Does Butter Make You Fat? Fact Check

Butter

Butter is something that is a very famous dairy product and can be added to everything you eat. Some people add it to a sandwich, rice, Maggi, pizza, and the list goes on.

It is made up of cow’s milk and is composed of fat present in milk which is separated from other components of milk. It is not only used as a topping but even used as a spread in cooking as well as baking because of its highly favored flavor.

The only risk factor of butter is that it has a very high amount of saturated fat which has been responsible for heart diseases for decades.

We have seen many brands producing butter with a low-fat content like Nutrilite butter which is said to be a healthy addition to our diet.

Considering such ideal types of butter, people have started using butter in a wide range but moderate amounts because everything in excess can cause damage.

Moving ahead, we at Healthlink.News will help you learn everything related to butter in this article.

Method Of Production

Preparing butter is an art so you need to pay attention while preparing it.

Initially, to prepare butter, the cream present in milk is separated from the milk. In an early period, to prepare butter, milk was kept still until the cream used rise on the top surface of the bowl, the point at which it was skimmed.

Have you ever given a thought as to why cream rises? It is because the weight of fat present in cream is lighter than the fat present in other components of the milk.

As the world is modern, so is the method of production of cream. Nowadays cream is produced by using a method called centrifugation.

After producing cream, butter is extracted from that cream through a method called churning. In this process, the jar is shaken up to the time until the butter, or we can say milk fat sticks together and the buttermilk or liquid is left aside. We see our mothers using mixer grinders these days to produce butter at home. It is the same method as churning.

Later on, the liquid portion is drained off from accumulated butter then the left butter is churned off again until is it ready to pack and leave the grind.

Nutritional Values

Butter is made up of fat, so it has a very high-calorie content and is thus considered to be bad for overconsumption. One tablespoon of butter that is 14 grams of butter contains 100 calories which are equal to one banana of medium size.

Considering 1 tablespoon that is 14 grams of salted butter, the nutritional value will be-

• Calories: 102<
• Sugar: 0.01 grams
• Fiber: 0 grams
• Water: 16%
• Carbs: 0.01 grams
• Protein: 0.12 grams
• Fat: 11.52 grams
• Saturated: 7.29 grams
• Monounsaturated: 2.99 grams
• Polyunsaturated: 0.43 grams
• Trans: 0.47 grams

Fat Content in Butter

But is 20% water and 80% fat. It has so much fat portion because it is extracted from the fat portion of milk which has a lot of protein and carbs.

Among all other dietary fats, butter is the only one that has the most complex fat content for about more than 400 different types of fatty acids.

Butter has a very high level of saturated fatty acids which is 70% and 25% of monosaturated fatty acids which is a normal amount and can be considered fair enough.

Butter also contains polyunsaturated fats which are of very minimal value which is 2.3%.

Some other substances that contain fat and are found in butter are phospholipids and cholesterol.

Short-Chain Fats

Butter has 11% of saturated fats present in it which are nothing, but short-chain fatty acids also known as SCFAs. It is commonly known as butyric acid.

What is butyric acid? Butyric acid is present in milk fat and is a unique component found in the milk of ruminant animals like sheep, goats, and cattle.

Butyrate comes out from butyric acid and is very effective in reducing inflammation that is caused inside the digestive system. It is also used to treat a disease called Crohn’s disease.

Dairy Trans Fat

Dairy trans fats are healthier than trans fats present in processed food items.

The richest source of dietary trans-fat is butter. Although the common ones in the list are conjugated linoleic acid and vaccenic acid.

Conjugate linolic acid is well known for its amazing health benefits.

It is known for preventing cancer in some animal studies as well as test-tube studies.

Some people use Conjugate linolic acid as a weight loss supplement as well.

As everything in excess can harm you, so does Conjugate linolic acid because consuming it in large amounts can affect your metabolic health.

Also, not every study shows that Conjugate linolic acid helps in weight loss so before using it as a weight-loss supplement we must wait for more proven research.

Vitamins And Minerals

Butter has so many fat-soluble vitamins and is considered a rich source of vitamins.

The vitamins that are found in butter in high amounts are-

• Vitamin A. It’s the most copious vitamin present in butter. One tablespoon that is (14 grams) of butter provides about 11% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI).
• Vitamin D. Butter is a very rich source of vitamin D.
• Vitamin E. Butter is enriched with a very powerful antioxidant and vitamin E is often found in fatty foods.
• Vitamin B12. Often known as cobalamin, vitamin B12 is only found in foods of animal or bacterial origin, like eggs, meat, dairy products, and fermented food.
• Vitamin K2. A form of vitamin K, this vitamin is also known as menaquinone. It may protect you against heart disease and osteoporosis.

As we consume butter in very small amounts in our daily diet, so we cannot consider this vitamin values a healthy contribution to our life.

Health Concerns

Consuming butter in normal amounts can be okay but consuming butter in large amounts can show severe health effects and one of the most common is gaining weight. It is a very high-calorie food product that can lead to weight gain-associated problems as well.

Below are some of the most common concerns-

Milk allergy- Butter has a very low amount of protein but it contains lots of allergic whey proteins which are responsible for causing allergic reactions. For people who are diagnosed with milk allergies, it is recommended to avoid butter because it is extracted from milk only.

Lactose Intolerance- Consuming a minimal amount of butter for people with lactose intolerance is okay but consuming it in a big amount can show up various reactions as the butter has a very minimal amount of lactose present in it.

A better substitute for butter can be ghee because it is extracted from fermented milk and has a very less amount of lactose present in it. It is also known as clarified butter and cultured butter.

Heart Health- The relationship between saturated fats and heart diseases has been a very sensitive topic these days and these days we hear heart diseases being the only reason for the death of people. Why? Because consuming high amounts of saturated fats increases the level of bad cholesterol in your blood which is also known as LDL. A high amount of LDL is responsible for a high risk of heart disease.

A few people have been meeting the controversies about the same and have been stating that saturated fats are not responsible for raising the levels of bad cholesterol, but small and dense particles are the reason behind increased levels of LDL hence heart disease.

There are many studies that are done to find the relationship between saturated fats and heart diseases but unfortunately, none of them was able to prove the link between both.

The same applies to products like butter as some studies show that butter is not at all risky for increasing your rate of heart disease rather, they say that consuming dairy products can improve heart health.

Considering these unsure studies, it is recommended to avoid consuming a high amount of saturated fats.

Grass-Fed Vs Grain Fed

The food that is consumed by the cow can show adverse effects on the quality of milk they produce. As the butter is extracted from milk and milk comes from animals like cows, goats, and sheep.

Grass-fed butter comes from the milk of cows who graze upon fresh grass.

In the United States, grass-fed dairy products contain a little portion of the dairy sector. Most dairy cows are fed with commercial grain-based feeds.

In many other countries like Ireland and New Zealand, grass-fed milk products are much more common mostly during the summer months.

Grass-fed butter has a higher value of many nutrients than butter from cows fed processed, grain-based feeds or conserved grass.

The higher amount of fresh grass in a cow’s diet increases the number of healthy fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids and CLA.

In addition, the content of fat-soluble vitamins and antioxidants like carotenoids and tocopherols are significantly higher in grass-fed dairy

In conclusion, butter from grass-fed cows may be a much healthier choice.