Why I Allow Butter On A Dairy-Free Diet

A reader sent in this very good question:

“In your article "Gluten Free but Still Feeling Ill" you mention that you sometimes recommend avoiding dairy products to your patients but then say you tell them that organic butter is ok in moderation.  Can you explain how a product derived from cow's milk is not a dairy product?”

I can definitely see where the confusion is coming from so let me clarify:

The problem with dairy products is the protein portion of them.  The protein is pro-inflammatory and much like the protein portion of the grains wheat, rye and barley, it seems that the human body doesn’t respond well to it.  Many researchers state that while we are designed to digest our own mother’s milk for the first few years of life, we were never designed to glean nutrition from the milk of another mammal such as the cow, goat or sheep. For that reason plus a few decades of clinical experience showing that to be the case, I recommend to my patients that they exclude dairy from their diet.

How is butter different? Butter is about 80-82% fat (higher fat butters are available if you look for them), 17% water and only about 1% milk solids (protein).  For some patients I find that the minimal amount of protein is insufficient to bother them.  And, thosewho prefer to avoid all milk protein can enjoy clarified butter or ghee where virtually all water and protein are removed with only the fat remaining.

Organic is important because the fat is where the hormones and toxins might reside in a non-organic product.  The organic version is free of such contaminants.

Unfortunately, the majority of patients don't tolerate butter well either. Is it because of the small amounts of protein remaining, or due to the toxins and hormones found in the fat? Likely a bit of both. But for those who do and who only consume the organic variety, enjoy!

And why not simply cook with olive oil (medium heat only please), avocado, walnut or coconut oil and be done with it?

Other than the fact that it’s enjoyable to cook with butter or ghee, butter contains an interesting saturated fat that is also an omega-6 fat called CLA (conjugated linoleic acid).  In the spirit of “never saying never”, CLA is actually a saturated, trans fat that’s very good for you.  It has the unique status of being the sole trans fat that is considered to be healthy and there is quite a lot of information about it because it in fact tends to act like a “good” omega-3 fat in the body.

While CLA does seem to have some nice benefits, it doesn't outweigh the negatives found in milk and dairy products in general. There are plenty of other areas in your diet where you can get those same benefits without the liabilities associated with dairy.

So there you have it. I hope this clears up any confusion.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.If your health is not to the level you'd like it to be, consider calling us for a free health analysis - call 408-733-0400. We are a destination clinic and treat patients from across the country and internationally. We are here to help!

Visit us at www.RootCauseMedicalClinic.com. If you have questions or need any help, I’m here for you! Call 408-733-0400.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN, CFMP


IFM Certified Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Author of the eBook: “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”