Butter, which has been demonised over recent decades, is in fact super-healthy as long as it originates from organic grass-fed cows. Yes, the fat is saturated, but we now know that saturated fat is no longer the enemy. But even better than butter is ghee. Until recently, I never entertained having ghee in my Primal pantry and assumed it was just for cooking Indian dishes. But then, while researching how to get my fitness back on track, I read an article singing the praises of its miraculous health benefits. To make ghee, water is evaporated (clarified) out of butter, leaving behind a higher concentration of fat and making it more suitable for cooking at higher temperature. As a by-product of the simmering process, the ghee often becomes more aromatic and can sometimes develop a pleasant light nutty flavour. Many remote cultures around the planet use ghee as a natural medicine and some even make it from human breast milk.

A rich source of: vitamin A , vitamin D, vitamin e, vitamin B12, vitamin K.


Butter, unsalted

Energy (kcal) 744
Energy (kJ) 3059
Water (g) 14.9
Starch (g) 0
Total sugars (g) 0.6
Glucose (g) 0
Galactose (g) 0
Fructose (g) 0
Sucrose (g) 0
Maltose (g) 0
Lactose (g) 0.6
Protein (g) 0.6
Protein (g)/100kcal 0.1
Protein % of calories 0.3
Carbohydrate (g) 0.6
Carbohydrate (g)/100kcal 0.1
Carb % of calories 0.3
Fat (g) 82.2
Fat (g)/100kcal 11.1
Fat % of calories 99.4
Satd FA /100g fd (g) 52.1
Omega 3 /100g 0.7
Omega 6 /100g 1.4
Mono FA /100g food (g) 20.9
Poly FA /100g food (g) 2.8
Trans FAs /100g food (g) 2.9
Sodium (mg) 260
Potassium (mg) N
Calcium (mg) N
Magnesium (mg) N
Phosphorus (mg) N
Iron (mg) N
Copper (mg) N
Zinc (mg) N
Chloride (mg) 471
Manganese (mg) N
Selenium (µg) N
Iodine (µg) N
Vitamin D (µg) 0
Vitamin E (mg) N
Thiamin (mg) N
Riboflavin (mg) N
Niacin (mg) N
Tryptophan/60 (mg) 0.9
Niacin equivalent (mg) N
Vitamin B6 (mg) N
Vitamin B12 (µg) 0
Folate (µg) N
Pantothenate (mg) N
Biotin (µg) N
Vitamin C (mg) 0
Alcohol (g) 0
NSP (g) Non-starch polysaccharide 0
AOAC fibre (g) 0
Cholesterol (mg) 213
Retinol (µg) 0
Carotene (µg) N
Retinol Equivalent (µg) N

Butter, salted

Energy (kcal) 744
Energy (kJ) 3059
Water (g) 14.9
Starch (g) 0
Total sugars (g) 0.6
Glucose (g) 0
Galactose (g) 0
Fructose (g) 0
Sucrose (g) 0
Maltose (g) 0
Lactose (g) 0.6
Protein (g) 0.6
Protein (g)/100kcal 0.1
Protein % of calories 0.3
Carbohydrate (g) 0.6
Carbohydrate (g)/100kcal 0.1
Carb % of calories 0.3
Fat (g) 82.2
Fat (g)/100kcal 11.1
Fat % of calories 99.4
Satd FA /100g fd (g) 52.1
Omega 3 /100g 0.7
Omega 6 /100g 1.4
Mono FA /100g food (g) 20.9
Poly FA /100g food (g) 2.8
Trans FAs /100g food (g) 2.9
Sodium (mg) 17
Potassium (mg) 279
Calcium (mg) 25
Magnesium (mg) 48
Phosphorus (mg) 137
Iron (mg) 0.9
Copper (mg) 0.3
Zinc (mg) 0.9
Chloride (mg) 37
Manganese (mg) 0.9
Selenium (µg) N
Iodine (µg) N
Vitamin D (µg) N
Vitamin E (mg) N
Thiamin (mg) 0.2
Riboflavin (mg) 0
Niacin (mg) 1
Tryptophan/60 (mg) 0.9
Niacin equivalent (mg) 1.9
Vitamin B6 (mg) N
Vitamin B12 (µg) 0
Folate (µg) N
Pantothenate (mg) N
Biotin (µg) N
Vitamin C (mg) 0
Alcohol (g) 0
NSP (g) Non-starch polysaccharide 0
AOAC fibre (g) 0
Cholesterol (mg) 213.2
Retinol (µg) N
Carotene (µg) 16
Retinol Equivalent (µg) N