the richer the butter is in nutrients, so long as a colorant is NOT on the ingredient list! The deeper color comes from higher levels of vitamin A; the result of beta carotene from a grass-fed diet.
3) There is no substitute.
Accept NO substitute! “Butter flavour” does not equal butter, nor does “buttery spread.” That is marketing, not nutrient-dense and heart-healthy butter! Don’t be fooled by deceptive ingredient lists either- butter should contain cream, milk and salt.
4) Butter contains food additives concealed as natural flavors.
The term natural flavour or natural flavouring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavouring rather than nutritional.
5) Butter is an amazing, nutrient dense health food
With butter rich in vitamins A, D, E, K2, saturated fat, lauric acid, and cholesterol (antioxidant) there is no reason not to love it.
Butter and coconut oil contain significant amounts of the short and medium-chain saturated fatty acids, which are very easily metabolized, inhibit the release of histamine, promote differentiation of cancer cells, tend to counteract the stress-induced proteins, decrease the expression of prolactin receptors, and promote the expression of the T3 (thyroid) receptor. Studies even show it can slash your heart attack risk in half. So pass the grass fed butter. Because butter is better.