Nutritional Purism: Eat Butter for Your Health

The Wingers have nothing on health food nuts intent on purifying the planet from all evil foods. Too often, people are "cowed" out of healthier living simply because eating healthy seems like a daunting project. And tasteless. And miserable. And no fun.

As with so many things in life, moderation is key. Glenn Reynolds the uber-opinionmeister on
everything from light-bulbs to hybrids to now, butter, says this:

That said, I've noticed that adding a very small amount of butter -- say, a tablespoon -- to a nonstick pan when cooking fish makes the fish a lot better. if that keeps you from eating something else that's more fattening (which would be most things) it's probably a good investment.

He is absolutely right. First off, the bit of fat sates the body's need for certain nutrients that a fat-free diet doesn't provide. That's why so many people drinking diet Cokes and powering down low-carb cookies are fat.

Humans need fat. We just need good fat. Glenn, eat more butter. Not only does it taste good, it's good for you. Really!

One of the biggest modern health myths is that butter is bad. Conversely, there are plenty of people who still think margarine is healthy. It's not. Just ask Harvard.

Why is butter good for you? Let me count the ways:

• Butter has high quantities of easily absorbed Vitamin A. Better eyesight and better sex hormone production. (Always a bonus.)
  
• Butter is rich in trace minerals.
• Butter is has equal amounts of essential fatty acids.
• Butter has fatty acids that are anti-carcinogenic.
• Butter has no trans-fats.
  

Raw, organic butter is best. At least organic butter is better. The New Zealand and Irish butters Glenn recommends are great, too. The key is the cows and what they eat and how they're treated. A happy, well-fed and organically raised cow produces very nice butter. But even a miserable, antibiotic stuffed cow produces a better product than any margarine you'll eat--not to mention margarine tastes like leather polish.