Good Source Of Omega 3s
Like most grass-fed animal products, grass-fed butter contain up to ten times more omega-3 fatty acids than its grain-fed counterpart .
You may associate omega-3s with fatty fish and shellfish. While these are undeniably the best single source of omega-3 fatty acids, plenty of healthy populations thrive on grass-fed animal products and dont eat fatty fish because its not available .
A tablespoon of grass-fed butter has over 100 milligrams of omega-3s, mainly from alpha-linoleic acid . Although grass-fed butter does not have DHA, when you reduce omega 6 content in your diet, the conversion process from ALA to DHA is more efficient.
Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory, and are associated with a lower risk of inflammatory conditions like heart disease and metabolic syndrome .
Whereas grain fed butter is higher in omega 6s and other polyunsaturated fatty acids .
According to a 2019 paper from the peer-reviewed journal Foods,
Pasture feeding has been demonstrated to have a positive impact on the nutrient profile of milk, increasing the content of some beneficial nutrients such as Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, vaccenic acid, and conjugated linoleic acid , while reducing the levels of Omega-6 fatty acids and palmitic acid.
A high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is associated with increased risks of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and premature death .
Packed With Vitamins And Antioxidants
Vitamins and antioxidants are a great thing .
And butter is just the ticket to getting enough of these essential nutrients.
Grass-fed butter offers :
- Beta-carotene
- Alpha-tocopherol
All these vitamins are important, but K2-MK4 is the most interesting of the bunch.
K2-MK4 helps prevent calcified arteries and may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, osteoporosis, and dental caries .
Keep in mind also that K2-MK4 occurs almost exclusively in animal products. So much for leafy greens!
Next up, vitamin A is essential for healthy skin.
When you eat beta-carotene, your liver converts it to retinol, the active form of vitamin A.
Sufficient levels of beta-carotene in your diet and body can help protect your skin from sun damage, and may help prevent obesity and acne .
To accumulate sufficient retinol in your skin, you must consume beta-carotene regularly, and with fats . In other words, supplements arent the best option, but butter is a fantastic choice.
Retinol is necessary for cell differentiation, immune system function and gene expression. With that being said, beef liver is a much more potent source of vitamin A retinol.
Last but not least, alpha-tocopherol is also an antioxidant that plays key roles in the health of your central nervous system.
Low concentrations of vitamin E appear to raise the risk of Alzheimers dementia, but adequate levels can slow the progression of the disease .
Lower Ldl Levels Are Better
In a JAMA editorial accompanying the study, Christopher P. Cannon, MD, of Brigham and Womens Hospital and Harvard Medical School wrote that aggressive LDL lowering is the ideal lower is better.
The JAMA studys findings echo those of another large 4,162-patient study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It concluded that LDL cholesterol levels of 62 were even better than levels of 95 at preventing death, heart attacks, and other cardiovascular-related problems in people with heart disease.
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Improve Your Heart Health
Heart disease is the leading cause of death around the world.
As we touched on earlier, health professionals used to think that saturated fats from butter and animals contributed to high cholesterol and eventually heart disease.
But as more people stopped eating butter, bacon, and eggs, heart disease and obesity rates went through the roof. What gives?
It turns out that grains and sugar are the real culprits of this American epidemic and healthy fats can help reverse it.
Evidence shows people who add more grass-fed dairy to their diets have lower risks of heart disease.
Check this out:
Cows in Australia are grass-fed. A 16-year study there showed citizens eating the most high-fat dairy products had a 69% lower chance of dying from heart disease than those who didnt eat them.
New Zealand also has its own famous brand of grass-fed butter called Anchor butter. Even though its not certified USDA organic, its made with free range, grass-fed cows.
Costa Rica also believes in grass-feeding their cows.
A study conducted there compared the fatty tissue of close to 2,000 patients who had heart attacks and lived with another group of 2,000 people who did not have heart attacks but had similar health markers.
Where Can I Get Grass
With the downfall of the saturated fat and cholesterol myth, grass-fed butter has become a popular food for the reasons discussed in this article. You should be able to find it in your local health food store or at Whole Foods. You can also order it online from several retailers including US Wellness Meats.
Be sure to read the label and make sure it says grass-fed cows or pasture-raised cows. Organic Valley is 99% grass-fed and Kerrygold cows consume fresh grass for 10 months out of the year and hay for the 2 coldest winter months. This is also somewhat seasonal as they dont produce the butter during the winter time and so some retailers are only able to carry it during the prime seasons. Purity Farms has a great grass-fed ghee that I use regularly, too.
So how do you like to use grass-fed butter or ghee? Leave a comment below!
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How To Make Ghee
Ghee is easy to make at home using just one simple ingredient: unsalted butter.
To get started, cut 1 pound of butter into cubes and add them to a large skillet or pot on low heat.
Next, allow the butter to melt and bring it to a simmer. Using a slotted spoon, remove any foam or milk solids that float to the surface.
Allow the ghee to cook for 1520 minutes, until the milk solids begin sinking to the bottom and turn a deep golden color. The ghee should also become very fragrant, with a rich, nutty aroma.
Once its ready, turn off the heat and let the ghee cool for a few minutes.
Finally, use a cheesecloth or coffee filter and strain the ghee into a glass container with a lid.
Homemade ghee can be stored at room temperature for 34 months or refrigerated for up to 1 year.
Summary
Ghee is easy to make at home using unsalted butter. It can be stored for 34 months at room temperature and lasts up to 1 year in the refrigerator.
Lets Talk About The Oils To Not Cook:
Polyunsaturated fats that are used by the brain, should generally not be heated. Those are fats like flax, hemp, and your omega-3 fish oils that you take as a supplement. There is also walnut, maybe sesame, sunflower and soybean. They are on the edge here. Usually flax oil and hemp oil are taken off the spoon, added to smoothies or juice and used a bit to make salad dressing. They typically help decrease inflammation, nourish your brain and make your skin soft. Im simplifying here because they do a lot more but those are my top three.
Also Check: Are Baked Potatoes High In Cholesterol
What Is Whey Protein
Milk contains two types of protein, whey, and casein. When milk or milk products separate, there is a fatty portion thats used to make cheese and a liquid portion that contains whey. The whey is either discarded or processed further to make whey protein powder.
There are actually several types of whey protein. Whey concentrate is the most common, mostly because its the cheapest and has the best taste.
Whey isolate is pretty common too. It has less fat and lactose, making it easier to digest for some people. This is the type of protein most often used for research.
Finally, whey hydrolysate is basically pre-digested whey protein. This helps your body absorb the whey faster. However, whey is already absorbed pretty quickly and its unclear if the difference with whey hydrolysate is worth the high price tag.
Reduce Your Cancer Risk
While certain vegetable oils may contribute to the development of cancer, others such as olive oil and avocado oil may protect your cells from mutating.
Butter is in the category with the good guys.
One study showed milk from grass-fed cows had positive effects on the metabolism of rats when it came to cholesterol levels, inflammation and cell damage all precursors to cancer cell growth.
That may be thanks to butyrate , which has been studied for its positive role in colon cancer prevention.
In a nutshell, butyrate:
- Prevents and halts inflammation in your colon
- Stops precancerous and cancerous cells from multiplying
- Reinforces your colonic defense barrier
CLA also has a few cancer-fighting properties up its sleeve.
Studies show adding just 0.5% of CLA to your diet can reduce the growth of tumors by over 50%.
And remember good ol vitamin K2?
Its been known to induce cell death in cancerous cells.
While these are all perks of eating grass-fed butter in the long-term, lets talk about what it can do in the short term too.
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Grass Fed Butter: Nutrition Information + 5 Health Benefits
Carnivore Aurelius
Most industry- and government-funded pseudoscientists are in agreement that too much butter will cause health problems.
Guess what? Theyre wrong.
Grass-Fed Butter is a nutrient dense superfood.
In this article, youll learn the truth about grass-fed butter.
Keep reading to learn the difference between grass-fed and grain-fed butter, detailed nutrition facts and why grass fed butter needs to be a part of your diet.
Its All About Moderation
Beef has been linked to many different health issues, Dr. Bruemmer says. Not just cardiovascular disease but even cancer and diabetes. And consuming red meat on a regular basis is associated with increased death risk.
And like other Cleveland Clinic experts, Dr. Bruemmer is a bit skeptical about recent studies that have downplayed those connections. The overwhelming prior literature would suggest theres solid evidence in the risk associated with red meat, he says.
But that doesnt mean its not OK to consume red meat once in a while. If someone wants to eat a small piece of lean, grass-fed beef once a week, thats pretty reasonable, Dr. Bruemmer says. But thats not what were usually doing. Were eating New York strip steak and burgers and processed meats five times a week and that becomes an unhealthy habit.
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Health Benefits Of Grass
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So Again What Makes Butter So Special
Butter enthusiasts claim that the saturated fat and cholesterol in grass-fed butter provide the necessary precursors to make your hormones in your body and provide a slow burn of steady energy. The buttered coffee folks claim that its an upgrade over traditional carbohydrate-filled breakfast fare.
Carbs in traditional breakfast fare? Its probably safe to assume theyre referring to toast, cereal, and possibly doughnuts. True, these choices may leave us feeling less satisfied and set us up for hunger pains in a short while.
But what about eggs? You know, the other well known traditional breakfast fare, which actually has 9 times more the amount of cholesterol than butter, along with a bunch of other essential nutrients. And assuming traditional breakfast fare is white bread and sugary cereal, what say we swap those out for whole grain options like whole wheat, oats, or fruit?
I offer this solution because, hands down, theres much more research supporting the reduction of cardiovascular disease risk through diets which replace saturated fat, such as that found in butter, with unsaturated fat from foods like avocados, nuts, and olive oil, as well as diets with fiber-filled whole grains. Also important to note are that risk factors actually increase when saturated fats are consumed in conjunction with refined carbohydrates and added sugars. This evidence is why our nutritional guidelines encourage limiting saturated fat intake to be less than 10% of our total Calories.
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What Is Butter Made Of
Youre likely familiar with butter, but do you ever wonder what is butter made of? When it comes to butter ingredients, there is only one. Butter is a dairy product created by churning fresh or fermented cream to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. Its about 80 percent fat and contains around 400 different fatty acids and a nice dose fat-soluble vitamins too.
Butter is most commonly sourced from cows, but its also possible to make butter from the milk of other mammals like goats, sheep, buffalo and yaks.
The color of butter can range from almost stark white to deep yellow. Guess which one is healthier You give up? Its the yellow variety, which is the result of cows being grass-fed.
What happens is that when a cow lives on a diet primarily consisting of grass, the butter that is made from the cream of cows getting a diet rich in beta-carotene .
Dont Forget About Cholesterol
Chris Masterjohn has contributed an extensive amount of research on cholesterol, one of the most misunderstood chemical compounds in science today. For decades now we have been told that cholesterol is bad and it will give you a heart attack but the opposite is actually true. Cholesterol is good, it helps brain function, and it will increase HDL and reduce LDL, which decrease your chance of a heart attack.
If you simply google benefits of cholesterol you will run into a tidal wave of important information that most people dont even know of, and make sure to check out the Bulletproof Radio episodes.
That said, a larger sample size would be nice . Here is the recipe for Gregs 1000-calorie omelet, if you want to give this experiment a try:
- 4 pastured eggs.
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How Much Whey Protein Should I Take Per Day
The amount of protein you need every day depends on your body composition, activity level, and specific goals. Heres a basic guide to help you figure out how much protein you need:
- Fat loss: 1.3 – 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram bodyweight
- Muscle gain: 1.4 – 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram bodyweight
- Maintenance: 0.8 – 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram bodyweight
You can also check out this protein calculator to get an accurate recommendation for your needs.
One serving of whey protein powder typically provides 20 to 30 grams of protein, depending on the brand. Naked Whey provides 25 grams per 2-scoop serving.
If youre maintaining your weight with moderate protein needs, it will be easy to meet your needs with plenty of high-quality protein foods and maybe a serving of whey protein each day.
If youre losing fat or gaining muscle, your protein needs are much higher. For example, someone who is building muscle and weighs 200 pounds may need up to 200 grams of protein per day. In this case, taking one or two servings of whey protein could help meet your needs.
Butter: Superfood Or Super Unhealthy
Bulletproof founder Dave Asprey, who popularized putting butter in coffee, is well known for touting butter as a health food. What? Is this a joke? Weve all heard that saturated fat is bad, so how can butter be good? If you are living a life with no butter, Asprey said, you are not going to like how your body makes hormones. You need saturated fat. This is, contrary to what weve been told over the years by nutrition experts, so what gives? Lets cut through the propaganda and look at the facts, to settle the butter debate once and for all.
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What About Margarine
Margarine is in a whole other category. As a butter alternative, margarine is made from vegetable oils. But given the Food and Drug Administrations ban on artificially added trans fats, which margarine used to contain, it is controversial.
The key to choosing a healthier margarine is opting for soft varieties, according to the AHA. In fact, the AHA recommends this variety of margarine as a butter alternative to reduce intake of saturated fat, which can harm heart health when eaten in excess.
When choosing margarine, be sure to check the nutrition label it should say 0 g trans fat. The AHA adds that the ingredient partially hydrogenated oil is a cue that trans fat may be present in a food. Avoid this, too, even if the label states 0 g trans fat.
And while youre at it, to lower your risk for heart disease, the AHA suggests limiting total daily intake of saturated fat to 5 to 6 percent of total calories per day, which is about 13 g for someone on a 2,000-calorie diet. Saturated fats occur naturally in many foods, with the majority coming from animal sources like fatty beef, poultry skin, butter, cheese, lard, cream, and other dairy products made from whole or 2 percent milk, as well as many baked goods and fried foods, according to the AHA.
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