Butter: The Surprising Health Food

My sainted father lived 90 years and more.

Although he would be delighted to pull up a chair and recount his many health travails, the truth is, he was a remarkably healthy man.

In his favor:

• He never had much of a sweet tooth,
• He gave up the drink (at 60, sure, but he had 30+ years to go!),
• He ate a stick of butter every day.

Although margarine was touted as the modern miracle spread, better than butter in every way, dear old dad would have no part of it.

He was raised on butter, and he was not about to quit it now.

Now, the old man did eat his fair share of carbs. His breakfast was saltine crackers with butter. Lunch was some manner of sandwich. And dinner was meat, potato with butter, never-you-mind-the-green-beans, and thick slices of bread with more butter.

We set the table with two butter dishes, one for Dad, and one for the rest of the family.

Dad would eat his meal first, then enjoy his bread. He’d cut a slice, butter one corner, bite that corner. Butter another bit, bite that bit. Butter-and-bite, butter-and-bite.

The butter had to be cold, never spreadable room-temperature butter, never my favorite, melted-in butter. Nope. Dad savored the taste and the feel of every butter bit.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world was eating Fleischmann’s, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Blue Bonnet. Because everything’s better with Blue Bonnet on it.

But not our happy home.

Our sainted mother did keep Mrs. Filbert’s Golden Quarters on hand for grilled cheese sandwiches and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese dinner. For us kids. Not for my dad.

Dad ate like a king.

Dad ate real butter.

And so I invite you to begin your journey into healthy eating by defying decades of diabolically misguided health advice from our government and health officials.

Pitch the margarine. It is made from seed oils.

Pitch the spreadable butter. It is made with seed oils.

Pitch butter blends. They are made with seed oils.

Buy butter.

100% butter. Salted or not. Irish-style from pasture-raised cows if you can, but good old Land-o-Lake’s if you can’t. Just — butter.

What’s that, you say?

What the devil are seed oils?

Seed oils have many names: canola/rapeseed, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, safflower, soybean, sunflower, vegetable.

These “vegetable” oils sound healthful. They are not. They are highly processed manmade products born from the waste products of cotton factories.

What if it’s labeled pure, natural, organic? Rubbish. It’s still rubbish.

But why are seed oils rubbish?

Seed oils are full of polyunsaturated fat.

Dr. Cate Shanahan has written extensively on seed oils and their impact on our metabolism. From her 2022 blog article “How Eliminating the Hateful 8 Helps Weight Loss,” Dr. Cate explains:

The quicker we get rid of seed oils, the easier it will be to combat carb cravings.

But isn’t butter bad?

Not according to my dear old dad, or to the umpteen generations before him that lived very well on butter, thank you kindly, and without the new-fangled seed oils invented last century.

Not according to Ellen Louise, naturopath, nutritionist, and herbalist, who explains that animal fats are essential for hormone production. They provide cholesterol, a critical building block for hormones like testosterone, estrogen, and cortisol.

Not according to Dr. Elizabeth Bright, who further sings the praises of animal-based fat for balancing cortisol. Lower cortisol means feeling calm, energetic, and well-rested.

Nothing changes if you don’t change.

The Standard American Diet, chock full of ultra-processed foods high in sugar, carbs, seed oils, and additives, has made us fatter and sicker than even before in our history.

It’s not our fault. We didn’t know.

But now we do.

If you have any interest in improving your health — which, yes, usually also means losing excess weight — begin today.

Begin now. Begin with something easy.

Begin with butter.

Thanks for spending time with me this morning. Hope to see you again soon.

Until then, stay strong, wise, kind, and good by choosing good food for good health.

Note: This story was first published August 26, 2024 in Long. Sweet. Valuable. on Medium: https://medium.com/@strongwisegood

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, not a scientist, not a nutritionist. I am just a late boomer sharing what I’ve learned on my journey to good health through good food.