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In the 50s and 60s the American government went on a campaign against dietary fats. Representatives of the American Heart Association appeared on national television to inform the general public that the consumption of butter, lard, eggs, and beef leads to coronary heart disease.

The man responsible for this movement was Ancel Keys, an American scientist who dedicated his life to studying the effects of diet on health. He conducted the Seven Countries Study, which followed more than 10,000 men spread out over the United States, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, and Japan. Over 40 years, the study found that the risk and rates of heart attack and stroke was related to the level of total serum cholesterol. Dr. Keys concluded that saturated fats (like those found in butter) were responsible for these results. Sounds good, right? But there’s just one thing . . .

Ancel Keys got it all wrong – and you’re paying the price

That’s the bold statement the Bulletproof Executive and upcoming author of the Better Baby Book, Dave Asprey, made on his most recent campaign in educating the masses about the nutritional benefits of butter. Some of you may have wrinkled your noses when, in his talks with WellnessFX CEO Jim Kean, Dave mentioned using butter as a snack for his kids. It wasn’t a fluke. Dave is a strong proponent of organic butter from grass-fed animals. Here are some of the benefits of butter:

• Butter is essentially animal fat with only minor traces of dairy proteins and sugars remaining. As Dave and Jim also discussed, grass-fed animals have a higher level of healthy fatty acids in their tissues than non grass-fed animals. Consuming these fats can help you achieve your own healthy levels and ultimately decrease inflammation, which is associated with risk of cancer, dementia, cardiovascular disease, and many other chronic diseases.
• Vitamin K2 is thought to reduce, prevent, or even counteract arterial plaque. It also helps the body use calcium correctly and effectively. Guess where Vitamin K2 is found? That’s right: butter.
• Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), a trans fat, is found in butter. This probably sets off alarms, as trans fat is usually considered bad. And it is. But that’s artificially made trans fat. CLA is made naturally in grass-fed cows and has been linked to superior heart health, suppression of tumors, and assistance in fat loss for the obese.

So if you’ve cut out butter from your life for health reasons, maybe it’s time to reconsider. Check out the full infographic below and don’t forget to head over to The Bulletproof Executive’s site for more tips on achieving a state of high performance.