Butter Consumption Weakly Associated With Total Mortality, Chronic Diseases

A study reveals that a daily serving of butter has insignificant associations with total mortality, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

The study was printed in PLOS One. It was led by researchers from Tufts University. It was authored by Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Laura Pimpin, Ph.D., former postdoctoral fellow at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts in Boston and Dr.P.H, dean of the School, according to Science Daily.

The researchers examined the nine eligible studies, which include 15-country specific cohort that represented by 636,151 individuals with a total of 6.5 million person-years of follow-up. Butter consumption was standardized in all nine studies. This involves 14 grams each day. It agrees to the recommended consumption of butter (roughly one tablespoon) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The average consumption of butter in nine studies ranged from roughly one-third of a serving each day to 3.2 servings each day. In the total follow-up period, the combined group of nine studies had 28,721 deaths, 23,954 cases of new-onset type 2 diabetes and 9,783 cases of cardiovascular disease.

The analysis showed small associations of each daily serving of butter with total mortality and chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Pimpin explained that even though people who eat more butter generally have worse diets and lifestyles, it seemed to be pretty neutral overall. She further explained that the study indicates that butter may be a "middle-of-the-road" food. This means it is a more healthful choice than starch or sugar, which have been linked to higher risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes and worse choice than cooking oils and margarine, which would likely lower risk compared with either butter or refined grains, sugars and starches.

According to Mercola, the nutritional value of butter depends on how the animals are raised. The best quality butter is the unpasteurized from grass-pastured cows, preferably the certified organic. You can also make your own butter from raw milk. The other best butter is the pasteurized butter from pastured organic cows and the regular pasteurized butter that are sold in the supermarket.