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Butter is powerful, life giving, healthy, pure, sacred and created by the nature to nurture the body. Most cultures around the world consider butter as an intimate part of healthy diet. It takes 20 pounds of fresh cow’s whole milk to make one pound of butter. An important thing is that it is a high energy food that can be obtained without killing an animal. The fat content of butter ranges from 75% to 80%, and the rest is water and milk solids. This means that butter isn’t pure fat; rather, it is an emulsion.
Interestingly, butter melts just below body temperature and gives luscious mouthfeel with unique irreplacable taste. Butterfat is inherently tasty. It imparts creamy taste to foods. Imagine butter spread on bread, vegetables, potatoes, pancakes and other foods? mouth starts watering. Butter fat is also a good carrier of flavors.
Good natural butter (Grass fed) supplies vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, boosts our immune system, protect us from diseases, support bones, organs, brain and even help maintain healthy weight. Animal fats, like butter, are very satisfying, reduces appatite and make us less likely to overeat or snack between meals. In fact diets low in fat leave us hungry, depressed, and prone to illness. Natural fat and proteins are satisfying, while starches and sugar leads to cravings and weight gain. About 30-40 years ago butter was reported to be unhealthy. We now know that butter’s negative reputation was undeserved. In fact butter substitues and man made trans fats are the true culprit that pose threat to out health. All man-made trans fats are bad. These are created when liquid fat is made solid by hydrogenation. Our bodies cannot process these fats. However, there is a natural trans fat found in the fat and meat of ruminants called CLA (conjugated linoleic acid). This fat is beneficial in protecting us against cancer, heart disease, and weight gain. U.K. organic milk better for you than conventional, thanks to cows' grass-based diet http://www.grist.org/article/food-2011-01-19-uk-study-organic-milk-has-healthier-fat-profile http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0022-0302/PIIS0022030210006703.pdf According to an important new study, organic milk sold in England delivers significantly higher levels of healthy fatty acids than does conventional milk. The study, funded by the European Union and published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Dairy Science. The researchers compared fat composition and protein content of 10 organic and 12 conventional brands found on supermarket shelves in northeast England. Researchers found that the organic milk had only slightly higher overall fat content, but much higher levels of what it calls “beneficial fatty acids.”
While, intake of flaxseed is claimed to be effective in promoting hair growth, application of flaxseed oil is also said to work wonders for hair health. Studies show that hair loss due to hormonal imbalances in women can be remedied with flaxseed. Variations in the estrogen levels may lead to shrinking of hair follicles, thereby causing hair loss and hair thinning. The phytoestrogens in flaxseed may normalize the hormone levels, thereby arresting hair loss and boosting hair growth. Studies show that the omega 3 fatty acids in flaxseed may prove beneficial for treating scalp conditions, like, psoriasis, eczema, etc. Consumption of flaxseed may help to prevent dandruff caused by these scalp conditions. So, hair loss caused by the above said scalp conditions can also be reduced with flaxseed use. Even flaxseed oil and hair growth are linked. Application of this oil (otherwise known as linseed oil) is found to be beneficial for hair in different ways. Flaxseed oil capsules are also taken orally. Low omega fatty acid levels may cause hair dryness, which leads to brittle hair that can suffer damage easily. Application of flaxseed oil helps in combating hair dryness, thereby reducing the rate of hair damage and promoting hair growth. Due to these benefits, flaxseed oil is added to various hair styling products, like, hair setting lotions. The foam-like gel produced by boiling flaxseed in water is used for hair setting. In general, flaxseed intake is found to improve the strength and sheen of the hair, along with the skin and nails.
Source: The CLA Network: What we’ve learned
CLA news Summer 2010 July 7, 2010 A strong body of research establishing the health promise of natural ruminant fats is now in place, has gained global recognition, and has set the stage for broad future opportunities. A strong body of research establishing the health promise of natural ruminant fats is now in place, has gained global recognition, and has set the stage for broad future opportunities. “From little things, big things grow.” When scientists investigating the properties of grilled hamburger first identified conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in the early 80s, they likely had little inkling of the broad promise that would spawn from this unexpected discovery of an obscure food component. In fact, research into CLA was largely dormant for years after. Today however, fueled in large part by major progress over the past decade, natural CLA is at the centre of a now substantial, multi-faceted and steadily growing body of research. The progress is fast approaching a ‘tipping point’ – it is set to make waves across the broad areas of nutrition, human health, agriculture and food industries, and potentially even food labeling requirements. A leading player globally in this progress is the Canada-based CLA Network, which involves a number of researchers and institutions across the country and is linked to international expertise. Here’s a snapshot of what CLA Network researchers have learned, particularly over the past three years of industry-supported research funding. Project: Create value around grass-fed milk
BY RON JOHNSON, DAIRY EDITOR Agri-View; Thursday, November 4, 2010 11:18 AM CDT Is there a way to “create value around grass-fed milk?” Scott Rankin, a UW-Madison food scientist, asked that question last week during a “grass-fed dairy tasting.” It was the second annual event, and it drew several dozen invited guests to the Arlington Agricultural Research Station. Guests heard informational presentations and participated in side-by-side tastings of foods made with “conventional” milk and that made with milk from cows that had primarily been grazed. The 36-month project has a year to go. It’s funded with just over $148,000 from a North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Grant. Laura Paine, the Wisconsin agriculture department’s grazing and organic agriculture specialist, said the project has four goals. The first goal is to “develop a definitive understanding of the unique physical, chemical and flavor qualities of grass-fed milk.” Like any other food, eating excessive amounts of flax seeds can be harmful to your health. Raw flax seeds naturally contain cyanogenic glycosides-such as linamarin, linustatin, and neolinustatin. These cyanogenic glycosides can release cyanates that can be combined with sulfur molecules in our body to form thiocyanates. Excessive amounts of thiocyanates can sometimes be a problematic for our thyroid function and, for this reason, flax seeds are considered goitrogenic. These cyanogenic glycosides are not exclusive to flaxseed and are found in brassica vegetables and cassava, with many of the health concerns regarding cyanogenic glycosides stemming from studies showing that cassava was toxic to animals and humans (McMahon and others 1995). Cassava contains significantly more cyanogenic glycosides than flaxseed.
In addition to cyanogenic glycosides, trypsin inhibitor, linatine, and phytic acid are other antinutrients contained in flaxseed. Trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) in flaxseed is lower than those in soybean and canola seeds. Other anti-nutritional compound present in flax seeds is linatine, an antipyridoxine factor. Although linatine is a problem in chicks, flaxseed has not been associated with a vitamin B6 deficiency in humans. In fact, no effect on serum pyridoxine levels in subjects consuming 45 grams of flaxseed per day over 5 wk has been observed (Dieken 1992). These data suggests that linatine is not of a concern as long as we eat less than 45 g of flax seeds a day. How much is too much flax seeds? ASA, CSA and SSSA 2010 International Annual meeting, Oct. 31- Nov. 3, Long Beach, CA What Grass-fed Means to Milk: Dutch Scientist to Speak at OSU This Monday (10/25) in 244 Kottman Hall at Ohio State University, Columbus. Consumer markets for natural, forage-finished meat products are expanding in the U.S. As a result of this demand, some livestock producers are electing to finish animals on forages and market meat products directly to consumers. Results from our research show that forage-finished beef has a lower total and saturated fat content than beef from grain-finished. Forage-finishing increases the content of fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins in beef muscle. Forage-finishing also increases concentrations of cis-9 trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a potent anticarcinogen, and all omega-3 fatty acids. However, the forage species utilized for grazing during the finishing period will alter the concentrations of these important fatty acids in the beef muscle. Finishing cattle on legume species, alfalfa and cowpea, increased animal performance, dressing percentage, tenderness and consumer acceptability. Finishing cattle on grass species, bermudagrass and pearl millet, resulted in greater percentages of CLA. Our results show that forage-finished beef has similar tenderness and palatability to grain-finished beef but contains greater concentrations of desirable fatty acids and antioxidants for human health.
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