On Fri, 25 Aug 2000, Madeline Stratton wrote:

> It seems to me I read somewhere that butter is quite a healthy food, and
> doesn't contain any lactose, so even though it is made from cream, it is to
> be considered more an animal fat than a dairy product. That way I could use
> butter sometimes instead of olive oil. Can someone enlighten me further on
> this issue?

In the rigorist sense, butter cannot be considered a paleo food,
since it was not available to paleolithic people.  However, as
you point out, it is devoid of lactose and has only a tiny amount
of protein (which can be reduced even further by "clarifying"
it).  Also, we now know that lactose is found in non-dairy foods
anyway, such as dates.  So lactose alone does not make a food
unacceptable.

Butter is a decent source of vitamins A and D, and of short-chain
fatty acids, which have anti-fungal and anti-microbial
properties.  The best butter is from animals that have eaten
fresh grass, and it will be high in carotenoids and have a deep
yellow-orange color.

> I am being rather a stickler on this, because I am trying to
> completely cut out every single shred of flour (grains) and dairy from my
> diet.

Well, there's no denying that butter is a dairy food. So it
depends on how much of a stickler you want to be.

Todd Moody
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