It's Like...

I’m not sure what it is, but something gave me to urge to write about one of my new friends: butter. You may be wondering why someone who is all about nutrition is advocating butter -- it’s super-fattening and unhealthy right? Think again. For years and years I avoided using butter for that very reason, from opting have olive oil with my bread at restaurants to completely ignoring it when a recipe called for it. It was not until I started my training at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN) and began noticing that I felt horrible on my vegan diet that I began to appreciate the benefits of butter.

I learned that the reason I might be feeling so terrible is because I was deficient in some essential nutrients, especially vitamin D. Certain vitamins, A,D,E, and K are fat soluble. At the time there was hardly any fat in my diet so I wasn’t absorbing any of these nutrients! A well-known health counselor, Andrea Beaman from the first season of Top Chef suggested having just a little bit of butter with my grains – in my oatmeal, with rice, or sprouted bread. Her reasoning was 1) organic butter from grass-fed cows is rich in vitamin D (what I was missing) and is one of the most easily absorbed source of vitamin A and 2) butter helps lubricate your intestines and make hard-to-digest food more digestible.

After accepting that butter might not be the worst thing I could possibly eat, I began learning more and more about its health benefits. Much of this information came from two speakers at the IIN--Sally Fallon, the president of the Weston A. Price Foundation and Annemarie Colbin, founder of the Natural Gourmet Institute and author of “The Whole Food Guide to Strong Bones”. The Weston A. Price Foundation is a non-profit charity that publicizes the research of Dr. Weston A. Price, a dentist in the 1930’s who travelled all over the world to study native diets of supremely healthy people in villages that had not yet been plagued by modern, processed food. He found that in villages in the Swiss Alps the villagers had a significant amount of butter in their diet and even used it in sacred ceremonies in their churches. These people were not fat; they were strong, beautiful, and healthy.

The Foundation notes that between 1920 and 1960 heart disease rose to become the #1 killer in the United States. In that same time period, butter consumption plummeted. Contrary to popular belief, butter contains many nutrients that might even protect against heart disease. Here are a few more reasons to add a little butter here and there:

Thyroid function. Butter is high in vitamin A and iodine, both essential for the thyroid, which the body depends on to regulate its metabolism.

Protection against infections. The fatty acids in butter protect against gastrointestinal infections, especially for children and the elderly. They are also a great immune booster.

Brain & nervous system development. The fat and cholesterol in butter is necessary for brain and nervous system development in children. Human milk is extremely high in saturated fat and cholesterol for this reason. Children brought up on low-fat diets are said to not do as well.

Strong bones. Vitamin A and D in dairy, including butter, is essential for the absorption of calcium into the bones. I'm sure you've heard that having low-fat dairy supposedly helps build strong bones. Remember these vitamins are fat soluble, so when you have something like skim milk, you are not even absorbing the calcium!

Preventing arthritis. Butter has an “anti-stiffness” factor that prevents calcification of the joints (aka degenerative arthritis).

Anti-tumor and anti-aging properties. Saturated fat found in butter has anti-tumor and anti-aging properties. And you thought saturated fat was evil!

To learn more, check out “Why Butter Is Better” on the Weston A. Price Foundation website.

By now most people are aware of the dangers of hydrogenated oils and “trans-fats” and as a result no longer purchase products like margarine. However, I still see other kinds of fake butters out there, made from things like olive oil and soy. They may boast that they contain no trans-fats, but they are still made up of highly processed, rancid vegetable oils. Yes, rancid. They also have colors added to them because margarine and other fake spreads are actually lovely shade of gray. Yum!

So go for the real thing. Raw and cultured butter is the best, but since it can be hard to find, the next best thing is organic. Try very hard to find butter that is made from grass-fed cows. The nutrient levels will be much higher.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what to do with butter, but in any case here’s a recipe that will showcase it nicely:

Butter and Radishes

A couple of bags of radishes

Softened organic butter

Sea salt

Slice off the top of the radishes so that the bottoms are flat. With a small sharp knife, cut a cone-shaped opening in the top of each radish. Fill with softened butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Enjoy!