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Butter is a health food. There, I said it. I don’t just love butter because it tastes better than margarine. I don’t just love it because I think it’s a healthier alternative than margarine. I actually believe, bones to britches, that butter is good for you.
The other day someone left this comment on a Facebook post of mine, “Only an idiot would believe butter is actually a health food. Yes, it’s better than margarine, but it is by no means good for you.” Only an idiot? Really?
Name-calling aside, let’s use our brains. Shall we? What makes butter a health food?
Butter is More “Heart-Healthy”
After years of being told that margarine was more “heart-healthy” than butter, we’re now discovering in long-term studies that the science simply just doesn’t back up the claim.
For more on that, read Butter vs. Margarine: The Showdown.
Butter Contains Cancer-Fighting Fats
Butter is rich in the short and medium-chain fatty acids that deter tumor growth.
We used to believe that high fat diets promoted tumor growth. Now we know that it’s not the high-fat diet per se, but the kind of fats in that diet. A diet high in the wrong kinds of fats promotes tumor growth. A diet high in the right kinds of fats deters cancer growth.
In this study, researchers showed that both Oleic acid and Myristic acid have cancer-fighting properties. Both of these fatty acids make up a large percentage of the fats found in butter.
Butter from grass-fed cows is also rich in Conjugated Linoleic Acid — a strong cancer-preventing fatty acid.
Butter Protects Against Degenerative Arthritis
Dutch researcher Wulzen found that it [raw butter fat] protects against calcification of the joints — degenerative arthritis — as well as hardening of the arteries, cataracts and calcification of the pineal gland.
Unfortunately this vital substance is destroyed during pasteurization. Calves fed pasteurized milk or skim milk develop joint stiffness and do not thrive. Their symptoms are reversed when raw butterfat is added to the diet.
(source)
