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Health Benefits of Organic Butter

May 31, 2011 | By Keith Fluegge
Health Benefits of Organic Butter
Photo Credit Butter image by Cornelia Pithart from Fotolia.com

For years, butter has been identified as the primary source of health-threatening saturated fats. Consequently, health-conscious consumers have been bypassing butter in favor of processed oils with less saturated fat. But research has yielded some important findings about butter's health benefits, including the fatty acids it contains, which may exert anti-carcinogenic effects; its cholesterol-lowering potential; and its many vitamins and nutrients. Additionally, organic butter may hold another health perk, in that it has been found not to contain traces of chemicals found in conventional varieties. In moderation, butter, especially organic butter, can indeed be a healthy inclusion in one's diet.

The Organic Benefit

Selecting organic butter over conventional varieties may lessen your exposure to toxic pesticides. Turkish researchers reported in 2010 in the "Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances" that conventional butter had levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCP) well above the acceptable national standards, such as the European Codex. Such contamination may pose a public health concern given worldwide consumption of dairy products, including butter. According to the Organic Consumers Association, residues of Lindane, a toxic pesticide with implications in breast cancer and other health maladies, were found in nonorganic varieties of dairy products. Contamination, however, was not found in the organic counterparts of the products tested.

Fatty Acid Profile

According to the Bauman Research Group at Cornell University, it has been found that natural trans fatty acids found in butter can be converted in the body to conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), the only fatty acid shown to inhibit carcinogenesis among its other health benefits. The researchers discovered that, by increasing the content of CLA in butter, an improved plasma cholesterol profile, a profile characteristic of a reduced risk of atherosclerosis, was revealed. CLA appears to exert additional health positives, according to Dr. Martha Belury, a professor of nutrition at Ohio State University. "Numerous physiological properties have been attributed to CLA, including action as an anti-adipogenic, anti-diabetogenic, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-atherosclerotic agent. In addition, CLA has effects on bone formation and the immune system as well as fatty acid lipid metabolism and gene expression in numerous tissues," she said.

The Cholesterol Conundrum

Because of its high saturated fatty acid content, butter has been implicated in a host of health problems, including heart disease and high cholesterol. However, butter contains a compound known as lecithin, a micronutrient that becomes a part of cholesterol-laden vesicles known as micelles. As reported in a 1999 issue of "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," researchers at Washington University in St. Louis discovered that lecithin-treated micelles greatly enhance the solubility of cholesterol into these micelles and its eventual transportation back to the liver, thus preventing its absorption and potentially reducing cholesterol levels.

Vitamins and Minerals

According to the Dairy Council, butter contains the necessary fat in which to carry many fat-soluble vitamins to be properly used by your body. Butter contains more than 8 percent of the USDA daily allowance of Vitamin A, as well as other fat-soluble vitamins such as D, E and K. Other minerals present in trace amounts in butter include iodine, calcium and potassium.

References

Article reviewed by Bonny Brown Jones Last updated on: May 31, 2011

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