Low-carb diets are incredibly healthy.

They have been shown to cause much greater weight loss than the standard “low-fat” diet, at least in the short-term. They also lead to improvements in many health markers, such as blood triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, insulin sensitivity and others.

However, just because there is no effect seen in a large group, there is a lot of room for individual variability.

Many physicians who treat their patients with low-carb diets note that some of them develop very high LDL levels.

This involves a major increase in both LDL “cholesterol” and LDL particle number (or Apolipoprotein B). This may be a major concern, and should definitely not be ignored. Some have claimed that this may be caused by the high butter content that is typical on a low-carb diet.

Interestingly, a common belief these days is that low-carb diets should be very high in butter, and that people should even add it to their coffee. I used to believe that butter (especially grass-fed) was healthy and that eating plenty of it was fine. However, new evidence has made me reconsider my position.

Is Saturated Fat Bad For You?

New studies show that saturated fat does not increase the risk of heart attacks or death. It has mostly neutral effects on health.

High-Fat Dairy Products Seem to be Healthy

Despite having been demonized in the past, high-fat dairy products seem to be very healthy. Some of them, like full-fat milk, yogurt and cheese, are highly nutritious.

They are loaded with high quality protein, calcium, vitamin B12 and various other important nutrients.

There is no evidence that high-fat dairy products cause heart disease. They are even linked to reduced heart disease risk in countries where cows are largely grass-fed.

Butter May be Different Than Other High-Fat Dairy Products

I used to believe that the same applied to butter as other high-fat dairy products. However, a recent study has made me reconsider my position.

This was a controlled trial that compared the effects of butter and cream on blood cholesterol levels.

According to this study, dairy fat from butter raised some heart disease risk factors significantly more than dairy fat from cream.

Butter fat raised total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and the ApoB:ApoA1 ratio significantly more than fat from cream. It also raised non-HDL cholesterol, which went down slightly in the cream fat group.

This graph shows the effects on LDL:

This may seem strange, because the fatty acids in butter and cream are pretty much identical. Butter is just cream that has been churned.

However, the fatty acids in cream and other high-fat dairy products are enclosed by a membrane that contains proteins and phospholipids. This membrane is called Milk Fat Globule Membrane (MFGM).

The MFGM membrane seems to reduce the cholesterol-raising effects of the fatty acids in cream. When cream is churned into butter, it loses much of this membrane.

This is one perfect example of why whole foods are more than just their individual components.

In this case, the “food matrix” of butter is different than that of cream.

Because butter has less of this protective MGFM membrane, it may raise cholesterol levels significantly more than other high-fat dairy products.

Just because saturated fat has been shown to be harmless in normal amounts, it does not mean that you should eat tons of it.

Humans evolved eating saturated fat, and we did just fine eating butter before.

However, now some low-carbers are advocating adding several tablespoons of the stuff to your coffee every day – not to mention adding butter to other foods on top of that.

Just because a little bit is okay, it does not mean that large amounts are better – or even safe. More is not always better in nutrition. Balance is key.

Nutrition is a rapidly developing field, and what seems true today might get debunked tomorrow.

It is absolutely crucial to be willing to change your position when there is new evidence that indicates that you may have been wrong before.

I used to believe that butter was healthy, and that a low-carb diet could include lots of butter without any negative effects.

However, based on new evidence, I have had to reconsider my position somewhat.

I do not believe that butter is harmful by any means, but I do think that eating large amounts of it should be cautioned against. Extra virgin olive oil is good.