Butter OilIs Nutrient-Dense, Naturally

CLA and the rumen

There are multiple forms of CLA, but the main form present in ruminant animal products is rumenic acid (RA).⁷The name provides a direct clue as to where this form of CLA is produced—in the rumen of cows and other ruminant animals. Through the action of fermentative rumen bacteria, linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid) gets converted into CLA.⁸ Because this occurs as part of a lengthier chain of events, experts describe CLA/RA as a “metabolic intermediate” of the rumen bacteria while noting the important role of this symbiotic process in animal health and longevity.⁹

Vaccenic acid (VA) is another precursor of CLA and is the main naturally occurring trans fatty acid in milk fat. As with CLA, research shows that vaccenic acid likely has beneficial health effects, including anti-carcinogenic effects¹⁰and protection against metabolic syndrome and intestinal inflammatory diseases.¹¹ As long ago as the 1940s, a group of researchers isolated vaccenic acid content as the reason that butter fat had “superior nutritive value” compared to vegetable oils.¹²

Humans may be capable of converting some linoleic acid to CLA, but to a far lesser extent than ruminants—and only if individuals have a supremely healthy gut.¹³ Consequently, consumers should appreciate products from pastured ruminants as offering a treasure trove of benefits that are difficult to access in any other way. The research evidence bears this out: lactating women who consume large quantities of dairy products and beef have a significantly higher concentration of RA in their breast milk compared to women who consume little of these products.¹⁴ If Americans routinely substituted butter for margarine, their dietary RA intake would increase substantially.¹⁵

The grass-fed difference

Echoing Dr. Price’s observations, modern researchers have noted that the concentration of CLA in ruminant products varies widely according to what the animals eat.¹⁶ Grass-based diets create a more “favorable” rumen environment and facilitate “bacterial synthesis,”¹⁷ whereas feeding ruminants grain lowers the ruminal pH and promotes inflammatory disorders.¹⁸ Thus, the pastured piece of this picture is crucial—milk, cream and butter from ruminants who are 100% grass-fed have a CLA content that is as much as seven times higher than dairy products from feedlot animals!.¹⁹ Vitamin E and beta-carotene levels are also significantly higher in grass-fed dairy products. Fermentation (such as with kefir, yogurt, and cheese) boosts the CLA content still further.²⁰ It is interesting to note that in Dr. Price’s day, substantially more dairy farms were pasture-based, and farms typically separated and clabbered (soured) their cream on the premises before transporting their products for sale.

Recent research also confirms Dr. Price’s observations about altitude and season, showing that milk from “high altitude grazers” and from cows raised in cooler climates has a higher omega-3 and CLA content and that animals grazed at high altitudes “may produce the healthiest foods.”²¹

Concentrated butter oil

From the beginning, Green Pasture Products has taken pride in producing butter oil that adheres to the standards first established by Dr. Price.

X-Factor™ Gold Concentrated Butter Oil is made from cows grazing on rapidly growing green grass and, in addition, takes into account factors such as speed of grass growth, timing of grazing, grass species, and season. Green Pasture also uses a gentle extraction process that concentrates the oil through centrifugation—just as Dr. Price did.

Both CLA and vaccenic acid are fat-soluble. What this means is that when the butter oil is extracted, the valuable vaccenic acid and CLA present in the fat come along for the ride. Testing of Green Pasture’s concentrated butter oil confirms that CLA is prominent. As modern studies continue to praise butter naturally enriched with VA and RA as “worthy of further consideration as a ‘Functional Food,’” one can only marvel at Dr. Price’s ahead-of-his-time wisdom in recognizing the life-giving properties of grass-fed butter and concentrated butter oil so many decades ago.