In the past decade, butter has been gaining negative reputation. It’s being blamed for the development of various conditions such as heart disease and obesity. However recent studies is helping butter regain credibility yet again. Not only will butter turn your rather bland meals to masterpieces, but it is now proven to be beneficial for the health too.
If you want to know more about butter being the health food that it truly is, keep reading!
1. Butter is concentrated with fat-soluble vitamins
Butter contains high concentrations of fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamins A, E, and K2. Of course, Vitamins A and E can be found in other food items that are considered more nutritious, so I’ll focus my attention on butter’s rich Vitamin K2 levels.
Vitamin K2 is a nutrient you wouldn’t normally find in normal food items. This vitamin has many great health benefits. It facilitates calcium metabolism. The lack of Vitamin K is lined to the development of serious health conditions such as cancer, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular diseases.
The usual source of Vitamin K2 is dairy sourced from grass-fed cattle.
2. Butter is teeming with health saturated fats
Bad, unfounded science is to blame fro butter’s negative street cred in the past few decades. Recent studies show that there really is no link between cardiovascular diseases and saturated fats.
In fact, saturated fats can actually raise the good cholesterol levels and even alter the LDL concentration from small to dense LDLs- those of which are benign in nature.
Butter boasts a decent amount of short and medium-chain fatty acids that are synthesized differently from other types of fats. These fatty acids help in improving sense of satiety and increase the body’s fat burning potential too.
3. Butter lowers the chances of heart attack when compared alongside margarine
In a study conducted a few years back that compared the effects of margarine and butter to cardiovascular disease, it has been revealed that the latter does not have bad effects to heart health.
The study further reveals that butter did not have any significant effect on cardiovascular health whilst margarine, with its high trans fat levels, have significantly increased one’s risk of developing heart-related diseases.
Lastly, the study also tells us that the addition of high-fat dairy like butter can greatly reduce heart disease by 69%. This health benefit can be attributed to the presence of Vitamin K2 in butter.
4. Butter is an excellent source of butyrate
The 4-carbon fatty acid, butyrate, is produced by bacteria found in the colon when they come in contact with dietary fibers. This fatty acid is the main reason why fibers are able to deliver its many health benefits. A good source of this fatty acid is butter, which is essentially made up of about 3% to 4% butyrate.
Laboratory tests reveal that supplementation of butyrate at the right amounts may actually stop weight gain through the successful increase in the rate of energy expenditure. It also reduces one’s food intake altogether. This fatty acid also improves the function of the mitochondria as well as effectively lowers the fasting of triglycerides and insulin.
Lastly, butyrate has excellent anti=inflammatory powers that protects the digestive system too.
5. Butter is rich in conjugated linoleic acid
Butter that is produced from grass-fed cows, is an excellent source of conjugated linoleic acid. This healthy fatty acid has positive effects on metabolism and is even being sold commercially as an important ingredient of weight loss supplements.
In addition, conjugated linoleic acid boasts anti-cancer properties as well as lowers the body percentage in humans.
6. Butter is linked to lower risk of obesity
Nutrition experts tell us the consumption of low-fat dairy is beneficial in that we get optimum levels of calcium without the calories. Despite this recommendation, eating high-fat dairy products like butter has never been associated with weight gain or obesity.
A paper published in 2012, tells us that the intake of high-fat dairy products like butter does not increase one’s risk of metabolic diseases and cardiovascular diseases. Lastly, high-fat dairy products even lower the risk of obesity.
7. Butter is simply delicious
The use of butter in the preparation of meals makes food more palatable. When consumed in moderation, butter can truly be beneficial to health
