3247: Two Things I’ve Changed My Mind About - Part 1: Butter by Stephan Guyenet on Rethinking Dietary Fats

Optimal Health Daily - Fitness and Nutrition

Optimal Living Daily LLC

Nutrition, Fitness, Health & Fitness

4.5 • 677 Ratings

🗓️ 4 January 2026

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3247: Stephan Guyenet revisits his stance on butter, now favoring less refined dairy like yogurt and cheese for better health outcomes. Drawing on the whole food heuristic and recent evidence on LDL cholesterol and calorie intake, he explains why butter’s high refinement, calorie density, and impact on blood lipids make it a less ideal choice for long-term well-being. Read along with the original article(s) here: http://www.stephanguyenet.com/two-things-ive-changed-my-mind-about-part-i-butter/ Quotes to ponder: "Butter increases LDL cholesterol and particle number more than most other fats." "Fat isn’t automatically fattening, but research suggests that it can be fattening when it meets two criteria: high calorie density and high palatability." "Butter is one of the most calorie-dense foods in the world, and the human brain likes calories." Episode references: The Hungry Brain: https://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Brain-Outsmarting-Instincts-Overeat/dp/125008119X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Optimal Health Daily.
0:02.8	Two things I've changed my mind about.
0:05.0	Part 1. Butter by Stefan Giena of stephangeena.com, and I'm Dr. Neal.
0:11.5	Happy Sunday and welcome back to the show where I act as your very own personal narrator
0:16.4	and read to you from some of the most popular health and fitness blogs online.
0:21.1	For now, let's get right to today's post and start optimizing your life.
0:29.6	Two things I've changed my mind about.
0:32.2	Part 1. Butter by Stefan Giena of Stefan Giena.com.
0:41.0	I like to believe I can update my beliefs when presented with new evidence or a better interpretation of the same body of evidence rather than clinging to my
0:46.1	old beliefs. In the next two posts, I'll discuss two examples where that has happened.
0:51.8	Years ago, I argued that butter may make positive contributions to health.
0:56.5	My thinking has gradually evolved since then, and I now think less refined forms of dairy are preferable to butter.
1:03.4	Here's why. The Whole Food heuristic.
1:07.0	Huristics are simple rules that get us most of the way to the truth.
1:14.6	One of the most valuable heuristics in nutrition is also one of the simplest.
1:17.1	Eat minimally refined foods.
1:23.6	This single-handedly eliminates nearly all of the calorie-dense, nutrient-poor ingredients and foods that contribute to obesity and non-communicable disease.
1:27.4	The whole food heuristic is not only supported by a large and growing body of evidence, foods that contribute to obesity and non-communicable disease.
1:27.5	The whole food heuristic is not only supported by a large and growing body of evidence,
1:32.2	it's also consistent with evolutionary considerations and common sense.
1:37.0	Food refining is a continuum.
1:38.9	For example, when considering sugar, whole fresh fruit is a minimally refined source, while white sugar is a maximally refined source.
	...

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