Posted on 03/01/2018 11:37:46 AM PST by nickcarraway
The words 'pork fat' and 'nutritious' don't quite go together, but that may soon change, given a surprising finding by scientists which was first published in 2015 but went viral only recently.
According to a BBC report in January, researchers who analysed more than 1,000 raw foods found that lard is among the top 10 foods which provide the best balance of a person's daily nutritional requirements.
Pork fat was ranked 8th in a list of 100 foods, with a nutritional score of 74 - the higher the number, the more likely it will meet your daily nutritional needs.
It is listed as containing "a good source of B vitamins and minerals" as well as being "more unsaturated and healthier than lamb or beef fat".
Here are the top 10 most nutritious foods and their nutritional scores, according to the study:
1. Almonds, 97 2. Cherimoya (a type of fruit), 96 3. Ocean perch (a deep-water fish), 89 4. Flatfish, 88 5. Chia seeds, 85 6. Pumpkin seeds, 84 7. Swiss chard, 78 8. Pork fat, 73 9. Beet greens, 70 10. Snapper, 69
In addition, pork fat contains oleic acid with 60% monounsaturated fat. Monounsaturated oleic acid has been found to be good for the heart, arteries and skin, and also helps to regulate hormones. As a comparison, butter contains 45% monounsaturated fat.
But as with many things, moderation is key.
Excessive consumption of fat can lead to obesity, according to a Singapore-based nutritionist interviewed by the Chinese daily.
"As long as it's pure and unprocessed, it can be beneficial for the body," said the nutritionist. But she recommends not consuming more than six spoonfuls a day, and stresses the importance of a balanced diet: "For example, meat is a better source of Vitamin B than fat, and essential omega-3 fatty acids are obtained from other foods."
Still, it's good news for the rest of us who can tuck into our favourite roast pork or kou rou bao (pork belly bun) with just a little less guilt.
I knew it! Bacon is good for you!
Can’t wait to use this to discombobulate every vegetarian/“vegan” I know.
Maybe Mcdonalds will bring back the lard. Their french fies were better then.
Save the grease....put it in everything that needs “something”.
It’s also a natural hair product!
Not a pork fan (religious reasons) but fats from healthy animals indeed are a necessary and healthy important part of your diet. There are some excellent vegan fats too, of course, but animal fats are good for you and don’t even make you fat.* There is no reason to let anything other than taste limit your animal fats, with the one huge caveat:
The fat must be from a HEALTHY animal eating a close to natural healthy diet.
* healthy fats don’t make you fat - I keep a food record and over 50% of my calories every day come from healthy fat and I don’t gain an ounce. Until I kept records, I knew fat didn’t make one fat intellectually, but now I know it for sure.
Granny had a container for drippings, mom did, works for me too! i like steaming veggies and then a half a spoon of bacon fat in the frying pan for a minute or two. As we have always been told a little bit is fine.
Southerners have known it for 300 years.
CC
Oh, my wife will be happy to know that I should be eating more snapper.
Give your dog a teaspoonful of bacon fat every day and watch what it does to his coat.
...and what’s sad is that 95% (or more) of doctors either will not read this, or just laugh it off because it wasn’t what they were ‘taught’.
Not to go off-topic a bit here, but that same 95% of doctors also think that statins are God’s gift to humanity and the fact that 2/3’s of the people using them wind up with side effects, some as bad a early-onset cataracts or diabetes, is taken as hearsay and totally discounted - even though cataracts and diabetes is now, finally, being disclosed as side effects.
Just a matter of time before they discover that bacon is the key to longevity and health
Thanks nickcarraway.
Excessive consumption of fat can lead to obesity, according to a Singapore-based nutritionist interviewed by the Chinese daily.
~~~~~
Not if your carb intake is low... but we covered that yesterday in the keto thread
Subsistence trappers and hunters who live off the land in Alaska during their long winters use animal fat as a replacement for carbs in their diet.
It’s probably not an accident that snapper rated a score of 69...
For most of human history, the only available grease was animal fat. Grease is necessary for the intestines to work smoothly and countless other functions.
Vegetable Oils and butter are a relatively recent invention
It ranks right next to s’mores!
Number One - Almonds!
I’m going to double my consumption of large Hershey Almond Chocolate Bars!
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