Butter lovers, rejoice! Some wonderful people have conducted a study on whether or not butter will clog your arteries. The study was published in the scientific journal, Plos One.
The study covered 15 countries and 636,151 people. They were investigating a link between butter consumption and heart disease. They concluded that butter has a minimal impact on mortality and heart disease.
The animal fat could be a better choice than starchy sugars (white bread, potatoes, and others). The servings of butter were based on a 14g per day (one tablespoon) serving. The participants were given different portions ranging from a one-third serving up to three servings per day.
One scientist, Laura Pimpin, said:
“Even though people who eat more butter generally have worse diets and lifestyles, it seemed to be pretty neutral overall.”
Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts in Boston said:
“In my mind, saturated fat is kind of neutral overall. Vegetable oils and fruits and nuts are healthier than butter, but on the other hand, low-fat turkey meat or a bagel or cornflakes or soda is worse for you than butter.”
The conclusions from the study read:
“This systematic review and meta-analysis suggests relatively small or neutral overall associations of butter with mortality, CVD, and diabetes. These findings do not support a need for major emphasis in dietary guidelines on either increasing or decreasing butter consumption, in comparison to other better established dietary priorities; while also highlighting the need for additional investigation of health and metabolic effects of butter and dairy fat.”
Basically, everything in moderation. Butter is not the enemy. Yes, butter is high in saturated fat, but many researchers are looking at the overall health effects of eating it. It is not necessary to focus on one particular nutrient.
Butter is less healthy than some other spreads and sprays. There are other alternatives that have less saturated fat. You can cook with canola oil, soybean oil, or extra-virgin olive oil. Butter can be part of a healthy diet. Just don’t eat a butter sculpture in one sitting.
Stay buttery, my friends!
Here is a video about the study and heart disease risk with saturated fats:
