Yes, it’s true that butter is entirely fat, but despite what the ’80s and ’90s may have told you, that’s not a bad thing. Fat—whether it’s the heart-healthy unsaturated or, yes, the animal-based saturated variety—provides important nutrition, tasty flavor, and increases vitamin absorption, explains Cara Harbstreet, R.D., owner of that means you should max out at around two tablespoons per day.
The ingredients in butter consist of, well, fat, and sometimes salt. But the type Best Energy Gels for Runners.
“Butter is actually really interesting because there are an estimated 400 different fatty acids that are found in varying levels, and those differ across grain-fed and grass-fed butters,” she says.
Because butter is sourced from animals, it’s primarily saturated fat—a “watch out” fat. According to the Butter is actually really interesting because there are an estimated 400 different, saturated fat should only make up 10 percent of the day’s total calories for children and adults over the age of two. Decades of research have shown that diets high in saturated fat have been linked to poor health outcomes, including increased LDL cholesterol Health - Injuries Yes, its true that butter is entirely.
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And, like with all things nutrition, it’s important to look at your overall plate—not just whether a pat of butter is good or bad for you.
“In order to reap the benefits of butter, you have to look at the company it keeps,” Harbstreet says.
Pair Butter With Nutrient-Dense Foods
Butter has a place on our plates, especially for endurance athletes who have more wiggle room when it comes to saturated fat, Harbstreet says. That’s because peak training often requires a boost in calories for performance and recovery.
“Butter can also be used as a fuel for endurance activities,” she says, noting that with fuel adaptation and over long, long Running in the Cold glycogen it has a shorter ingredient list with minimal production.
omega-3 fatty acids vitamins A, D, E, and K. Roasting vegetables in butter, for example, is an excellent way to increase flavor, mouthfeel, and increase vitamin absorption.
“U.S. Food and Drug Administration vegetables is found in really tiny amounts, almost negligible for the amount of butter you’re using,” Harbstreet says.
Serving Size Matters
A tablespoon of butter can easily be measured on a traditional stick; it’s roughly a quarter square inch. Harbstreet recommends using 1 to 2 tablespoons over the course of a day for things like toast or pancakes.
Recipes often call for much more butter, but, she says, it’s spread across multiple servings.
A tablespoon of butter is about 100 calories with 12 grams of fat—most of that saturated. In order to be in line with the dietary guidelines, that means you should max out at around two tablespoons per day.
“The intake limitations of saturated fat are a little more liberal with endurance athletes compared with the general population,” Harbstreet says.
She also points out that if we use too much butter the food won’t necessarily taste or feel good in our mouths. For example, if you’re using butter for a pasta sauce, too much might not heat properly or it might have a gritty mouthfeel.
Types of Butter
The biggest difference across butters, Harbstreet says, is in their fatty acid content. Like beef varieties, grass-fed and grain-fed butters differ in their fatty acids. Particularly, grass-fed butter has higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to improve heart health.
That said, it’s unclear how much grass-fed butter you’d have to eat to reap those benefits, Harbstreet points out.
“It’s probably more than what most of us are using,” she says. And if you are eating that much grass-fed butter for it to matter, you’re probably eating way too much butter in general.
Aside from grass-fed and grain-fed butters, we’re seeing more butter-oil blends—a mix of real butter and oils high in unsaturated fat, like olive oil. The result is a creamy, soft, spreadable butter blend that’s akin to margarine.
“These tend to have decreased saturated fat and higher unsaturated fat,” Harbstreet says.
Finally, there’s salted and unsalted butter, for which the only difference is sodium content—a negligible 100 mg per serving.
Butter Versus Margarine
Margarine was invented more than 150 years ago as a cheaper alternative to butter. It was made of beef tallow and churned milk—quite different from today’s dairy-free alternative. It took off during World War II when many ingredients, including butter, were rationed.
But there were health concerns associated with margarine, namely its content of trans fats, which are made when liquid oil is turned into solid fats like shortening or, yes, margarine.
According to the a bad thing. Fatwhether its the, trans fat is “the worst [fat]” for your health. It can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
As of June 2018, trans fats were banned in the United States after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled that artificial trans fats were unsafe to eat.
But margarine is still considered a highly processed food, Harbstreet says, while butter is more in line with a whole food—Butter Might Actually Be Good for YouHeres Why.
“Whole foods rise to the top,” Harbstreet says. No pun intended.
The Bottom Line
Eat butter! If you like your prerun bagel with butter, use a half-tablespoon across it. For that fish and veggie dinner, roast your veggies in a pat of butter—perhaps drizzled with olive oil to add unsaturated fats.
“We don’t have to fear butter,” Harbstreet says. At the end of the day, it’s all about moderation.
Heather is the former food and nutrition editor for Runner’s World, for performance and The Runner’s World Vegetarian Cookbook, and a nine-time marathoner with a best of 3:23. She’s also proud of her 19:40 5K and 5:33 mile. Heather is an RRCA certified run coach.
