Choose Wisely: Butter

A big misconception most of us have heard is that butter is bad for you and that you should eat Smart Balance or other tub type “butters”. Many fall into the marketing ploys that these are healthier and better for you. However, just the opposite is true. Most of these margarine type spreads contain trans-fats and hydrogenated oils which has been linked to diabetes. These types of oils clog the cell membranes and lowers the rate of turning glucose into energy. Even if the tub spreads don’t contain hydrogenated oils, they contain soy protein isolates or other additives which are not healthy.

Organic butter contains many nutrients, some even protect us from heart disease! It contains Vitamin A, Vitamin E, lecithin and a number of other anti-oxidants which can help strengthen our immune system. It also contains the medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil. Butter does not cause diseases, but rather protects against them. Organic butter actually contains many nutrients that protect us from heart  and other diseases. It contains vitamin A which is needed for the health of the thyroid and adrenal glands, both of which play a role in maintaining the proper functioning of the heart and cardiovascular system. Organic butter is the wisest choice so you don’t eat hormones and pesticides that get absorbed into cows.

Choose This:

Ingredients: Pasteurized Organic Sweet Cream (Milk), Microbial Culture.

There are a number of good butters on the market so read your ingredients and choose wisely. Don’t get butter with a lot of extra ingredients – most will say cream and salt.

 

Do Not Choose This:

 

You will notice on the above ingredient list for Smart Balance that there are a lot of unnecessary ingredients, many not good for you. Smart Balance is a mixture of olive, soy, palm and canola oils along with chemical emulsifiers, synthetic antioxidants, and artificial flavors. Even though Palm oil is good for you Soybean Oil and Canola Oil are both very unhealthy oils. And chances are that the oil formula most likely contains more Soybean and Canola since they are cheaper oils. Monodiglycerides are hydrogenated oils in disguise and should be avoided. EDTA stands for ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid which is often found in detergents. Anytime you see an ingredient you can’t pronounce, research it.

Also Not this:Although Land O Lakes has some healthy butters on the market, you must check all ingredients. Here is an example of another un-wise choice.

As you can see from the ingredient list, there are a lot of harmful and unnecessary additives. Soybean and Canola oils are very toxic and harmful to our bodies. This can surely cause weight gains and other health issues.

Final note: Our bodies NEED saturated fats in order to be healthy and butter is a great source of saturated fats. So enjoy the taste and benefits of butter!