Common wisdom dictates that you should eliminate butter from your diet as it contains too much cholesterol and saturated fat which if eaten in excess can lead to coronary heart disease.
A Meta analysis was released in 2009 by the American Journal of Clinical nutrition. It combined data from 21 unique studies that included almost 350,000 people, about 11,000 of whom developed cardiovascular disease (CVD), tracked for an average of 14 years, and concluded that there is no relationship between the intake of saturated fat and the incidence of heart disease or stroke.
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/ajcn.2009.27725v1
Butter is a source of essential Vitamin A and Vitamin D. The cholesterol contained in butter is another essential nutrient needed for creation of hormones in the body such as estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, DHEA, testosterone, and serotonin. It is also involved in the creation of bile salts which are essential to digestion and they contribute to maintaining the health of the intestinal wall.
When buying butter make your choice carefully. Go for Organic butter, ideally sourced from cows fed on grass pastures. This will minimise contamination by antibiotics and the butter will also contain a better fatty acid profile.
I caution you not to overheat fats, you can normally smell when this happens and they will also tend to smoke. Even the healthiest fats can be converted to 'trans fats' when exposed to high temperatures. Trans fats have been linked to a host of illnesses and medical conditions. Instead butter is best used when melted on top of seamed vegetables or added to home made sauces.
Rather than elimating saturated fat from your diet, focus more on reducing your intake of carbohydrates. Here is a link to a study on why excess carbohydrates raise risk for heart disease-
Tel Aviv University (2009, June 27). How High Carbohydrate Foods Can Raise Risk For Heart Problems. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 10, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090625133215.htm
Hi Martyn - great blog, just one comment. The bottom article does suggest reducing carbohydrates BUT! reducing high GI carbohydrates, ie very refined and sugary foods. Low GI foods, eg unrefined whole grain foods, oats, porridge, vegetables, brown rice, etc, are all great in the diet, help regulate blood sugar, satiety (how full you feel) and help reduce risk in a huge number of diseases, ranging from CV disease, cancers (eg bowel), and help keep you regular!
ReplyDeleteI would totally agree with you there in regards to including more vegetables and greens in the diet. They provide essential nutrients, phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals and fibre which is essential to digestive health. I am also an advocate of using fibre supplements to boost intake.
ReplyDeleteComplex grains are a more troublesome area for some people due to allergies and also the lectin content of many of them.
I'm not saying they shouldn't be eaten. Its is however case specific dependent on the person’s activity level and genetic tolerance towards carbohydrate. For an ectomorphic extreme endurance athlete such as yourself you can probably suck down carbs all day, hence you getting away with your cake eating.