Thursday, January 22, 2009

Your Body Needs Real Butter!

Are you still avoiding butter because you believe it is unhealthy to eat? Stop believing the untruths told by doctors and many health experts - because that information has long been one of the causes of health problems and disorders, including heart disease, weight gain, and high blood pressure! How can this be?

Until the turn of the 20th century, heart disease was almost non-existent. By 1960, it had risen to the ranks of one of the most prevalent killers. What changed? During those years, foods became more and more processed and a variety of artificial fats and "butter" products started becoming available. In fact, butter consumption decreased from eighteen pounds per person per year down to only four.

Is just any butter good for you? No, in fact most butters on the market fall into the category of "altered" or processed butters, and would have the opposite effect on your health. The reality is that much of our heart disease and other chronic, degenerative disease comes from eating foods that fall into this category. This is because so much more goes into making those butters than just the cow eating grass out in a nice, clean field. Most butter comes from conventional, "factory" farms and is unfit for human consumption. The animals who produce this type of butter are kept in cramped, unsanitary conditions and administered steroids, growth hormones, antibiotics, and fed unhealthy feed. For maximum health benefit, always choose organic, and from animals that are grass-fed (not grain, soy, or corn). Raw butter is the ultimate in health benefit as it contains the maximum amounts of CLAs (conjugated linoleic acid), healthy fat, many vital nutrients (including Vitamin K, Vitamin E, and iodine), and probiotics.

Check with your local dairies to find out if you can obtain good quality, organic, grass-fed butter (raw is a plus!). Good store brands include Lurpak and Kerrygold. Also try U.S. Wellness Meats (Monticello, MO) and Organic Pastures (Fresno, CA).

For a list of all the health benefits of eating real butter, visit Body Ecology. For another source that discusses the virtues of butter, visit The Weston A. Price Foundation.

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