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Would Consumption of Butter Lead To Heart Disease?
 

Saturated fat such as lard, bacon grease, butter and diary fat are often linked to heart disease and risk of death. Scientists believe saturated fat increases the amount of bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein or LDL) in the blood, though it also raises the good cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein or HDL), too. The bad cholesterol blocks or narrows arteries that could ultimately lead to heart attack or stroke. According to the American Heart Association, heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death not only in the USA but also across the globe.

People have been advised to stay away from butter since the 1950s because it is full of saturated fats that could make us fatter and more prone to heart disease. However, a paper published June 29, 2016 in the journal ‘PLOS ONE’ suggested that butter has relatively small or neutral association with mortality, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Cardiovascular disease includes coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke.

Using data collected on butter consumption and health risks from 9 previous studies that included 636,151 participants in 15 countries who were followed for 10 to 23 years, on average, researchers from Tufts University and University of Sydney examined exactly how butter consumption was linked to mortality, heart disease and diabetes. During that time, 28,271 people died; 9,783 were diagnosed with heart disease; and 23,954 were diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes. People in the studies consumed butter amounting from one-third of a tablespoon to 3 tablespoons daily.

It was found that each daily serving of a tablespoon (14 grams) of butter in the data was associated with a 1 percent higher risk of death and a 4 percent lower risk of Type-2 diabetes. And there was no significant associations between butter consumption and heart disease.

Though the findings did indicate a small or neutral association between butter consumption and increased cardiovascular risk, it does not mean people should start eating more butter. The findings cannot either prove butter does or does not cause mortality, heart disease and diabetes or indicate that butter is healthy. Furthermore, the findings do not support a need for major emphasis in dietary guidelines on either increasing or decreasing butter consumption. A small amount of butter should not be a major problem, but regular consumption of butter may substantially raise the risk of heart disease.

While the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) recommended replacing animal fats, including butter, with non-hydrogenated vegetable oils high in unsaturated fats and relatively low in saturated fatty acids, the DGAC also concluded that further research was required on the effects of saturated fat from different food sources, including animal products, on cardiovascular risk. This is because different food sources contain varying specific fatty acid profiles as well as other constituents that may result in distinct lipid and metabolic effects. Furthermore, recent studies have found that the effects of dairy fats on health are not as negative as saturated fat from other sources.

More and more researchers are looking at the overall effects of eating certain foods, rather than focusing on specific nutrients by themselves. This is because the combination of nutrients in a food, like butter, may have a different effect on people's health than any single nutrient alone. For instance, butter may be healthier than foods high in sugar or starch, it could be worse than other spreads and cooking oils that are richer in healthy fats.

Hence, one’s health depends on the whole diet. One can eat a little saturated fat like butter but have it with other foods like lean protein, whole grains and other good fats, too. Good fat includes monounsaturated fat like avocados, olive oil, and many types of nut and monounsaturated fat like oily fish, vegetable oils and seeds. Consensus among most health experts is that a healthy diet is typically rich in plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and seafood.

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