Is Butter Good For You?

Even though my grandparents could not afford to keep a cow for milk and butter, we could find it daily at the local farmer’s market. You need to know that my grandparents lived in the milk-producing region of France, Normandie, kind of like Wisconsin here. We could buy a mound of freshly churned deep yellow butter with a hint of sea salt (used as a natural preservative). It tasted almost like grass.

Eat more butter!

Why is raw fresh butter actually good for you?

Why do I suggest you eat raw or organic butter? Take a look at the long list of the benefits you receive when you include it in your diet:

• Butter is rich in the most easily absorbable form of Vitamin A necessary for thyroid and adrenal health.
• It contains lauric acid, important in treating fungal infections and candida.
• It contains lecithin, essential for cholesterol metabolism.
• It contains anti-oxidants that protect against free radical damage.
• Food coming from grass fed cows contains CLA (conjugated linolenic acid), a healthy fat that has shown anticancer properties, is a muscle builder and boosts immunity.
• It has anti-oxidants that protect against weakening arteries.
• It is a great source of Vitamins E and K.
• It is a very rich source of the vital mineral selenium.
• Saturated fats in butter have strong anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties.
• Vitamin D found in butter is essential to the absorption of calcium.
• It protects against tooth decay.
• It is your only source of an anti-stiffness factor (30% omeg-3 fatty acids in grass-fed products), which protects against calcification of the joints.
• Anti-stiffness factor in butter also prevents hardening of the arteries, cataracts, and calcification of the pineal gland.
• It is a source of Activator X, which helps your body absorb minerals.
• It is a source of iodine in a highly absorbable form.
• It may promote fertility in women.
• It is a source of quick energy, and is not stored in our bodies’ adipose tissue.
• The cholesterol found in butterfat is essential to children’s brain and nervous system development.
• It contains Arachidonic Acid (AA) which plays a role in brain function and is a vital component of cell membranes.
• It protects against gastrointestinal infections in the very young and the elderly.

Why Raw or Organic Butter is Best

Believe me this is only a partial list. The best butter you can eat is raw or organic butter from a reputable dairy because pasteurization destroys nutrients. Unfortunately, the sale of raw butter is prohibited in most of our 50 states.

Alain’s cooking tip

The good news is that, if you’re willing, you can make your own butter. Buy organic heavy cream. Mix it with the same probiotic culture used to make yogurt. Let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours to allow for fermentation. Refrigerate overnight. Whisk it until it turns into butter. With a cheesecloth, drain the buttermilk (or save it for other uses) and voila! You have made your own homemade butter. It is called cultured butter. Here again, the secret is moderation. 1 to 2 pats of real butter a day will do you good.

Ghee

Another form of butter used for centuries in traditional Indian (Aryuvedic) cooking is Ghee or clarified butter. It has a lot of wonderful healing qualities. It is believed to strengthen the immune system and protect us from disease.