The title of this article may sound contradictory. First, many would ask how can fat be healthy and second, how can fats help with period pain?
Let me explain. The french cook with this healthy fat in nearly every dish. It has been around since man began domesticating animals. Eating this fat helps with the absorption of many other nutrients and it's' an even better choice than olive oil or other refined oils. Would you believe it's butter!!
Yes, butter is good for you. Don't take my word for it. Check out what Weston A. Price Foundation and Google Rudolph Ballentine MD who studied the antiviral and anti-cancer properties in "clarified" (milk solids removed) butter. This is simple to do by boiling off the butters foam. Dr. Ballentine knew about this healthy alternative decades ago. It's the butyric acid, a fatty acid that provides the natural PMS, menstrual cramp relief and other healthy benefits.
It works like this. Butter provides both short and medium-chain fatty acids molecules that are body depends upon for proper immune function and intestinal health. Fatty acids cannot be synthesized in our bodies and yet we rely on them for many normal functions, including normal growth and development. Butter contains the perfect balance of the fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 fats both which regulate prostaglandin balance, which in the process helps regulate menstrual cycles, PMS, uterine cramps and normal reproductive health.
Have you ever had a stomach ache at the onset of your menstrual cycle? Butter is beneficial for PMS bloating and digestive pains. This makes perfect sense in Traditional Chinese Medicine, (TCM) because butter increases digestive fire. This means is it helps improve the assimilation or digestibility of other foods. Butter contains glycospingolipids a category of fatty acids that protect against gastrointestinal infections.
Go back to good ole' fashioned butter. Butter is a healthy fat and a little each day is a great food addition and a perfect way to help keep PMS and monthly period pains under control.
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To make clarified butter heat two pounds of sweet (unsalted) organic butter in a saucepan until it boils. Maintain a rolling boil and scrape the foam off the top . If the butter begins to sound like it's frying temperature, with crackling noises, quickly remove from heat. Finish skimming and pour the butter into a glass or pottery storage container. Do not use plastic. The sediment in the bottom of the pan are milk solids and can be used in other food prep. This makes approximately one pound of clarified butter.