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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
Well, I think we all know my thoughts on the subject. ;-D
And yes, I am quite the happy girl!!
Thank you for this. I made the mistake of trying a vegan Lent diet last spring. Within 2 weeks I was miserable – headaches, joint aches, old injuries hurt, hot flashes that became constant. I cut my butter, cream, cheese, raw milk – everything in an effort to “detox”. I assumed my reaction was because my foods were so vitamin D & A dense, and I was dropping my levels. But you’re saying it was probably the saturated fats themselves. Within a week of eating “normal”, I felt wonderful. I’ll detox with lots of lovely broth soup from here on out and keep my fat levels up.
HA!! we did the vegan thing too.. it was well intended.. did it for about a month or so and by the end of the month, we felt terrible.. im big in to fitness and i had lost so much strength and stamina.. my color changed… i remember the first time i ate a bit meaty meal after a month or so, i was so happy; in a way that i couldnt describe.. i just felt so much better from the inside out.. we have since found clean meats without all the “junk” and are happy meat, butter, fat and cholesterol eaters!!
-jason and lisa-
Ah yes, I have said for years “butter makes everything better”…it really does. I used to say nothing is better than a slice of good bread with butter. I love spreading it on thick, like a slice of cheese. Yum! I’m bummed I can’t eat real bread now, at least for the time-being…what else can you spread butter on?
Are People Who Eat Butter Happier? – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/YWSxdjlP
In the not too distant future I’ll be making my own butter from grassfed raw milk, however in the mean time I have the following 2 options available to me and was wondering some opinions on which is better!
Local supermarket brand does a cultured butter
Local health food store sells organic butter
I’ve had both but would be good to know which one is better. Also I keep my butter in a container in the cupboard so its always very soft, from the way most people were talking theirs is hard so assuming they keep it in the fridge – but is butter ok in the cupboard? Or will it go rancid? Not that it lasts long 🙂
Are People Who Eat Butter Happier? – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/ZTJVJPwF
Yup, butter’s good mood food. Meanwhile, in the nation’s dairyland of Wisconsin, they’re trying to introduce a law to force people to eat more margarine in restaurants, schools, prisons, etc.
“…some legislators want to get rid of the preferential treatment that Wisconsin requires butter receive in restaurants, schools and even state prisons. They’re taking aim at a decades-old law that says restaurants can’t serve margarine as a substitute for butter at the table unless a customer asks for it, and that state prisons and other institutions can’t do the same unless directed by a doctor.”
Click here for the rest of the outrageous story: http://www.startribune.com/local/132386573.html
and let your voice be heard if you live in Wisconsin!
BUTTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Absolutely!! Brain food @ it’s best.
Butter has become my middle name and I am proud of it….as has beef tallow, lard, bacon and of course chocolate. I do have a question. Sarah said if your doctor is antiquated, change. My insurance is HMO so I am limited in who I can go to as a primary physician. My husband and I have been changing to different ones and about to try yet another one but I must confess, I don’t think there is one in our network that is not antiquated in their ideas of what is good food etc. Any suggestions on how to deal with an antiquated doctor if you have no other choice? I see that being honest with them in what we believe and the policies we want to follow only angers them and has led us to leave the office in much worse shape then when we walked in…. so am thinking that I just am going to have to “lie”. 🙁 Any thoughts would truly be welcomed.