Why you need to eat more butter
11/25/2015 / By mindbodyscience
The marketing blitz that was launched in the past few decades that demonized saturated fats and made polyunsaturated fats (with special attention to vegetable oils like soy, corn, and cottonseed) the hero, struck a serious blow to our overall health. People started avoiding things like butter, beef, and full fat cream and started introducing thing like margarine and low fat dairy products.
Was this a good choice?
The case against margarine, the “darling” in the saturated fat attacks
To make margarine, a process is undertaken referred to as hydrogenation. This process turns polyunsaturated fats, which are normally liquid at room temperature into fats that are solid at room temperature. To make them, the cheapest oils are used such as soy, corn, cottonseed, or canola (which is genetically modified), and from their already rancid state due to the accepted extraction process, they are mixed with tiny metal particles, usually nickel oxide. The oil and its nickel catalyst are then subjected to hydrogen gas in a high pressure, high-temperature reactor.
From there, soap-like emulsifiers and starch are squeezed into the mixture to give it a nicer consistency, and the oil is then introduced to more high temperatures when it is steam-cleaned, to remove its unappetizing smell. From there, the margarine’s natural color (a stomach turning grey) is removed by bleach and dyes and strong flavors are they added to make it resemble butter.
Partially hydrogenated oils are even worse than highly refined vegetable oils due to the change in their chemical composition during the hydrogenation process. This altering of positions in the hydrogen atoms produces a transformation, which is rarely found in nature. Most of these man-made fats are toxic to the body, but your digestive system doesn’t recognize them as such. So instead of being eliminated from the body, they are adopted into the cell membranes. Your cells actually become partially hydrogenated! This wreaks havoc on cell metabolism and can cause serious diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, obesity, immune system dysfunction, sterility, difficulty with lactation, and problems with bones and tendons.
This is what happens when we bastardize nature’s food.
The case for butter, the natural and traditional form of healthy fats
Butter, provided it is organic and comes from grass fed cows, is on the complete other side of the spectrum in regards to health, and it has so many nutrients and benefits to offer, such as:
- Fat soluble vitamins – Includes true vitamin A (retinol), vitamin D, vitamin K, and vitamin E along with certain co-factors that maximize absorption. These fat-soluble vitamins are relatively stable and can survive the pasteurization process. Butter is the best source of these important nutrients.
- The Wulzen Factor – Also known as the “anti-stiffness” factor, this compound is present in raw animal fat. Researcher Rosalind Wulzen discovered this substance protects humans and animals from calcification of the joints – degenerative arthritis. It also protects against hardening of the arteries, cataracts, and calcification of the pineal gland. Pasteurization destroys this factor so raw butter, cream, or whole milk are required to get it.
- Activator X (Vitamin K2) – A powerful catalyst which helps absorb and utilize minerals. Butter can be an especially rich source of K2 if it comes from cows eating rapidly growing grass in the spring and fall seasons. It is not destroyed by pasteurization.
- Short and Medium Chain Fatty Acids – About 12-15% of butter is short and medium-chain fatty acids which have antimicrobial, antitumor, and immune system supporting qualities.
- Omega 3 and 6 EFA’s – Occur in small but equal amounts, which helps prevent the overconsumption of omega-6 fatty acids.
- Cholesterol – High in mother’s milk, it is essential for growth and development. It is also need to produce various steroids that protect against cancer, heart disease, and mental illness.
- Trace Minerals – Includes manganese, zinc, chromium, iodine, and selenium.
Now you can understand why you definitely need to consider butter as a staple in your diet and remove artificial imitators like margarine completely from your home.
To learn more about other benefits of butter, check out the first source below. To take your new butter addiction to a new level, read How To Make Ghee – The Real “Better Than Butter”. For another healthy DIY recipe, see how to make your own multi-vitamin/mineral powder: http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com
Sources:
http://www.healingthebody.ca/the-surprising-health-benefits-of-butter/
Tagged Under:
