Butter is Better (Than Margarine), But It’s Still Not Paleo
The idea of eating an occasional serving of uncured bacon from pastured pork gets taken out of context all too often within the Paleo community, and many find themselves eating frequent servings of poor quality bacon of the Oscar Meyer calibre as part of their daily regime.
Not a great idea, neither for the person eating it, nor for the animal who lived a miserable, tortured life in a cage too small to even turn around in.
Similarly, the confusion about dairy abounds.
Even if dairy is sourced from grass-fed animals, it is still not Paleo.
And whether or not someone feels they can ‘tolerate’ it still doesn’t mean milk is something we’re meant to be consuming (unless we’re talking about infants drinking their own mother’s milk!).
Same goes for butter…even grass-fed, organic local butter.
However- if you’re in the process of getting to a purely Paleo regime and you’re inching your way there, at least making the switch from margarine to butter (and then from there, hopefully to coconut oil, olive oil or yes, even lard from a pastured pig from time to time) is a step in the right direction.
The Weston A. Price Foundation has published an article on the benefits of butter, but if one is following a True Paleo approach (again- without butter) all the listed attributes are already being filled by the balance foods that are part of the regime, including supporting:
- Thyroid Function
- Osteoporosis Prevention
- Weight Loss
- GI Health
- Immune System Health
Take away message? Yes, butter is better than margarine but I have yet to see a reason why one needs to include it as a fat source when the regular consumption of olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, wild fish and grass fed meats and pastured pork are part of one’s routine.
