By Lubna Abdel-Aziz Some say there is no life without butter. Others say there is no life with butter. Both schools of thought are right and wrong. Meanwhile the war rages between fat and non-fat, between high cholesterol and no cholesterol, between butter and its many imitators, simulators and duplicators. From time immemorial, butter was regarded as a food fit for the gods, but for close to a century it has been reviled and vilified, falsely blamed for countless injuries to the human body. Let us examine the case for butter. During this holy month of Ramadan and despite the abstinence and fasting, more food is prepared by busy cooks all over the Muslim world. Aromas from neighbouring kitchens compete in spicy fragrances and distinctive perfumes. Butter is dominant, emitting luscious sweetness of farm freshness, sweeter than the smell of musk roses, violets and heavy perfume. Desserts oozing with sugary syrup, and sweet butter, are irresistible, and I often sacrifice the main meal for the savoury succulence of these sweet tid-bits. This essay is to ease the guilt that some of us feel when consuming that divinely flavoured food of the gods. Is butter harmful to the human body or a victim of a sinister disinformation campaign which claimed that saturated fats are the root cause of the current heart disease and cancer plague? Butter has borne the brunt of their attack. Banished from its royal status in kitchens and dinner tables, butter began to be shunned as a villain and a sinner. Does butter really cause heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, or does butter protect us against such diseases? A 1930s study by Dr. Weston Price on native diets, found that butter "was a staple in the diets of many supremely healthy peoples." Children raised on butter were strong and sturdy as opposed to the pale and thin, "pinched" faces of those raised on skim milk. Recent scientific studies show that dietary cholesterol does not influence blood cholesterol except in rare individuals. Animal fat does not take an immediate detour from your stomach to the walls of your arteries. It contains valuable nutrients that maintain health and prevent disease. DO keep on reading - the case of butter will be made, proving its bad reputation is undeserved. Every cell in our body needs fat. Our brain and hormones rely on fat in order to function properly. Fat promotes clear skin and healthy hair. It supports our immune system, fights disease, protects our liver, regulates our digestive system, and leaves us "feeling satisfied." It is our body's preferred fuel. Fat and protein are found together in nature, because it is fat that helps us digest protein. The best news is that fat can help us lose weight. If you are still laughing, here's how. Fat is digested slowly, leaving us satisfied and less likely to seek a snack or two. When fat is replaced with carbohydrates that is when the kilograms are added. Heart disease became rampant in the US at the beginning of the 20th century, but not before. That period (1920-1960) coincides with the plummeting of butter consumption from 18 pounds per person per year to four pounds. How could butter be the culprit? Could it by any chance be margarine? Developed in 1869 by the French chemist Hippolyte Mège- Mouriés, it caught on quickly in both Europe and the US. By the 1880s large scale production of oleomargarine was underway. The less expensive and supposedly healthier product made from hydrogenated vegetable oils overcame butter fat. Crisco and Spry, sold in England, replaced lard in the baking of bread, pies, cookies, and cakes since 1920. Recent studies on the effects of trans-fats are rapidly sending knowledgeable consumers back to the butter counters. Trans fats are now considered by the scientific community as causing a significant increase in coronary artery disease. In 1994 it was estimated that transfats cause 30,000 deaths annually. These man-made fats are difficult for our bodies to process, so we store them. Then they begin their work adversely affecting our cholesterol levels, by increasing bad cholesterol (LDL), and lowering good cholesterol (HDL). They are the ones that interfere with insulin production, promoting diabetes and obesity. Abnormalities of the heart and large blood vessels occur in babies born to Vitamin A deficient mothers. Butter is humanity's best and most easily absorbed source of vitamin A. What other nutrients does butter contain? The list is endless. Apart from calcium, how about lecithin - a substance that assists in the assimilation and metabolism of cholesterol and other fat constituents. How about anti-oxidants? We all desire them because they protect against free radical damage. Selenium is a vital anti-oxidant, and Vitamins A and E play a vital anti- oxidant role. What about cholesterol? Butter contains the good cholesterol HDL also a potent anti-oxidant. A recent Medical Research Council survey showed that butter eaters ran half the risk of developing heart disease, as those eating margarine. Once thought to promote cancer during the 1940s, it has now been proven that it is the artificially hardened fats and not the saturated fats in butter that are guilty. Butter fat has strong anti-cancer properties because it is rich in short and medium chain fatty acids that have strong anti-tumour effects, Linoleic acid, an excellent cancer protection substance, is also found in butter. Dutch researcher Wutzen, found that butter protects against calcification of the joints, degenerative arthritis as well as hardening of the arteries, and calcification of the pineal gland. The rise of osteoporosis may be linked to the choice of skim milk and margarine over whole milk and butter, so is tooth decay. The list of the benefits of butter is endless, and so is the list of the harmful effects of trans-fats. The butter blitz may take some time before its effects are eliminated, and now is a good time to start. Skeptics can research it further on their own. Man has been eating butter, probably first created accidentally, and animal fat, for centuries longer that he has been abstaining from them. Good animal fat plays an essential role in maintaining health in moderate consumption. The practice of moderation is what we should apply to everything in life. Here we can also learn a lesson from the French. Unwilling to sacrifice the superb flavour of butter, they continue to make their unique sauces, flambées, soufflés, and patés, and they enjoy one of the lowest incidence of heart disease. Indian Ghee, and Arab Semna (clarified butter) have maintained these races for centuries. The Hunza tribe of the Himalayans, famed for their life-spans of 115 years and more, enjoy a culture rich diet of butter. Butter flavour is irreplaceable. It has the unique ability of enhancing the flavour of all that it touches, be it vegetables, spices, desserts, etc. It is also inherently tasty. So, enjoy the delicate sweet flavour and the high pleasing aroma of your Ramadan- --feasts -all in moderation. These waves of butter flow like gazelles before the hunter This is the secret name of butter "Tongue of the god," "navel of immortality" Indian hymn in praise of butter (circa 1500 BC)
