Why I Put Butter on Broccoli, and you Can Too.

Is butter really so bad, or is it okay to put butter on your broccoli? Sometimes going to dinner with my friends is when I discover how people view healthy eating. Just this past week, a friend saw me add butter to my broccoli, which is one of my favorite ways to eat veggies.

He was shocked. Why would someone who's dedicated his life to fitness use such an unhealthy ingredient? I don't blame him for asking that.

Butter, amongst other saturated fats, have a really bad reputation, and that's been the case since the 1950's, and still today, the American Heart Association suggests that your saturated fat intake should be no more than 6% of your daily calories. At Heroes Fitness, we are anything but Anti-Science. However, there is some context to be provided that may help you (hopefully) feel less shame when eating butter.

How Fat Became the Villain

Through the late 1900s, researchers such as Ancel Keys began linking high saturated fat intake to an increased risk of heart disease. This idea, known as the diet-heart hypothesis, shaped decades of nutrition advice.

By the 1990s, the USDA Food Pyramid reflected that thinking: carbohydrates formed the base (the majority of recommended calories), while fats were placed at the very top, suggesting they should be eaten sparingly.

That era marked the beginning of the “low-fat” craze. Food companies responded by creating low-fat products that were often loaded with added sugars to make up for lost flavor, a tradeoff that many argue did more harm than good.

Industry Influence

It’s also important to understand how industry funding influenced some of the research and messaging that shaped public opinion.

In the 1960s, the Sugar Research Foundation (now the Sugar Association) paid Harvard scientists to publish research that downplayed the link between sugar and heart disease, instead shifting attention toward dietary fat. These findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and went undisclosed for decades until revealed in a 2016 JAMA Internal Medicine investigation.

Even in more recent years, major corporations have continued to influence public health messaging. In 2015, Coca-Cola funded the Global Energy Balance Network (GEBN), an anti-obesity nonprofit, contributing roughly $550,000 to its leader. The organization promoted the idea that obesity was primarily due to a lack of exercise, while minimizing the role of diet and sugar intake. Once the financial ties were exposed, GEBN disbanded later that same year.

We aren't here to push a carnivorous agenda, but to help you understand context and framing. The truth is that a diet high in saturated fat is bad, and a diet high in sugar is also bad.

The bigger issue this country faces is obesity, and that's what Heroes Fitness pledges to fight against in our neighborhood, Valrico, Florida. The CDC says that 41% of Americans are obese, and of those, 53% have high blood pressure, making these individuals highly prone to heart disease.

In America, we have a problem with large portion sizes, addictively tasty snacks, fast food, little movement and poor sleeping patterns. With all of that said, why would someone like me think butter can solve some of these problems?

Simple. The best diet you can possibly follow is one that you can stick to. Bodybuilders will eat plan rice and chicken 4 times a day, but that, clearly, does not reflect the average American, myself included.

We have to find ways to make healthy eating realistic, and the key word here that you all know so well is moderation. Personally, I don't love vegetables, but adding a splash of salt and 1/2 tbsp of butter to my broccoli makes it enjoyable for me. Forcing yourself to eat foods you don't enjoy will NOT last in the long run.

Now, that doesn’t mean you should treat your diet like a short-order cook at IHOP, cooking everything in pools of butter and oil. Moderation still matters.

If you go to most American sit-down restaurants, you’ll notice the pattern: buttered rolls, creamy sauces, and portions that could feed two people before you even see a menu. That’s where the calories stack up fast.

But when you’re cooking at home, you’re in control. You decide how much goes in. A small amount of butter used intentionally isn’t the problem. The problem is when small indulgences happen by accident, all day, every day.

So if adding a touch of butter helps you enjoy your vegetables, eat better overall, and stay consistent with your goals, that’s not a setback. That’s progress.

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Connor Blackmon

Founder of Heroes Fitness

1528 Bloomingdale Ave., Valrico FL