So, should we ban butter?
Well, let’s look at what butter has to offer according to The Price-Pottinger Nutrition Foundation:
1. Vitamins A, D, E & K
2. Trace minerals manganese, chromium, zinc, copper, and selenium
3. An excellent source of iodine – crucial for thyroid health
4. Provides short and medium chain fatty acids which supports immune function, boosts metabolism and has anti-microbial properties
5. Provides a perfect blend of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids
6. Provides Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) which protects against cancer and helps the body to build muscle and not store fat
7. Glycospingolipids – Protects against gastrointestinal infections, especially in the very young and old. Children given lower fat milks have a higher incidence of diarrhoea than those who consume full fat milks.
8. Cholesterol – Despite the myth that it is bad for you (see “$29 Reasons to Lie About Cholesterol”), it is essential to intestinal health and for brain and nervous system development in the young.
9. Wulzen Factor – Prevents arthritis and joint stiffness. It ensures calcium in the body I put into the bones rather than the joints and other tissues. It is present in raw dairy and killed by pasteurisation.
Knowing this, should we still switch to the alternatives as Dr. Kolvekar suggests?
What do butter alternatives contain according to The Price-Pottinger Nutrition Foundation?
- Trans fats – which contribute to HEART DISEASE, cancer, bone problems, hormone imbalance, skin diseases, infertility, pregnancy and lactating difficulties, low birth rates, growth problems and learning difficulties in children.
- Free Radicals – which contribute to many diseases including HEART DISEASE and cancer.
- Synthetic vitamins – which have an opposite and detrimental affect compared to natural vitamins in butter.
- Emulsifiers and Preservatives
- Hexane and other Solvents – used in the chemical processing and are highly carcinogenic.
- Bleach – is to whiten the natural grey colour of the processed spread and then yellow colouring is added to make it look like butter.
- Artificial flavours – to hide the disgusting taste and smell of the partially hydrogenated oils.
What is well known as that our incidence of heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes etc has increased as our consumption of saturated fats has decreased and the consumption of non-saturated fats (often hydrogenated), sugar and grains has increased.
Ultimately, eating a high quality, natural (non-processed) diet in accordance with our metabolic type® has enabled us to live on this planet for approximately six million years. Why start eating unnatural ‘fake’ processed foods that our bodies’ physiology just does not recognise? Most people living in Europe and North America would benefit from a high fat (including raw organic butter), high protein, low carbohydrate diet to reduce the incidence of heart disease.
For further information on the health benefits of butter, you can check out www.ppnf.org.