Did you grow up eating margarine because it was “healthier?” I remember eating that flavorless spread for many years, and then learning how unnatural and harmful it was to our health. After my first Nourishing Traditions class, I learned that butter, not margarine, was an amazing source of vitamin A and contained many other necessary nutrients. It’s also highly digestible, and let’s be honest, it just tastes better. Our family was so excited to be able to eat butter again!

When I researched the fats that our great grandparents grew up with like lard, butter, and tallow, I learned that they are highly digestible, nutrient dense (if correctly raised and prepared), and health promoting. Starting in about 1910 people were told that highly processed fats were better for them, and the fats that they could easily make on their farms (no lab needed) caused health problems. Could it be that someone was profiting from this?

I threw out my margarine after learning that these unnatural fats, along with shortening and spreads, are made using a process of partial hydrogenation where it turns liquid to solid fat. According to the Weston Price Foundation, these lab derived oils “contribute to heart disease, cancer, bone problems, hormonal imbalance and skin diseases; infertility, difficulties in pregnancy and problems with lactation; and low birth weight, growth problems and learning disabilities in children.” These fats contain free radicals, synthetic vitamins, emulsifiers and preservatives, numerous additives, hexane, and other solvents, artificial flavors, and more.

Butter is a great source of vitamin A which is lacking in our modern diets. It is necessary for a wide variety of functions like good vision and endocrine function. It also contains vitamin D, E, and K2 which are more vitamins missing in our diet. Butter is also an excellent source of manganese, chromium, zinc, copper, and selenium, and iodine. Pastured butter contains high levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a compound that has been studied and shown to give protection against cancer and help to build muscle instead of fat. it contains high levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a compound that gives excellent protection against cancer and also helps the body build muscle rather than store fat.

The Weston Price Foundation states that, “Butter produced from raw cream will contain the WULZEN FACTOR: A hormone-like substance that prevents arthritis and joint stiffness, ensuring that calcium in the body is put into the bones rather than the joints and other tissues. The Wulzen factor is present only in raw butter and cream; it is destroyed by pasteurization.” There are so many benefits to butter, and if you would like to learn more, head over to the Weston Price Foundation.

Harmful Ingredients in Margarine and Shortenings and Spreads According to the Weston Price Foundation:

“FREE RADICALS: Free radicals and other toxic breakdown products are the result of high temperature industrial processing of vegetable oils. They contribute to numerous health problems, including cancer and heart disease.

SYNTHETIC VITAMINS: Synthetic vitamin A and other vitamins are added to margarine and spreads. These often have an opposite (and detrimental) effect compared to the natural vitamins in butter.

EMULSIFIERS and PRESERVATIVES: Numerous additives of questionable safety are added to margarines and spreads. Most vegetable shortening is stabilized with preservatives like BHT. HEXANE and OTHER SOLVENTS: Used in the extraction process, these industrial chemicals can BLEACH: The natural color of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is grey so manufacturers bleach it to make it white. Yellow coloring is then added to margarine and spreads.

ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS:  These help mask the terrible taste and odor of partially hydrogenated oils, and provide a fake butter taste. MONO- and DI-GLYCERIDES: These contain trans fats that manufacturers do not have to list on the label. They are used in high amounts in so-called “low-trans” spreads.

SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE: This highly processed powder is added to “low-trans” spreads to give them body. It can contribute to thyroid dysfunction, digestive disorders and many other health problems. STEROLS: Often added to spreads to give them cholesterol-lowering qualities, these estrogen compounds can cause endocrine problems; in animals these sterols contribute to sexual inversion.”

Will you be throwing out the margarine and sourcing good quality, pastured butter? We love to hear from you!

Our family has learned to slow down, make careful observations of what heals/damages, decrease modern distractions, take a little more time preparing our food, and most importantly to seek the Lord’s wisdom. It’s a daily struggle and it never goes perfectly, but we just keep trying to do the best we can. If
you are working toward a more traditional, clean, whole foods diet, and would like to take small steps to get there, then you are at the right place. “Week one was Get Your Salt Better,” week 2 was “The Power of Water,” week 3 was about removing toxins from our water, Week 4 was Get Your Sleep Better, and this week we are talking about getting your fats better. Join us next week for Get Your . . . Better.