google is lard healthy
We're not going to make any health claims about lard -- because what do we
Taste editors know about health? -- but we can report what we've learned:
lard has 20 percent less saturated fat than butter; it's higher in
monounsaturated fats which are said to lower LDL cholesterol; and it has
none of the trans ...
头条hit:
Lard is healthy!
In recent generations, lard has seemed to completely disappear from home
kitchens. Until the early 1900’s, lard was a staple cooking fat across the
globe. It was the secret to perfectly flaky pie pastry, crispy fried chicken
, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits and luscious gravy.
Now, when people hear the term lard, they immediately conjure up a vision of
clogged arteries. It’s time to set the record straight ? lard is a healthy
cooking fat and deserves to make a comeback in kitchens everywhere.
1. Lard is heat stable
lard is healthyWhen it comes to determining the stability of a fat, it’s
all about chemistry. Saturated fats have single bonds between all the carbon
molecules of the fatty acid chain and are therefore the most heat-stable.
That’s because single bonds, when it comes to the fatty acid carbon chain,
are relatively difficult to break. Monounsaturated fats have one double bond
replacing a single bond in the carbon chain. Double bonds in fatty acids
are unstable and can break with heat. Polyunsaturated fats are the most
unstable, because they have numerous double bonds in the carbon chain. When
the double bonds in mono- or polyunsaturated fats break, the fatty acid
undergoes a process called oxidation.
Why are oxidized fats bad? In a nutshell, oxidized fats = free radicals.
Free radicals = cell damage. While we inevitably have some free radicals in
our body, we should minimize these damaging molecules as much as possible to
protect health and reduce inflammation.
According to Mary Enig, author of Know Your Fats, lard is typically 40%
saturated fat, 50% monounsaturated fat and 10% polyunsaturated fat. (
Pastured hogs consuming a diet supplemented with grain or coconut will have
a lower percentage of polyunsaturated fat ? a good thing!). The percentage
of saturated fat in lard protects the more vulnerable mono/polyunsaturated
fats from oxidizing with heat, making lard an excellent choice for cooking
and baking.
2. Lard is heart-healthy
“Lard is an animal fat, and it is high in saturated fat and cholesterol.
Doesn’t that mean it raises my risk for heart disease?” The pervasive myth
that animal fats increase the risk of heart disease is just that ? a myth.
Our great-great-grandparents consumed lard and butter and experienced
extremely low rates of heart disease. Lard is part of a healthy diet and
will not give you heart attack:
An analysis of more than 300,000 people published in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition shows that there is no evidence that saturated fat
consumption raises the risk of heart disease (1)
A low fat diet has been shown to increase triglycerides, which is a risk
factor for heart disease (2)
The Women’s Health Initiative studied nearly 50,000 post-menopausal women ?
one group of women were told to follow a low fat diet, and the other group
continued to eat “normally.” After 8 years, there was no difference in the
rate of heart disease or cancer between the groups. (3)
Numerous other large studies have found no benefit to a low fat diet (4)
The director of the large Framingham Heart Study concluded, “We found that
the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the
most calories, weighed the least and were the most physically active.”
Saturated fat intake raises HDL cholesterol, which is associated with a
reduced risk of heart disease (5)
The “diseases of modern civilization” including heart disease and diabetes
skyrocketed as animal fats were replaced with factory fats including
vegetable oils and margarine. Take a look at the graph here.
The cholesterol content of lard is health-protective, not dangerous (see
reason #9 below)
3. Lard is neutral flavored
Like me, many of you choose to cook with coconut oil because it is a heat-
stable cooking fat. Coconut oil does impart a mild-to-moderate coconut
flavor to dishes, however. And while I enjoy the flavor, sometimes I want a
neutral-flavored option. That’s when I choose lard.
For sautéing and deep-frying, nothing beats the cooking properties of lard.
It creates a divinely brown crust to vegetables and meats without a
distinct flavor. Due to the neutral flavor, it also works exceptionally well
in baked goods (see #7).
4. Lard is economical
I purchase quart-sized tubs of lard from my local farmer for $7.50 a quart.
You will likely be able to find pastured lard at a similar price. If not,
you can request pastured hog fat from your butcher and then render lard
yourself (it’s very simple, here’s a tutorial).
When it comes to healthy cooking fats, lard is definitely the most
affordable. For example, my other favorite cooking fats ? coconut oil and
grassfed butter ? cost exponentially more.
5. Lard is high in vitamin D
Lard is the second highest food source of vitamin D, after cod liver oil.
One tablespoon of lard contains 1,000 IU’s of vitamin D. Also important,
vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin so it requires fatty acids ? including
saturated fatty acids ? to be absorbed and utilized in the body. Lard
provides the perfect package of vitamin D along with the required fatty acid
cofactors. Other food sources of vitamin D, including pastured egg yolks
and liver, pale in comparison to the amount of vitamin D in lard.
There is a catch, however: only lard from pastured hogs contains vitamin D,
since the pigs must have access to sunlight to synthesize the D and store it
in their fatty tissues. Grocery store tubs or sticks of lard are from
confined, antibiotic-laden pigs and should be avoided. Purchase your lard
from a butcher or farmer who can tell you how the pigs are raised.
6. Lard is sustainable
Pigs are easily adaptable animals that can thrive nearly everywhere. Raising
pastured hogs is a practice that produces a sustainable source of meat
while improving the health of the environment. By rooting and foraging, hogs
help to turn over topsoil and naturally fertilize the ground.
You know what’s not sustainable? A bagillion acres of genetically modified,
pesticide-drowned, synthetic-fertilizer-laden corn used to produce corn oil
. Just saying…
7. Lard is local
Purchasing a pastured pork and lard from your local farmer has a very low
carbon footprint. I drive 5 minutes away to collect my weekly eggs, raw milk
, pastured meat and lard at a designated pick-up spot. These items are
delivered from a farm about an hour away. So my lard comes from a source
that is a 65 minute drive away from my house.
My coconut oil, on the other hand, comes from the Philippines which is many,
many more minutes away from my house. Just saying…
7. Lard is great for baking
Why lard is healthy, sustainable and versatileYou may not think that lard
pairs well with sweet foods, but traditionally lard was used for deep frying
donuts and making flaky pie crusts. If you haven’t made a pie crust with
lard, you are in for a beautiful surprise! In baked goods, lard lends
tenderness and moisture without a discernible flavor.
I love using it in my Sweet Spiced Coconut Flour Biscuits. Substitute lard
for coconut oil, vegetable oil, shortening or butter in your baking recipes.
9. Lard is a healthy source of cholesterol
lard ranks #18 in foods richest in cholesterol. As a healing agent in the
body, levels of cholesterol rise during periods of stress or when
inflammation is present. Studies show that cholesterol consumption does not
carry a cause-and-effect relationship with blood cholesterol levels. This is
because the body produces the cholesterol it needs. Providing cholesterol
through good quality fats, however, reduces the burden on the body to
produce cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol from whole foods like lard supports
inflammation management and hormone production.
As a matter of fact, numerous studies associate low blood cholesterol levels
with:
A higher risk of mortality (6, 7. 8)
A higher risk of depression (9, 10)
A higher risk of committing violent crime and suicide (11, 12)
A higher risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (13, 14)
10. Lard is traditional
When I’m asked for simple advice for avoiding unhealthy foods, I give two
simple rules of thumb:
“Avoid any food with a TV commercial.”
“Avoid any food that your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t have recognized
.”
What are some examples of fats that don’t fit these guidelines? Canola oil,
corn oil, fake butter, cooking spray and reduced-fat dairy products. Lard,
however, was enjoyed by your ancestors thousands of years ago. My great-
great-grandmother, a hard-working Danish woman who lived to the ripe old age
of 107, grew up on copious dollops of lard, homemade sauerkraut and gallons
of fresh milk from the family cow. You won’t see it advertised on TV,
either, because large corporations won’t make money promoting the products
of your local farmer.