Are People Who Eat Butter Happier?

I make wink and nod jokes from time to time on this blog about folks who eat butter being happier than the norm.

Is this really true?

While eating butter is certainly not in and of itself a recipe for happiness, what eating butter does do is stabilize the blood sugar.  When blood sugar is stable, it is much easier to be patient and nice in difficult situations.

Ever notice how your kids are grumpy and moody when they come back from a birthday party after having been plied with birthday cake, processed juice, soda, and candy?

This is the blood sugar roller coaster and it can make folks really unpleasant to be around!

It can cause meltdowns in kids too.  We parents joke around with each other about our kid having a meltdown about this or that, but the fact is that there is a physiological reason for these intense outbursts of emotion.

One of the very first things I noticed about myself when I started to eat butter with abandon a decade ago was that I became a whole lot more patient and go with the flow in unexpected, stressful situations. Airplane delays, someone cutting me off in traffic, etc all became much less of a big deal than before when I was eating lowfat and very dependent on grains and sugars to keep my blood sugar from going south.

The wonderful and healthy saturated fat in butter (YES, saturated fat is healthy and DOES NOT cause heart disease!   Get a new doctor if yours is still in the Dark Ages about this!) keeps blood sugar from spiking and falling suddenly like carbs do.

Of course, you don’t have to eat butter to get this blood sugar stabilizing effect.  You can eat coconut oil, cream, ghee, tallow, eggs, or any number of other traditional foods that contain this important macro-nutrient.   By and large, folks tend to avoid saturated fat as this is misguidedly taught by conventional nutritionists, doctors, and government agencies.

Could this be a big reason why our society is so impatient, angry and moody these days?   I, for one, think definitely so.

Even a glass of fresh veggie juice – universally considered a very healthy choice – will spike and drop your blood sugar like a rock unless you stir in a bit of cream to add some insulin stabilizing saturated fat into the mix like traditionally done in France.

Dropping blood sugar is a very difficult situation to ride out with a smile on your face, and if something unexpected happens which messes up your day, it is pretty easy to blow a gasket with the folks around you having to deal with the emotional fallout.

Observe over a Thousand People Who Eat Butter in Action

I’ve attended a lot, and I mean A LOT, of conferences and seminars over the years on a variety of subjects.   The happiest, most fun people I’ve ever seen at any professional event are by far at the annual Wise Traditions Conference – this year being held in Dallas.

I joke that these folks are happy because they eat butter, but this is really not a joke.  It is true for the reasons I outlined above.

Why don’t you make plans to attend this event THIS YEAR!   There is no time like the present, so figure out how to make it happen and just go!

I am thrilled to be speaking this year and will be giving a detailed presentation on the topic “Is Breast Really Always Best?”    I hope to see you there and meet you in person!   Be sure to introduce yourself as you may know me from my videos but I will not know you!

Just to get your mouth watering a bit about the food you will experience, here’s the menu for the entire weekend.  Don’t miss out.  Sign up today as it begins on November 11, 2011!

Nov 10th THURSDAY

Fundraiser Dinner and Dance for the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund

Nov 11th FRIDAY

LUNCH BUFFET

Slowpoke Farm Texas Style Beef Chili
Welsh Mt. Cheese Shredded cheddar cheese, diced red onions

Garden Greens Salad
Shaved red cabbage, shaved carrots, and tomatoes, Southwest dressing

Windy Meadows Farm and Rose Creek Farm Pulled Cilantro Chicken
Spiced with cumin and coriander

Improveat Coconut wraps, Sprouted flour wraps,
Welsh Mt. Cheese Shredded Cheese,
Sour Cream, Avocado, shredded lettuce,
Chopped Onion and Zukay Salsa

Tortilla Strips fried in Fiedler Family Farm lard

Oven Roasted Apples
with JoshEWEa’s Garden pecans and raisins, drizzled with
Miller’s Organic Farm maple syrup and fresh squeezed orange juice

FRIDAY DINNER BUFFET

TEXAS GRILL

Fall Tomato Salad
Red and yellow tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, and basil
tossed with red wine vinaigrette

Miller’s Organic Farm Grilled Beef and Miller’s Organic Farm Pork Sausages

Miller’s Organic Farm Vinegar Marinated Slow Cooked Pulled Pork

Molasses Baked Beans
Fab Ferments Garlic Sauerkraut
Potato Chips Fried In Fiedler Family Farm LARD

Cooper Creek Farms Sourdough Bread and Butter

Organic Watermelon Slices Drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar

GLUTEN FREE LINE
Same as above but Grindstone Bakery gluten free bread

Saturday, November 12th

SATURDAY LUNCH BUFFET

Vegetable Soup in Rich Pork Broth

Vegetable Rice Soup in Rich Chicken Broth

Roasted Beet Salad
red onions, cracked black pepper, red wine vinaigrette

Display of US Wellness Meats Braunschweiger, and  liverwurst
Miller’s Organic Farm Amish Mustard

Assortment of raw cheeses

Lacto-fermented condiment

Cooker Creek Farms Sourdough Bread
Butter

Traditional WAPF conference cheesecake on
Organic Pastures Dairy Company almond-date crust

Beverage: The Barefoot Cook Soothin’ Infusion Tea

GLUTEN FREE/CASEIN FREE

Vegetable Barley Parley Soup in Rich Pork Broth

Vegetable Rice Soup in Rich Chicken Broth

Roasted Beet Salad
red onions, cracked black pepper, red wine vinaigrette

Display of US Wellness Meats Braunschweiger, and  liverwurst
Grindstone Bakery Gluten-free bread
Pure Indian Foods Ghee
Lacto-fermented condiment

Fruit salad and macaroons
made with pastured egg whites, Really Raw Honey honey,
Wilderness Family Naturals desiccated coconut

SATURDAY DINNER BANQUET PLATED

Vital Choice Seafood Smoked sablefish with onions, capers,
dill sour cream on the side

Cooper Creek Farms Fermented Vegetables

U.S. Wellness Meats Texas Style Pot Roast,
Natural reduction Jus Pure Indian Foods Ghee
Roasted Root Vegetables and winter squash,
Pure Indian Foods ghee, cracked black pepper

Dessert:

Red Wine Poached Baked Pears
Cinnamon, JoshEWEa’s Garden walnuts, carob sauce

Grindstone Bakery Gluten-free and Copper Creek Farms regular bread

Beverage: The Barefoot Cook Soothin’ Infusion Tea

Sunday, November 13th

SUNDAY BRUNCH BUFFET

Sliced seasonal Melons
Vital Choice Seafood Lox
Assortment of charcuterie, including ham
Assortment of cheese
Miller’s Organic Farm Amish Mustard

Wise Traditions Pastured Egg Casserole
Miller’s Organic Farm Ham Fried in Fiedler Family Farms lard
Rose Creek Farms Pork and Beef Breakfast Sausage

Copper Creek Farms Sourdough French toast
Miller’s Organic Farm Maple syrup
Soft Whipped Cream

Assortment of fermented condiments

Copper Creek Farms Sourdough bread
Butter

Beverage: John Moody’s Kombucha

GLUTEN FREE/CASEIN FREE

Sliced seasonal Melons
Vital Choice Seafood Lox
Assortment of charcuterie, including ham

Egg Casserole without cheese
Miller’s Organic Farm Ham Fried in Fiedler Family Farms lard
Rose Creek Farms Pork and Beef Breakfast Sausage

Grindstone Bakery Gluten-free French toast
Miller’s Organic Farm Maple syrup
Gluten-free bread
Ghee
Assortment of fermented condiments

SUNDAY EVENING NO-HOST BUFFET

Grated Carrot Salad with Raisins and Cranberries

Miller’s Organic Farm Lamb Stew

Roasted Autumn Vegetables
with whole butter, and cracked black pepper

Fab Ferments Cranberry Apple Sauerkraut

Brussels Sprouts with bacon

Baked Granny Smith Apples with Texas Pecan Crumble

Beverage: Barefoot Chef Soothin’ Infusion Tea