Big news! Butter is NOT the enemy!

Eliminating saturated fats like the butter you schmear on your multigrain toast and melt on your baked sweet potato is one of the first things that get tossed from the fridge when adopting a well-balanced, nutritional diet. Saturated fats can lead to belly fat and heart disease, so it’s obvious they need to be eliminated, right?

Wrong. It’s time to look at butter differently.

Studies have shown that there are some saturated fats, like coconut oil and organic butter from grass-fed cows, can actually reduce levels of bad cholesterol as well as stomach fat when taken in moderation. In fact, they are better at blasting flabby fat than polyunsaturated vegetable oils like soybean oil and canola oil that we often mistake as being “healthier” for us!

A 12-week study of women aged 20 to 40 were randomly split into two groups of twenty. Each group was virtually given the same instructions: follow a reduced calorie eating plan and walk 50 minutes each day. They only differed in that one group received approximately two tablespoons of coconut oil, while the other was given approximately two tablespoons of soybean oil.

Results of the study showed that the group given coconut oil had increased their good cholesterol, reduced their bad cholesterol, and had significantly reduced their stomach fat, otherwise known as their waist circumference. The soybean oil group had, essentially, the exact opposite results on their cholesterol levels and didn’t see any stomach fat loss.

Unfortunately, consumers often fall for misleading advertising which make them fear organic sources of fat and instead fill themselves with processed vegetable oils that cause inflammation in the body. They aren’t realizing that natural sources of fat like coconut oil, organic butter, and even macadamia nut oil are full of nutrition and sources of good fat and are much better for you.

So the next time you’re making a delicious stir-fry full of fresh veggies, don’t be afraid to saute them in some coconut oil for a delicious flavor full of nutrients and saturated fats that are good for you!