Is Butter Keto? What they don't tell you about butter

Butter is a dairy product made from the simple process of churning dairy cream to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. Milk proteins form membranes around globes of fat causing it to emulsify evenly into cream and churning or agitating the cream disrupts these membranes causing the fat to eventually clump together forming butterfat.

Butter is solid at room temperature due to higher content of saturated fat, consisting of 63% saturated fat and 37% unsaturated fat.

A serving of butter is around one tablespoon, weighing 14 grams. The water content of butter is approximately 18% and a tablespoon serving of butter is around 102 kcal of calories.

Butter contains a very small, but insignificant amount of carbs. A tablespoon of butter only contains around 0.01 grams of carbohydrates. Butter is very keto friendly.

The smoke point of butter is 150°C or 300°F and the melting point is 36°C or 95°F. This smoke point is relatively low compared to other fats due to butter still having some milk proteins. Clarified butter may have a slightly higher smoke point due to those proteins being removed from additional processing.

In cooking, the smoke point is generally a good indicator of how stable the fat is when cooking it under high heat where flavors might be affected due to the burning of some impurities in the fat. However, smoke point does not determine the “healthiness” of the fat as bad compounds can form from heat without smoking or even without heating.

The saturated fats found in butter plays an important role in the body as they are used as a structural component in cells and are building blocks for hormones.

Saturated fats are incorporated into cell membranes to keep them “waterproof”.

Saturated fats and monounsaturated fats found in butter are both highly resistant to oxidation compared to polyunsaturated fats made up mostly in vegetable oils.

Lung surfactants are made from saturated fats which helps to reduce the surface tension of fluids inside the lungs to prevent them from collapsing during breathing.

Saturated fats are required by your bones to assimilate calcium to make them strong and improve density.

Dietary saturated fat may improve your liver’s resistance to toxin, oxidative stress and protects against alcoholic fatty liver disease. In a mouse study, damage from alcohol was reduced by increasing the intake of saturated fat and the more saturated fat, the better the improvement (r, r). In another mouse study, saturated fat intake increased the hormone adiponectin, which increased rates of fat burning in the liver and which improved alcoholic fatty liver (r).

Dietary saturated fats spare omega-3 fats increasing the amount available in your body. (r, r).

In an animal study involving heart failure and different types of dietary fats, it was shown that a diet high in saturated fat improves survival (r).

In a study that looked at mouse hearts, it showed that the heart burned saturated fats faster than unsaturated fats suggesting that it may prefer using saturated fats for energy (r).

Saturated fats found in high amounts in butter and coconut oil protect the gut by killing bacteria and candida.

White blood cells require saturated fats and deficiencies lead to decline in their function usually seen in more elderly people. This could be corrected by adding back saturated fats (r).

We have been told for years to lower saturated fat intake due to its increased cardiovascular disease risk. As the French Paradox tells it, then why doesn’t the French, which has a diet high in saturated fat and carbohydrates in the form of tasty croissants made with butter, have very low incidence of heart disease and obesity?

Studies have been done looking at the totality of evidence and it shows that, the evidence based on epidemiology, is weak at best. Saturated fat does not cause heart disease and even lowering saturated fat intake does not decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease or total mortality (r, r, r).

Maybe saturated fat in the context of a poor diet and lifestyle may increase the chance of a poor outcome, but it alone is not the blame.

Also, human mammary glands produce saturated fats in human milk to nourish its next generation. If in light of evolution that saturated fats were truly unhealthy for humans, then our biology would definitely have selected to remove such a function to maximize the survival of our species as a whole.

Butter consists of 99% fat and an insignificant amount of protein. Although without the protein, it is quite nutritious, and is a good source of fat soluble vitamins. It is a good source of Vitamin A in the human usable for retinol and contains some in the form of beta-carotene which acts as an antioxidant in the body. Butter also contains Vitamin E, Vitamin D and Vitamin K. As these are fat soluble vitamins, eating them from a fat source such as butter aids its absorption into the body.

All dietary fats comes in a blend of different types of fatty acids which each of them have interesting properties and exert different effects on the body. Fatty acids serve both as structural components in the human body and as fuel to be converted into energy.

Oleic Acid may improve cell membranes and helps weight loss

Butter consists of around 32% oleic acid, highest compared to the other fatty acids. Oleic acid is the second most abundantly occurring fatty acid in the human body, next to palmitic acid.

Eating a diet of higher content of oleic acid upgrades your cardiolipin which is the membrane in your mitochondria and may improve its resistance to oxidative stress, reduces aging and cell death due to dysfunction. Studies in mice has found that oleic acid is incorporated and replaces fatty acids in your cells to make them more resilient (r, r, r).

In a study that has shown that oleic acid may have beneficial effects on body composition and weight loss. The fatty acid ethanolamide oleoylethanolamide (OEA) is increased in the body from the dietary intake of oleic acid is shown to stimulate lipolysis, which is the release of fat from fat cells, fat burning and improves satiety (r).

Stearic Acid may help weight loss

Stearic acid is a long chain saturated fatty found in higher amounts in beef tallow, palm oil, cocoa butter, coconut oil and butter. Approximately 15% of butter is stearic acid.

The most interesting property it has is its ability to induce mitochondrial fusion in vivo in humans within 3 hours after ingestion (r). Simply put, what this means is that when this fat is ingested, it causes our body’s cells to burn fat. In mouse studies, it has been shown to reduce visceral fat (fat in the stomach area and organs) and increase lean body mass (r, r).

Palmitic Acid used abundantly in the body

Butter consists of approximately 15% palmitic acid and it is the most abundantly found fat in humans, approximately making up 20-30% of all fat found in the body. It is the main type of fatty acid that is made inside the body using protein and glucose in a process called de novo lipogenesis (DNL) which is primarily done and regulated in the liver. Although this process happens in a very limited manner, usually only when carbohydrate intake exceeds the capacity in which the body is able to store it or when the diet is very low in fat and high in sugar to starch ratio (r, r). However, relying on this synthesis may not be reliable in the long term and so obtaining it from diet is an easy solution.

Human breast milk is also a high source of palmitic acid and in particular, a specific type called beta-palmitate consisting of 60-80% found in studies. The palmitic acid found in butter also contains around 40% beta-palmitate. Beta-palmitate is found in studies of infant formula to be better digested by infants and improves absorption of calcium for them (r).

Myristic Acid may improve immune function and omega 3 levels

Butter contains approximately 20% myristic acid and it is a long chain saturated fat that plays an important role in the immune system to allow its proper functioning. A rat study has found that increasing their myristic acid content also increases activation of macrophages which is a type of white blood cell (r).

Studies in rats have shown that an increased dietary intake of myristic acid improves circulating, red blood cells, brain and tissue storage of omega-3 fats (r, r, r)

Lauric Acid is antiviral and antibacterial

Lauric acid is a saturated fatty acid found in high quantity in coconut oil, but some is also found in butter, consisting of approximately 6%. It is well known for its antiviral (r) and antibacterial (r, r) properties, being able to deactivate various bacteria, yeast, fungi and viruses (r, r, r). Monolaurin which is formed from lauric acid in the body also has a similar antimicrobial effect, but even more potent than its predecessor (r, r, r).

Butyric Acid may aid weight loss and satiety

Named after butter, it is a good source of butyric acid containing around 3%. It is a short chained saturated fat and is also produced in the colon when fiber is broken down by gut flora. Colon cells use butyric acid as its primary energy source and it also helps with the production of gut mucosa which protects the gut lining from pathogens and toxins, as well as allowing the absorption of nutrients.

Studies in mice have found that there was a reduction in obesity and insulin resistance after dietary supplementation of butyrate (r). Another study in mice also shows that butyrate stimulated the release of hormones in the gut which produced satiating effects (r).

Butter has been the go-to fat for the ketogenic diet for weight loss and anecdotally has seen a lot of success. As you can see from the mouse studies above that this effect, at least in mice, is due to the unique properties of the fatty acids found in butter.

Weight loss is improved due to several possible mechanisms.

1. Mitochondria fusion forces your fat cells to continue to burn fat, ignoring the effect of insulin telling the cells to store fat.
2. The reduction in insulin resistance allowing lowering the release of insulin which would block fat burning for a longer period of time.
3. The release of gut hormones promoting satiety.
4. Fat cells stimulated to increase lipolysis, releasing stored fat to use for burning.

Myristic acid and lauric acid in mouse study shows that this fat found in butter aids the body in fighting all kinds of pathogens. Both myristic acid and palmitic acid which are found in high amounts in butter helps white blood cells maintain they’re immune function and deficiency has been found to bring about a decline in that function which can be reversed through dietary intake (r).

Oleic acid in which butter is an excellent source of may help improve your body’s energy production by improving your cell membranes to protect them from oxidation by replacing oxidation prone linoleic acid with monounsaturated oleic acid which is much more resilient. Uncompromised membranes ensure maximum energy production in the body’s cells.

The current research in saturated fats tell us that the constant messaging on saturated fat being unhealthy is only based on very weak evidence. Anecdotally and from the French people with low rates of heart disease and obesity, we can see that butter can be part of a healthy diet and can potentially have many added benefits:

1. Improve weight loss and satiety
2. Improve immune function
3. Improves liver’s resistance to toxins and protect from alcohol consumption
4. Gives the heart it’s preferred fuel
5. Improve and protect your body’s energy levels

Mostly importantly, experiment with this traditional food yourself to see what works for you!