The authors of this study suggested eating butter will shorten your lifespan. Why I disagree.
A Yahoo news writer made several incorrect points about butter. Here is what you need to know about a recent saturated fat study and the reasons given for why butter is bad for your health.
A study recently came to my attention via a Yahoo news article, which I consider garbage news. However, I still look at it to understand what information is given to mainstream readers.
I intended to comment on this study and the Yahoo news article soon after publication but did not get around to it. Still, even though I am a bit late in commenting on the news article and the study, I felt it was vital for you to know what they got wrong.
The Yahoo news article published on March 6, 2025, cited this study by Zhang et al. (2025), in which Miller, a health reporter, said the study indicated that eating half a tablespoon of butter or more daily increases one's mortality risk by 15% compared to those who apparently eat less butter and more seed oils.
Before I comment on the study, I want to discuss the Yahoo News article in which Miller gave three reasons why butter is terrible for our health.
Cooking with butter. Smoke point and oxidation are not equal.
Miller said butter is unhealthy because it can create advanced glycation end products (AGEs) when heated at high temperatures, leading to oxidative stress.
Most people, including myself, thought the smoke point correlated with the point of oxidation.
The smoke point of fat is when it reaches the burning point when you see it begin to smoke. The smoke point varies depending on the oil type, the oil quality, the heat source used, how much air is in the oil, and the free fatty acid content of the oil.
When I searched for information on smoke points of fats and oxidation, I found several articles, such as this one, that indicate that smoke points correlating with oxidation are a myth.
According to this study, the types of fatty acids in the fat you cook with determine stability at high temperatures. The study included 10 different oils but not butter.
According to the New Whole Foods Encyclopedia (Wood, 2010), only saturated fats, including butter, should be used for cooking above 240 degrees F.
Saturated fats are stable because each carbon is saturated with hydrogen, with no double bonds.
A monosaturated fat, such as EVOO, does not have all carbons saturated with hydrogen; there is only one double bond. Thus, it is less stable than a saturated fat, such as butter, but more stable than a PUFA, such as canola oil.
A PUFA does not have all the carbons saturated with hydrogen and will have more than one double bond. For instance, vegetable oil has two double bonds. Therefore, even though butter has a smoke point of 350 degrees F., it does not mean it will oxidize if you overheat it since it has no double bonds, hence a solid structure.
Conclusion: Smoke point and oxidation are not the same. Butter is a stable saturated fat and less prone to oxidation. Therefore, Miller is misinformed about avoiding butter due to the oxidation that results from the cooking process.
Saturated fatty acids in butter.
Miller explains that the saturated fat content of butter causes early death, indicating that saturated fats are unhealthy and PUFAs are healthy. I have already mentioned that saturated fats are stable and solid because they lack double bonds, making them less prone to oxidation.
PUFAs, on the other hand, have more than one double bond, making them less solid and less stable, leading to a greater risk of oxidation. Think of saturated fat as a solid block of wood and PUFA as a very unstable slinky.
The medical community continues to push seed oils on you while telling you saturated fat, such as that found in butter, is terrible for you.
In the Yahoo news article, a dietician comments that high LDL levels are harmful. I clicked the link for Dena Champion, who works in oncology and specializes in vegan and vegetarian diets. I am skeptical of her comment below since she is affiliated with a medical/cancer center.
That high saturated fat content can affect your cardiovascular health too, Dena Champion, a dietitian at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life. “These fats can raise LDL [bad] cholesterol levels, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke,” she says.
In this post, I wrote why LDL is not an accurate biomarker for assessing a person’s risk of heart attack or stroke.
In this post, Dr. Saladino, MD, discusses LDL and its positive and functional role in the body. He explains that people with higher LDL levels have longer life spans and that LDL should not be examined in isolation but with biomarkers for insulin resistance. In that case, the insulin resistance should be addressed, not the elevated LDL.
Pharmaceutical companies would rather investigate surrogate endpoints such as blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood sugar reduction. Treating these endpoints is then assumed to have positive lifespan outcomes. For instance, everyone assumes that since a statin drug lowers LDL cholesterol, the drug will also extend life span.
In A Stain Nation, Dr. Kendrick (2018) pointed out that researchers discovered that lowering total cholesterol and LDL in drug trials did not result in fewer heart attacks and strokes (p. 108). Yet, doctors are pushing statins, and in 2019, 35% % of the adult U.S. population took this drug.
Even children in the U.S. as young as 8 years old can now be prescribed a statin drug if the doctor determines them to have hyperlipidemia. Fiorentino and Chiarelli (2023) argue that since statins are safe and effective, “many children are not receiving the full potential benefit of adequate lipid-lowering therapies.” Their article is intended to inform clinicians about the benefits of statin therapy for children.
Conclusion: Numerous studies indicate that saturated fat is healthy and that raising LDL does not always equate with CVD. In some instances, higher LDL is associated with a longer lifespan. Instead, look at biomarkers for insulin resistance. Therefore, Miller is incorrect in saying that eating butter will lead to early death.
Insulin-like growth factor-1. Pros and cons.
Miller mentions that IGF-1 is found in butter and implicated in cancer cell development, but she fails to mention its benefits. The study Miller linked to in her Yahoo article indicated that elevated IGF-1 is associated with some cancers but not others and that more research is needed to understand the relationship.
Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is a hormone naturally found in blood. Its main job is to manage the effects of growth hormone (GH) in the body. IGF-1 is a critical regulator of structure and function within the nervous system.
Research indicates that low or elevated IGF-1 can be problematic. For instance, IGF-1 decreases with age and has been associated with age-related cognitive deficits. Therefore, adequate levels may protect the aging brain. IGF-1 can also help build and retain muscle and bone mass. Higher IGF-1 levels are also associated with lower CVD risk.
Dr. Axe, a chiropractor and certified nutrition specialist, wrote a detailed and easy-to-understand post on the pros and cons of IGF-1. The key point is balance—not too high or too low.
Besides butter, numerous aspects of your daily life can increase IGF-1, and many people focus on improving it, not decreasing it. Some ways to optimize IGF-1 include strenuous exercise, strength training, consuming dairy protein, eating adequate caloric amounts, obtaining optimal sleep, and regular sauna sessions.
Interestingly, the things just mentioned to increase IGF-1 are all healthy actions.
To reduce IGF-1 would include excess alcohol intake, chronic stress, consuming soy and flax, a sedentary lifestyle, high insulin levels, extreme diets/prolonged fasts, and old age.
Conclusion: Miller said butter is unhealthy and we should switch to PUFAs because butter raises IGF-1, which has been associated with cancer. But to reduce IGF-1 levels, would she recommend that a person sit all day, drink beer, and be stressed out all the time? Follow the guidelines for optimal IGF-1 levels that do not involve supplementation. If you are concerned about your IGF-1 levels, order a blood test.
On to the study by Zhang et al. (2025):
Butter and Plant-Based Oils Intake and Mortality
Here is the conclusion of the study:
Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study, higher intake of butter was associated with increased mortality, while higher plant-based oils intake was associated with lower mortality. Substituting butter with plant-based oils may confer substantial benefits for preventing premature deaths.
If you read only the conclusion, the first question you should ask is, which plant-based oils? Are Monosaturated fats equal to PUFAs? Then, you should look at how they collected their data to determine the accuracy of data collection on fatty acid intake.
Vinay Prasad wrote his interpretation of the study and made a short video about it.
An observational study that used food frequency questionnaires
The observational study used food frequency questionnaires (FFQ), and the researchers calculated that each time someone checked off butter, they multiplied this by 5 grams.
Therefore, we do not know how much butter people consumed in this study.
In prior substacks, I have repeatedly said that using FFQ is inaccurate in estimating what and how much people consume. Many people check things off to complete the questionnaire quickly to receive an incentive, others respond in ways they think the researchers want, some are dishonest on questionnaires, and lastly, many people do not even know how much of each food item they consume, so they guess.
They lumped olive oil into the category with seed oils
If someone in the study checked off EVOO, a monosaturated fat with health benefits, the researchers placed it into the canola, soybean, corn, and safflower oils category. Monosaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids are structurally different and should not be lumped into one category.
Surprisingly, people who consume PUFAs may be healthier for other reasons
Since the propaganda pushes plant-based butter and PUFAs for cooking and in your food products, mainstream media followers who lead healthy lifestyles that include little to no alcohol, do not smoke, and exercise may be healthy for these reasons that can help reduce the effect of their PUFA-rich diet.
What would a study look like comparing health-conscious people who eat butter, EVOO, tallow, lard, ghee, and coconut oil versus health-conscious people who eat a diet rich in canola, safflower, soybean, and corn oils?
Butter’s benefits
Wood (2010) wrote that butter is a rich source of vitamin A and vitamin D and has been shown to protect against atherosclerosis as long as the overall diet is healthy.
Butter contains a high concentration of short-chain saturated fat butyric acid. This acid is the fuel of choice for most cells in the large intestine and helps keep the digestive system on track (Hass & Levin, 2006).
Additionally, butyrate has been shown to have anti-cancer effects, increase mitochondrial activity, strengthen the gut barrier, improve insulin sensitivity, and aid in hunger reduction via leptin synthesis.
The primary food source for butyrate is grass-fed butter.
Butter vs. vegan butter sticks in the store
Total Fat 11g
Saturated Fat 3.5g
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 5g
FoodHealth Score from Kroger: 50
Ingredients
Vegetable Oil Blend (Palm Oil, Canola Oil, Soybean Oil, Flaxseed Oil), Water, Salt, Less than 2% Natural Flavor, Soy Protein Isolate, Olive Oil, Organic Soy Lecithin, Lactic Acid, Annatto Extract (Color). CONTAINS: SOY.
Grass-fed butter
Total Fat 12g
Saturated Fat 8g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 31mg
Food health Score from Kroger: 48
Ingredients: Pasteurized Cream (Milk).
Comparison: Kroger gave the plant-based fake butter, which contains several PUFAs, a higher health score. With a lower score, butter has one ingredient and comes from grass-fed cows, which means it also contains butyrate, a beneficial ingredient I mentioned in the above section.
If people are not informed, they will think, based on the health score, that the fake butter is better for their health.
Bottom Line: Stay informed so that you do not fall for the deception surrounding you through allopathic medicine, big-box grocery chains, mainstream news, and social media.
Book references
Haas, E. & Levin, B. (2006). Staying healthy with nutrition. The complete guide to diet and nutritional medicine. Celestial Arts.
Kendrick, M. (2018). A statin nation. Damaging millions in a brave new post-health world. Jake Blake Publishing.
Wood, R. (2010). The new whole foods encyclopedia. Penguin Books.
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I often like to ask people, including MDs and smug "experts," how it could possibly be that saturated fat, which was the only fat humans ate for hundreds of thousands of years, the fat they evolved eating, could possibly be bad for human health. This look crosses their faces, as if they've never thought of such a thing, which is when I know that they are cretins. They never have an answer.
Thank you so much for your fight against the continuous erroneous information that they are pushing. Upton Sinclair said “It is very difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.
About 10 years ago I read “The Great Cholesterol Myth” which pointed to a study that half of the people who had heart disease did not have high cholesterol, and half of the people who had high cholesterol did not have heart disease. Although that was an eye opener for me, when I tried to tell her that, my doctor (totally missing the point) said “Well, which half are you?”