For many years, butter has had a bad reputation for being an unhealthy food. The reason behind this is its richness in saturated fat. But after a few years of research, the once scary saturated fat was proven to be something that is actually good for our health.
This type of fat was said to be one of the biggest causes of heart disease, but health experts discovered that this was just a myth.
What is Grass-Fed Butter?
This has a very simple answer. Grass-fed butter comes from grass-fed cows whose milk is separated to cream and milk. Cream is churned to make butter until the fat globules come together.
The thin liquid that is left in the process is used as buttermilk. Commercial butter is comprised of water, salt, milk solids, and has at least 80% fat.
Why is Butter from Grass-Fed Cows Better than Other Types of Butter?
Experts praise grass-fed butter because of its superior micronutrient profile, which means it has higher conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). CLA is a supplement that can help people in losing weight as well as in building muscles. Aside from CLA, grass-fed butter also has better ratios of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and also has more vitamins, particularly A and E than other types of butter.
Many people don’t know though that there is something unique about grass-fed butter: it is loaded with vitamin K2. This vitamin is important, especially for those who are at risk of heart disease. However, not everyone knows about vitamin K and this variant of the vitamin. K2 or menaquinone is from animal foods, whereas K1 is from plant foods, such as kale, spinach, and other leafy greens. K1 is mainly used by the body for blood clotting related functions, while K2 is for keeping the arteries free from calcium.
Since grass-fed butter is a rich source of vitamin K2, it is safe to say that by consuming this type of butter, you can get the following benefits:
- Modify proteins to bind with calcium ions and boost calcium metabolism
- Prevents osteoporosis
- Prevents heart disease by stopping calcium from reaching the arteries
A study, which examined how K2 affects cardiovascular health, showed that those who have higher intake of the vitamin almost had 60% reduced risk of developing heart disease. But moderation is still key here. Even though fat in butter is not completely evil, it is still best to consume tasty butter and other dairy products since they are among the foods that contain high amounts of fat.