Salted Butter

[NicoleC1971]

I am a type 1. I put butter in my coffee along with coconut oil (this isn't massively processed as far as I know). I try to avoid veg/seed oils but you will find them in resturant food and processed baked goods (its cheap) as well as the more obvious stuff on the shelves in bottles... There is evidence that these polyunsaturated oils (also called PUFAs) can lower cholesterol it does not prolong life (perhaps because cholesterol is just not as important as other things) and have been associated with increased rates of cancer (perhaps because they are pro inlamatory). Association does not prove veg oils cause these problems but as I am certain eating butter/coconut oil/avocado/lard/ghee will not cause me heart disease I personally choose to eat these and to reduce carbs (to make type 1 easier to control). My trigs are 0.4 and my HDL is 2.6 total cho 4.4 btw so that's luck /good management

 

[Alexandra100]

Can a type 1 diabetic eat butter or salted butter. I heard about low carbs high fat diet. This diet will control your sugar,but what about chlorostral. I am confused. Please advice. Thanks

Everyone else is confused too, including the experts. We don't really know for sure whether butter, salted or otherwise and other saturated fats as in the dripping from cooked meat, and palm oil really raise cholesterol. We don't know if raised cholesterol causes blocked arteries. We don't know if soya oil, peanut oil, olive oil, rape seed oil etc etc are good for us or bad, better than saturated fats or worse. Lots of people have very strong convictions on this subject, and you can read some conflicting opinions on this thread.

What we do know is that eating foods high in carbohydrates will raise blood glucose in an unhealthy way in some people. We also know that trans fats (hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats) are very bad for all of us. We know that the Omega3 fats found in oily fish are good for us, but as fish nowadays is polluted, we have to take care which fish to eat and how much. I think, but am not 100% sure, that eating a diet high in fat AND carbohydrates is unhealthy, so that anyone adopting a LCHF diet must make sure they are truly eating very low carb before they increase their fat intake to compensate, and if they later raise their carb intake they must be sure to lower their fat intake again.

Some people find that they can lower their carbs and increase their saturated fat intake so as to lower both their blood glucose AND their cholesterol. Others find they have to choose between bg and cholesterol. Personally I have chosen to lower my bg. These choices may present themselves differently to T1s. Sorry it's all so complicated!

 

[bulkbiker]

We actually agree on something!

One and only time ever?

 

[Honeyend]

I have a history of high blood cholesterol and I have been on a low fat diet, no butter, no cream, no eggs,little cheese, veg oil, for nearly 40 yrs. And it made not one bit of difference. I have the blood results to prove it.
After the last lecture at the hospital, about eating the low fat diet I was already on, I was so angry, I started the LCHF diet. I had nothing to lose and eating low fat had not worked.
Within a month of starting LCHF, my blood cholesterol results improved and they have stayed good. My last consultant letter congratulates me on my lowered levels but is surprised, because I am eating more eggs, cheese and butter than I have eaten in the last 40 years. I make sure I tell him that every time I see him so he has to write it in the notes.
I would suggest you do what I did, listen and read the evidence and make your own choice. If you have diabetes you have a high risk of heart disease, and all the other complications, controlling that would be my first concern.
I suggest you watch this .

I have to say I am quite frankly angry that hospital consultants are doing the equivalent of sticking fingers in their ears rather than examine the results of LCHF in a sensible manner.

 

[kipkatzzz_]

You might not have the same results, of course, but on a LCHF diet with real fats and no worrying, my triglycerides were 2 after 3 months and 1.5 after 6 - so with a test group of one person I found that the fats increase bad cholesterol advice to be wrong - all my ratios were normal good or idea..
It is what happens when someone gets an idea into their heads and goes all out to prove themselves right, with no regard of the data, and it seems so plausible after all.
All I wanted to do was reduce my blood glucose, and that worked wonderfully too.

Totally agree with you. Butter is fine, loose the low fat spreads & vegetable oils.

 

[kipkatzzz_]

I have a history of high blood cholesterol and I have been on a low fat diet, no butter, no cream, no eggs,little cheese, veg oil, for nearly 40 yrs. And it made not one bit of difference. I have the blood results to prove it.
After the last lecture at the hospital, about eating the low fat diet I was already on, I was so angry, I started the LCHF diet. I had nothing to lose and eating low fat had not worked.
Within a month of starting LCHF, my blood cholesterol results improved and they have stayed good. My last consultant letter congratulates me on my lowered levels but is surprised, because I am eating more eggs, cheese and butter than I have eaten in the last 40 years. I make sure I tell him that every time I see him so he has to write it in the notes.
I would suggest you do what I did, listen and read the evidence and make your own choice. If you have diabetes you have a high risk of heart disease, and all the other complications, controlling that would be my first concern.
I suggest you watch this .

I have to say I am quite frankly angry that hospital consultants are doing the equivalent of sticking fingers in their ears rather than examine the results of LCHF in a sensible manner.

Again, totally agree with you and there are loads of books, post 2010, supporting the LCHF diet pattern.

 

[daisyduck]

I have a history of high blood cholesterol and I have been on a low fat diet, no butter, no cream, no eggs,little cheese, veg oil, for nearly 40 yrs. And it made not one bit of difference. I have the blood results to prove it.
After the last lecture at the hospital, about eating the low fat diet I was already on, I was so angry, I started the LCHF diet. I had nothing to lose and eating low fat had not worked.
Within a month of starting LCHF, my blood cholesterol results improved and they have stayed good. My last consultant letter congratulates me on my lowered levels but is surprised, because I am eating more eggs, cheese and butter than I have eaten in the last 40 years. I make sure I tell him that every time I see him so he has to write it in the notes.
I would suggest you do what I did, listen and read the evidence and make your own choice. If you have diabetes you have a high risk of heart disease, and all the other complications, controlling that would be my first concern.
I suggest you watch this .

I have to say I am quite frankly angry that hospital consultants are doing the equivalent of sticking fingers in their ears rather than examine the results of LCHF in a sensible manner.

Totally agree with you. After being told I should eat just the white of the egg and no yolk, I did exactly the same as you. . A lifetime of low fat low calorie dieting left me with metabolic syndrome.
Six months on LCHF and the specialist thought she's been given the wrong results, there was such a dramatic change.
Fatty liver gone and cholesterol down

 

[Bluetit1802]

One and only time ever?

I believe so

 

[Bogie]

Unsalted butter or margarine. "Salt is the silent killer". Not directly for Diabetes but for high blood pressure, and with Diabetes you do not want high blood pressure. It becomes an acquired taste to do without salt but after you get used to it you will find that heavily salted foods will be hard to tolerate. Don't worry, we all need salt, but it is in just about anything we eat. Take the salt shaker off the table. Butter or Margarine is indeed controversial. Butter was good for you then it was bad ... Margarine became the new "grease" for our palettes and the quality varied by manufacturer. Now we are told butter is good. Personally I use Salt-Free Becel margarine. 0 salt, 0 carbs. Salt shaker stays in the cupboard except for rare occasions. Dinner guests look for the salt on the table and it stays that way unless asked for it. Salt does not enhance the flavour of foods. Instead it simply perks up the taste buds on your tongue. Ever have a sore tongue after eating something? Most likely too much salt.

Climbing down off my salt box now but dramatically reducing salt in your diet is good for your overall health and we all know that good health practices and healthy eating is good for Diabetics.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Climbing down off my salt box now but dramatically reducing salt in your diet is good for your overall health and we all know that good health practices and healthy eating is good for Diabetics.

I prefer salt any day to this lot (Bercel margarine ingredients)

Canola & Sunflower Oils 74%, Water, Modified Palm & Palm Kernel Oils 6%, Whey Powder 1% (Milk), Soy Lecithin,Citric Acid, Vegetable Monoglycerides,Potassium Sorbate, Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E), Natural & Artificial Flavours, Calcium Disodium Edta, Vitamin A Palmitate (Vitamin A), Vitamin D3, Beta Carotene.

Nothing much natural in any of this. Chemicals and hydrogenated vegetable oils. Yuk. Butter all the way for me. I have always added salt to my food where applicable. I do not have high BP and never have had. Too little is equally as risky as too much.

 

[derry60]

I have Kerry Gold butter

 

[alexask]

Unsalted butter or margarine. "Salt is the silent killer".

Climbing down off my salt box now but dramatically reducing salt in your diet is good for your overall health and we all know that good health practices and healthy eating is good for Diabetics.

I am not sure that everyone is equally affected by salt. If you have high blood pressure, then it might be reasonable to cut down. But too low a salt intake is associated with an increased heart attack risk. My take on this is that humans have been living around the salty sea for a long time and salting their food to preserve it. So I think especially those from colder climates may thrive on this even. For those who originated from hotter climates who don't have the opportunity to sweat it out I see it as more of a problem.

 

[Bluetit1802]

There are salt sensitive people and there are those that are not. This is a known fact.

 

[Resurgam]

I use lightly salted butter and I add a tiny amount of salt to my first (sometimes only) coffee of the day. I do not use salt in cooking so if I do not have this small amount of salt in my diet I get cramps - particularly in summer.
It is not that I avoid salt, I just don't eat foods with salt in them.

 

[Zilsniggy]

Oh!! that is very useful information that you gave me. Day by day I am learning how harmful too much carbs can be.....so I think a small quantity of butter is not harmful.......Thanks a lot for your reply. Have a nice day.

Butter is a natural fat and far better for you than spreads made with vegetable oils etc. The problem is that these can go through unhealthy processes in their manufacturing. Better to stick with real butter, than man made spreads. It's more or less general knowledge now that cholesterol is produced within the body and that it is essential for survival, since it's involved in the synthesis of hormones and also in cell transport. Dietary cholesterol contributes only a small amount to total cholesterol levels.

 

[Zilsniggy]

Surely virtually all edible oils are made from seeds or vegetables?

That may be. It's the processes most of these go through in order to extract the oils that can make them unhealthy and unstable at high heat. They then break down and some of the by products of the breakdown are really very unhealthy.

 

[Zilsniggy]

Hi wiflib..how are you today. Now what exactly you mean by seed or vegetable oils...can you explain in bit details......thanks a lot.

Seed oils: Rapeseed, sunflower, grapeseed
Vegetable Oils: Generic oils made form: soyabeans, canola, corn etc.

 

[Zilsniggy]

I am so happy for you. Did you include also butter in your high fat diet......if yes, how much. What do you exactly mean by real fats....Thanks for your reply.

Why wouldn't you include butter in a high fat diet? Do you need to read up a little on basic nutrition and what the major food groups are, maybe? Also check out the recent research on fat in the diet and cholesterol. A good website is Diet Doctor.com, you can join free and there is a lot of good information there.

 

[xyz26]

Why wouldn't you include butter in a high fat diet? Do you need to read up a little on basic nutrition and what the major food groups are, maybe? Also check out the recent research on fat in the diet and cholesterol. A good website is Diet Doctor.com, you can join free and there is a lot of good information there.

Butter is a natural product. Vegetable, olive, sunflower, rapeseed oils etc are also natural products. However, when those vegetable fats and oils are converted into spreadable products, then they are not so good-they have been hydrogenated, and even if it is made with plant sterols is still hydrogenated fat. Looking up hydrogenated fats produces this-

"Hydrogenation is the process that turns liquid oil into a more solid fat. Liquid oils are ‘hardened’ by adding hydrogen to stabilise the fat, making it easier to use in recipes for biscuits, cakes, pastry, and other processed foods.

You can tell how ‘saturated’ a fat is by its texture at room temperature. Saturated fats like lard, fat on meat and cheese are solid at room temperature, whereas unsaturated fats - such as vegetable oils - are liquid at room temperature. As an unsaturated oil is gradually more hydrogenated, the inserted hydrogen atoms make it firmer and more solid at room temperature.

Usually, the hydrogen slips naturally into the fat at the point where there is a gap (called an ‘unsaturated bond’) in the fat structure. The position it takes up is called the ‘cis��� position, which occurs naturally in nature as well.

Sometimes the hydrogen slips into the gap in a different position, altering the overall shape of the final fat. The ‘trans’ position of the inserted hydrogen alters the overall shape of the fat, making it difficult for our body to process. Foods containing hydrogenated vegetable oil (always declared in the ingredients list) may therefore also contain trans fats.

Trans fats found in food have no known nutritional benefit and appear to be harmful. They increase blood cholesterol levels and independently increase the risk of heart disease. Some evidence suggests that the effects of these trans fats may be worse than saturated fats.
So, as part of a healthy diet we should try to reduce the amount of foods we eat that contain hydrogenated or saturated fats and replace them with unsaturated fats.
Foods that are rich in unsaturated fats include oily fish, avocados, nuts and sunflower, rapeseed and olive oils.

Trans fats are also naturally found at very low levels in foods such as dairyproducts, beef and lamb. However, the type of trans fat found in dairy products (such as milk, cheese and cream) is different to other types of trans fat and are not considered harmful to health".

So, although I use rapeseed oil and olive oil in dressings and cooking, I use butter too. I'd rather have a little of the real thing than a lot of something made up!

 

[Zilsniggy]

Butter is a natural product. Vegetable, olive, sunflower, rapeseed oils etc are also natural products. However, when those vegetable fats and oils are converted into spreadable products, then they are not so good-they have been hydrogenated, and even if it is made with plant sterols is still hydrogenated fat. Looking up hydrogenated fats produces this-

"Hydrogenation is the process that turns liquid oil into a more solid fat. Liquid oils are ‘hardened’ by adding hydrogen to stabilise the fat, making it easier to use in recipes for biscuits, cakes, pastry, and other processed foods.

You can tell how ‘saturated’ a fat is by its texture at room temperature. Saturated fats like lard, fat on meat and cheese are solid at room temperature, whereas unsaturated fats - such as vegetable oils - are liquid at room temperature. As an unsaturated oil is gradually more hydrogenated, the inserted hydrogen atoms make it firmer and more solid at room temperature.

Usually, the hydrogen slips naturally into the fat at the point where there is a gap (called an ‘unsaturated bond’) in the fat structure. The position it takes up is called the ‘cis��� position, which occurs naturally in nature as well.

Sometimes the hydrogen slips into the gap in a different position, altering the overall shape of the final fat. The ‘trans’ position of the inserted hydrogen alters the overall shape of the fat, making it difficult for our body to process. Foods containing hydrogenated vegetable oil (always declared in the ingredients list) may therefore also contain trans fats.

Trans fats found in food have no known nutritional benefit and appear to be harmful. They increase blood cholesterol levels and independently increase the risk of heart disease. Some evidence suggests that the effects of these trans fats may be worse than saturated fats.
So, as part of a healthy diet we should try to reduce the amount of foods we eat that contain hydrogenated or saturated fats and replace them with unsaturated fats.
Foods that are rich in unsaturated fats include oily fish, avocados, nuts and sunflower, rapeseed and olive oils.

Trans fats are also naturally found at very low levels in foods such as dairyproducts, beef and lamb. However, the type of trans fat found in dairy products (such as milk, cheese and cream) is different to other types of trans fat and are not considered harmful to health".

So, although I use rapeseed oil and olive oil in dressings and cooking, I use butter too. I'd rather have a little of the real thing than a lot of something made up!

Preaching to the converted. I was asking facetiosly why you wouldn't use butter in a Low carb high fat diet..........