Butter: Nutrients, What Research Shows and Safety

Butter is the fat of cow's milk, made by churning cream until the fat separates from the liquid. It is about 80% fat, 16% water and a little milk protein, and it is sold salted or unsalted. [1] People use it for flavor, baking and cooking, and some eat it because they believe it is a "natural" fat. This page keeps butter as a food apart from ghee, margarine, supplements and hype, and says plainly what the research shows and what it does not show.

Read this first

• Butter is mostly saturated fat. USDA lists about 7.3 g of saturated fat in 1 tablespoon (14.2 g), which is 36% of the FDA Daily Value of 20 g. [1] A single tablespoon has about 102 calories. [1]
• Compared with olive, canola, sunflower and similar oils, butter raises LDL ("bad") cholesterol more. A 2018 network meta-analysis of 54 trials found that many plant oils, and beef fat, lowered LDL more than butter. [4] The American Heart Association advises replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat, especially polyunsaturated fat. [2]
• Big reviews of people's diets found small or neutral links, not clear harm and not clear benefit, for butter and heart disease. These are observational studies, which cannot prove cause. [3]
• Milk allergy: butter is a milk product. People with a milk allergy are told to avoid it. For trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat, call 911 (or your local emergency number). [9]
• Honest summary: butter is fine as a flavorful food in small amounts for most healthy people; it is not a health food, and the official advice still ranks it below liquid plant oils for heart health. [2] [4] [7]

What is in it (USDA values)

The values are for salted butter (USDA FoodData Central item 173410, SR Legacy). [1] A second USDA item for butter without salt (173430) has the same calories and fat but only 11 mg of sodium per 100 g, against 643 mg for salted. [1] The serving column is the USDA household portion of 1 tablespoon, 14.2 g.

% Daily Value uses the FDA 2016 Daily Values; values vary with the cow's feed, the season and the brand. The serving figures are the 100 g values multiplied by 0.142. Butter has almost no protein, carbohydrate or fiber. [1] USDA lists a vitamin D value for butter in the same file, but it looks unusually high and we could not re-check it against the USDA web page, so we left it out until it is checked.

The yellow color and the vitamin A come from the cow's feed (carotenoids and retinol). USDA lists beta-carotene at 158 mcg per 100 g. [1] We did not read a trial showing that these small amounts in butter improve any health outcome.

What research says

The Nordic scoping review also said that all the systematic reviews it found on fats and oils were of low methodological quality, so conclusions should be read with care. [5] The butter meta-analysis authors concluded that the data did not support a major emphasis on butter in dietary guidelines, either to eat more or to eat less. [3]

Eaten as food vs other forms. Everything above is about butter eaten as a food. Ghee (clarified butter) is a different product, see the ghee page. We did not read any trial of butter taken as a supplement.

How much is a normal serving

The USDA household portions are 1 pat (5 g, about 36 kcal), 1 tablespoon (14.2 g, about 102 kcal) and 1 stick (113 g). [1] That is information from USDA, not a prescription. The 2020-2025 US Dietary Guidelines limit saturated fat to less than 10% of calories. We did not read the text of those guidelines directly. Press coverage from January 2026 of the new 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines says they keep the 10% limit, name butter as one fat that may be used in cooking, and prefer unsaturated oils such as olive oil. We read this only in a news report, not in the guidelines themselves. [10] The UK NHS gives a maximum of 30 g of saturated fat a day for men and 20 g for women, and lists butter among the foods high in saturated fat. [7]

Safety, allergy and medicines

• Cholesterol and saturated fat: one tablespoon supplies 36% of the saturated fat Daily Value. [1] Eating butter regularly in place of unsaturated oils raises LDL cholesterol in trials. [4] People with high cholesterol or heart disease should ask their clinician about their own fat intake.
• Milk allergy: butter and butter fat are on the milk-containing ingredient list that FARE gives to people avoiding milk. [9] Butter has little milk protein, but even small amounts can trigger a reaction in someone with a milk allergy. See food allergy basics and emergency signs. Epinephrine is the first-line treatment for anaphylaxis. [9]
• Lactose intolerance: we did not read a source that gives the lactose content of butter, so this page makes no claim about it.
• Trans fat: the artificial trans fat from partially hydrogenated oils was removed from most food in the US (FDA determination 2015, compliance 2018). [11] The FDA says trans fat that occurs naturally in dairy and meat is not affected. [12] USDA lists about 3.3 g of total trans fat per 100 g of butter. [1] See trans fats: where they hide.
• Raw-milk butter: the CDC says raw (unpasteurized) milk can carry germs such as Listeria and Salmonella, and that foods made from raw milk can carry the same germs. Pregnant people, children under 5 and adults over 65 face higher risk of serious illness. [13] We did not read a source that tests butter specifically, so check labels for "pasteurized." See raw milk claims checked.
• Vitamin A: butter has preformed vitamin A (retinol). One tablespoon gives about 11% of the Daily Value. [1] The NHS says long-term intake above about 1,500 mcg a day from food and supplements together may weaken bones, and that pregnant people should avoid liver. [14] A normal use of butter is far below that, but it counts with other sources.
• Medicines: we did not find a source describing a direct interaction between butter as food and a medicine.
• Salt: salted butter has 643 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 91 mg in a tablespoon). [1] People on a low-sodium plan can choose unsalted.
• Children: for babies and toddlers, see foods for babies and toddlers.

Choosing, storing and food safety

• Look for "pasteurized" on the label, especially in pregnancy and for young children. [13]
• Butter is perishable. We did not read an official storage chart for butter, so follow the date and storage instructions on the pack and check the USDA FoodKeeper tool for current times.
• For high-heat cooking, see smoke points and cooking with oil; we did not read a source that gives a verified smoke point for butter, so we give no number.

Related pages

• Ghee (clarified butter)
• Saturated, unsaturated and trans fats explained
• Which cooking fat to choose: what health bodies say
• Foods for cholesterol and heart health
• Olive oil
• Food allergy basics and emergency signs