Who is Vance Voetberg?
a deep dive into Alex Clark's fiancé
Good evening everyone.
Welcome to all the new readers here. It’s a privilege to write to you. Allow me to detail a bit about my health history, philosophy, and the reoccurring themes you’ll encounter here at Running On Butter.
I first learned about seed oils’ ability to impair sperm in 2019.
I read about it in Deep Nutrition by Cate Shanahan, the most impactful book I’ve read apart from the Bible. It was given to me by Dr. Matt Angove, who recognized a budding interest in health and handed it to me as a gentle nudge down that path.
The book stunned me. Sure, the chapter on seed oils nuking sperm was freaky. But what captivated me was the worldview it presented: a cogent synthesis of history, science, food, and disease that answered questions I didn’t know I was curious about.
Since then, I haven’t stopped reading, researching, and reporting on health.
For a while, I thought I wanted to become a naturopathic physician. But after spending a few months learning what Dr. Matt and his wife Dr. Amadea actually do—listen to people’s problems all day, patiently guiding them through years of bad habits, and gently encouraging change—I realized I wasn’t cut out for it.
Like, I’m a nice guy. But if someone sat down in my office and said, “Dr. Vance, I don’t know why I feel terrible all the time,” and then informed me they were consuming 80 grams of erythritol a day while scrolling Facebook until midnight, I’d probably respond with something like:
“Julie, have you considered not doing that? Geez, put two and two together, sister.”
Julie starts crying.
This is why I am not a naturopathic physician.
Still, that conviction for health remained.
Then I discovered the work of Nina Teicholz. Reading her reporting, I realized there was another path. I didn’t have to become a physician to contribute to the health movement. I could investigate, write, and tell stories.
I could tell people the truth without having to delicately navigate the emotional fallout that often accompanies the truth. It was the perfect fit.
So I switched up my degree, studied journalism, and started Running On Butter (ROB) while I was in college.
After graduating, I landed a health reporting gig with The Epoch Times, where I got to investigate and report on overlooked yet important health science, interviewing some of the world's brightest doctors and scientists along the way. It was exactly the kind of work I had hoped to do.
I reported on everything from the financial incentives behind C-sections, to why kids need boredom, the risks of ibuprofen, drug shortages caused by Big Pharma’s greed, what your dreams say about your health, and, of course, why butter does not cause heart disease.
Over the past seven years of researching and writing about health, I’ve become convinced of and convicted by certain truths that have come to define the overarching principles of Running On Butter.
Here are a few:
The human body is an intricate, dynamic creation. The pinnacle of God's earthly handiwork. It is not a software program to be hacked or a machine to be optimized.
Chronic disease does not manifest overnight. It is stewarded by habits accumulated over the course of years.
Social media is the defining pathogen of the 21st century.
A life of spiritual, physical, and intellectual inactivity is a life robbed of joy and meaning.
Historical illiteracy kills.
I go through various seasons of WHAT’S-THE-MOST IMPORTANT-THING-YOU-CAN-DO-FOR-YOUR-HEALTH-STARTING-TODAY!
Avoiding seed oils, lifting weights, breathing fresh air, getting sunlight, touching the earth, eating butter, etc.
And while that will continue—those pinpointed passions shaped by whatever I’m reading or concerned about at the moment—I hope to present a coherent, consistent picture of health.
I’m never going to swear by a supplement, diet, or piece of tech (unless, of course, Pfizer offers me an eight-figure contract to push the 39th version of the Covid vaccine. At that point, my principles and influence become remarkably negotiable).
I’m also pretty opinionated, which my nine siblings could attest to ad nauseam. But if I’m doing my job here at Running On Butter well, you’ll encounter opinions, ideas, and yes—even objective truths—that you may not enjoy. I am not here to reaffirm your existing beliefs the way an algorithm does.
When you read something you disagree with, don’t allow it to send you into a spiral. Simply say to yourself, “Hmm, I disagree with him,” and move on with your day. Water the flowers. Feed the children. Call your mother.
ROB is not for the intellectually fragile. Nor are we here for the illiterate who cannot discern sarcasm and humor.
If, despite these ground rules, you still have a complaint, bring it to the queen Buttercup. Just know she’s generally less gracious than I am.
And again—thank you so much for being here.