Is Butter Good for You? What You Should Know

Is butter good for you? Yes, high-quality grass-fed butter provides essential nutrients that support brain function, hormone balance, and sustained energy, especially when included in a nutritious low-carb diet such as Healthy Keto®.

Discover five key health benefits of butter, essential considerations for its consumption, and how to select the highest quality product for optimal nutrition.

What is butter?

Butter is made by churning heavy cream until the milk fat separates from the buttermilk. 

This creates a nutrient-dense spread packed with antioxidants, essential fat-soluble vitamins, and over 400 fatty acids, including monounsaturated fats and naturally occurring saturated and trans fats. 

Butter’s flavor, texture, and color vary depending on the cows’ diet and the quality of the cream. Conventional butter, often from grain-fed cows, tends to be paler in color, waxier in texture, and milder in taste.

In contrast, grass-fed butter is higher in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), omega-3 fats, and beta-carotene, giving it a deep yellow hue, smooth texture, and richer flavor.

Butter nutrition facts 

One tablespoon (14 grams) of salted, grass-fed butter contains:

• 100 calories
• 12 g fat
• 0 g protein
• 0 g carbohydrates 

In addition, grass-fed butter is an impressive source of health-promoting nutrients, including:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin K2
• Butyric acid
• Omega-fatty acids
• CLA

Watch the video below to learn five amazing health benefits of grass-fed butter.

Is butter good for you?

Grass-fed butter is a rich source of beneficial fats and fat-soluble vitamins, which offer significant health benefits, especially on a low-carb diet.

Here are five impressive health benefits of eating butter.

1. Supports hormone production

“Butter provides cholesterol, which is a crucial building block for various hormones, including estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol, supporting overall endocrine function,” explains Dr. Berg.

Additionally, butter’s health-promoting saturated fats help stabilize blood sugar levels and support adrenal health, which plays a vital role in stress management and hormone regulation.

2. Enhances brain function

The brain is primarily composed of fatty acids, which explains why high-quality dietary fats are essential for cognitive health.

Grass-fed butter provides omega-3 fatty acids and sphingolipids, which support neuronal signaling, maintain cell membrane integrity, and help control inflammation within the central nervous system.

A study published in Progress in Lipid Research highlights that sphingolipids, such as ceramides and gangliosides, are vital for learning, memory, and cognitive function.

The study notes that disruptions in the brain’s sphingolipid composition can impair normal cellular function associated with cognitive decline and neurological disorders, underscoring their important role in brain health.

3. Supports cardiovascular health

Research suggests that saturated fats from natural sources such as butter can benefit heart health and metabolic pathways, particularly when consumed as part of a low-carb, high-fat diet.

Evidence published in Nutrition & Metabolism found that very low-carb, high-fat diets improve triglyceride levels, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and blood sugar regulation more effectively than high-carb, low-fat diets.

Butter is also a natural source of choline, a vital nutrient that regulates homocysteine levels, which is linked to a lower risk of arterial damage and blood clots.

Additionally, choline supports liver function and facilitates fat metabolism and cholesterol balance, which helps reduce arterial plaque buildup.

Lecithin, a phospholipid found in butter, helps stabilize cell membranes and may prevent the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, a key factor in arterial inflammation and heart disease. 

Meanwhile, butter’s high omega-3 fatty acid and CLA content further promote heart health by reducing inflammation and supporting arterial flexibility.

4. Promotes gut health

Grass-fed butter is a natural source of butyrate, a critical short-chain fatty acid essential for gut health.

Butyrate has anti-inflammatory properties and may help manage digestive issues, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and ulcerative colitis, by reducing gut inflammation and supporting microbiome balance.

Research published in the Journal of Education, Health, and Sport found that “Sodium butyrate significantly alleviated abdominal pain, bloating, and overall IBS symptoms compared to a placebo.”

5. Helps regulate blood sugar levels

Grass-fed butter contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) and butyrate, which support insulin sensitivity and blood sugar regulation.

MCTs are rapidly absorbed and converted into ketones, which provide a steady energy source without triggering an insulin response. By reducing reliance on glucose for fuel, MCTs help maintain stable blood sugar levels and support metabolic flexibility.

A study published in Diabetes found that butyrate may help prevent insulin resistance and obesity in mice by enhancing mitochondrial function, fatty acid oxidation, and adaptive thermogenesis.

Cons of butter 

While butter offers impressive health benefits, it’s critical to consider potential downsides. 

Excessive fat intake in combination with a high-carb diet may contribute to insulin resistance, metabolic dysfunction, and an increased risk of heart disease. To support metabolic health, it’s essential to reduce carbohydrate intake when increasing dietary fats such as butter.

Research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicates that increasing saturated fat intake can improve lipid profiles when combined with a low-carb, nutrient-dense diet that limits excess calories and refined carbohydrates.

This underscores the importance of a well-formulated low-carb approach, such as Healthy Keto, which prioritizes high-quality fats and nutrient-dense whole foods to promote fat adaptation and metabolic balance.

While butter offers valuable nutrients, consuming it in excess can hinder fat burning, as the body focuses on breaking down dietary fat first before accessing its own fat stores.

Butter also has a low smoke point, making it less suitable for high-heat cooking. For high-temperature cooking, clarified butter, also called ghee, can be an excellent substitute for applications such as frying or sautéing.

Butter vs. oil 

The health impact of butter compared to cooking oils largely depends on their processing methods and fat composition.

Unrefined oils, such as organic cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and coconut oil, are rich sources of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. In contrast, highly processed seed oils may contribute to chronic inflammation and cardiovascular issues.

Research published by the BMJ found that replacing saturated fat with vegetable oil was linked to a 22 percent higher mortality risk. 

Highly refined vegetable oils, such as soybean, corn, and canola oil, undergo high-heat processing, chemical extraction with solvents like hexane, and deodorization. This depletes nutrients, promotes oxidation, and creates harmful byproducts such as certain trans fats and aldehydes.

These oils also tend to have an imbalanced omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, often exceeding 20:1 or even higher, compared to the optimal ratio of approximately 2:1.

Excessive consumption of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids has been linked to cardiovascular disease, cancer, cognitive decline, oxidative stress, and arterial inflammation.

Grass-fed and grass-finished butter provides a stable source of fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins, with a balanced ratio of polyunsaturated fats that supports metabolic health.

For cooking, fats such as grass-fed butter, tallow, ghee, avocado oil, and coconut oil offer superior nutrition while avoiding the inflammatory risks associated with refined vegetable and seed oils.

How to choose the right butter 

To maximize butter’s health benefits, opt for organic and grass-fed or grass-finished products, free from synthetic pesticides, growth hormones, and additives that can disrupt metabolic and hormonal health.

Research published in the Journal of Dairy Science found that cows grazing exclusively on pasture produced milk fat with 500 percent more CLA than those on grain-based diets, highlighting the significant nutritional advantages of grass-fed butter.

Production methods also shape butter quality. Raw and cultured butter retains more enzymes and beneficial bacteria that support digestion. Additionally, butter from farms practicing regenerative grazing enhances soil health and boosts nutrient quality.

Ultimately, choosing grass-fed, organic, and minimally processed butter ensures a nutrient-rich option that supports health and delivers superior flavor.

FAQ

Sources

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0163782722000170 
2. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1743-7075-3-7
3. https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/55326 
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19366864/ 
5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916522031197 
6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27071971/ 
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10531600/