Why butter is better.

Fallon, Sally and Enig, Mary G. 2000. Why butter is better. The Weston A. Price Foundation.

Butter is a rich source of Vitamin A as well as other fat soluble vitamins (D, E and K2 ). It is rich in important trace minerals manganese, chromium, zinc, copper and selenium. It also contains iodine, short and medium chain fatty acids important for immune function and anti-microbial properties as well as boosting metabolism. Butter has a perfect balance of omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids. Arachidonic acid in butter is important for brain function, skin health and prostaglandin balance. Grass fed cows have high levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which protects against cancer and also helps the body build muscle rather than store fat. Glycospingolipids are fatty acids that protect against gastro-intestinal infections, especially in the very young and the elderly. Children given reduced fat milks have higher rates of diarrhea than those who drink whole milk. Butter also contains a number of anti-oxidants such as Vitamin A/E and selenium.

The Wulzen factor is a hormone-like substance that prevents arthritis and joint stiffness, ensuring that calcium in the body is put into the bones rather than the joints and other tissues. The Wulzen factor is present only in raw butter and cream; it is destroyed by pasteurization.

In contrast, margarine which is from the conversion of liquid vegetable oil to solid fat through a process of partial hydrogenation contributes to heart disease, cancer, bone problems, hormonal imbalance, skin disease, infertility, difficulty in pregnancy, problems with lactation, low birth weight growth issues and learning disabilities in children. Recently a US government panel of scientists determined that man-made trans fats are unsafe at any level.

Free radicals and other toxic breakdown products are the result of high temperature industrial processing of vegetable oils and contribute to numerous health problems, including cancer and heart disease. Synthetic vitamin A and other vitamins added to margarine and spreads often have an opposite (and detrimental) effect compared to the natural vitamins in butter. Most vegetable shortening is stabilized with preservatives which can have toxic effects.

Between 1920 and 1960 the consumption of butter in the US dropped from 18 pounds/person/year to 4 and this is the same time heart disease rose to become America’s number one killer.