Is butter bad for you? This is a question you might find asking yourself. It has been a part of everyone’s diet for centuries, and today we are going to get to the bottom of this question. Most doctors will quickly advise you to stay away from butter especially if you have high cholesterol or heart issues, but the truth is that high quality REAL butter is good for you and has many health benefits.  But if you are using margarine, it is time to throw it away and make a change. So, for all you of butter people, get excited because you can add it back to your diet as long as you follow this protocol!

What is Butter?

I want to first break down what butter actually is and then we will go into the amazing health benefits. Butter is a dairy product created by churning fresh or fermented cream to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. And when you are looking at the list of ingredients in butter, there should always be only one. It’s contains 400 different fatty acids and a nice dose fat-soluble vitamins too. That’s all the good stuff you want to be eating. Butter is mostly from cows, but you can also get butter from goats and sheep.

Now the color of butter can vary from dark yellow to white, and the truth to this is that the darker yellow the better. When the butter is yellow, that means the source is on a healthy diet of grass which means the animal is getting the vitamin A found in plants. We always say in my house, “We are what we eat eats!”

Nutrition and Benefits of Grass Fed Butter

Now we are not talking about all types of butter. We are talking about REAL GRASS FED butter. The nutritional facts about grass fed butter are amazing. Just look at this list of vitamins and minerals that are in one tablespoon of grass fed butter. 

• 100 calories
• 11 grams fat (the good fats)
• 30 milligrams cholesterol
• 500 international units vitamin A 
• 0.4 milligram vitamin E 
• 0.8 microgram vitamin K 

Butter is not bad for you. It has 0 sugars and carbs and the saturated fats that are in grass fed butter, are good for you because it is naturally sourced. So if you eat saturated fats in moderation and from a real source, it’s all the good stuff your body needs for fuel. 

The Benefits:

• Anti-inflammatory – One of the many positives to eating grass fed butter is the high levels of butyric acid it contains. This acid has been shown to greatly decrease inflammation which has proven to help many people who suffer with Chron’s Disease. 
• Boost Vitamin A – Grass fed butter has a high dose of Vitamin A because of the cow’s diet. Compared to standard butter, grass fed can have up to 3% or more of Vitamin A per tablespoon, which might not sound like a lot but overtime it can make a big difference. Vitamin A is very important for your skin, teeth, and soft tissues. It aids in proper endocrine system function and it supports healthy breastfeeding. 
• Heart Health – Butter is not associated with heart disease but margarine is! Grass fed butter actually reduces the issues that surround heart disease and heart failure making good healthy grass fed butter a good source for supporting your heart. 
• Boost Energy – Grass fed butter contains MCTs (medium chain triglycerides) These are known to support your immune system and give you a natural boost of energy. The MCT’s found in butter are able to be immediately converted into energy which fuel your muscles and organs. MCT’s also aid in helping people lose weight, giving you many reasons why they should be added to your daily lifestyle

Grass Fed Butter vs. Standard Butter

The milk from grass-fed cows is much richer in fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins. And grass-fed butter nutrition is significantly higher in many nutrients and minerals than the standard butter which is from cows that are fed grain-based diets. 

Studies have also shown that milk and butter from grass-fed cows boosts your immune system and helps your body fight diseases overall. When it comes to butter, it is worth it to buy grass fed. The benefits are significant and the ways to implement it into your diet are simple and endless. 

What About Margarine? 

So the question we shouldn’t be asking is is butter bad for you? But what we should be asking is what about margarine? And if you think margarine and butter are the same you are mistaken, in fact they aren’t even close! It was created as a cheaper substitute for butter. in our house another thing we ask each other when it comes to food is, “Is it God made or man made?” Well, there is nothing natural or God made about margarine.  It was created in a lab by a man named Michel Chevreul. It is full of trans fats, which are known to clog arteries, increase bad cholesterol, and it lower the levels of good cholesterol. 

So, Is Butter Bad For You?

I hope by now I have convinced you to throw out your margarine and standard butters, and make a lateral shift to grass fed real butter. This is an easy lateral shift that is worth making; everyone in your family gets to enjoy butter, and reap all the benefits as well. 

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