Are you still eating lard?

What do you think of when it comes to lard? I'm afraid many people will think of "high calories", "high saturated fatty acids" and "cardiovascular disease". But if you look at BBC, National Geographic and other media "which are the most nutritious foods", you will find a very different "lard". The Economic Daily-China Economic Network Science and Technology Channel noted that lard ranked as the "most nutritious" eighth food in a study that analyzed the nutritional composition of 1000 foods. So, is lard the "most nutritious" food after all? Is it that the media reports are inaccurate, or is there a deficiency in the analysis methods of the research papers themselves?

Saturated fatty acids are not "poison"

There are also a lot of saturated fatty acids in lard. Saturated fatty acids are fatty acids that do not contain double bonds. Generally speaking, animal fats such as butter, cream and lard contain more saturated fatty acids than vegetable fats. But not absolutely, such as coconut oil, cocoa oil, palm oil are also rich in saturated fatty acids. Animal meat is the most rich in fat, and most of them are saturated fatty acids.

Since the 1970s, eating saturated fat has directly increased the risk of heart disease has been the core concept of nutrition. Meat and dairy products contain large amounts of "unhealthy" saturated fat. Nutrition theory encourages us to eat more vegetable oils and "healthy" fats found in fish, nuts, seeds and other foods.

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the world, with 17 million people dying from it every year, accounting for as much as 1/3 of all deaths. World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that by 2030, the number of people dying from cardiovascular disease will reach 23 million a year.

When you eat fat, it reaches the small intestine, where it breaks down into fat components-fatty acids and glycerol. It is then absorbed by the epithelial cells of the small intestine and wrapped with cholesterol and protein into the bloodstream. These small spherical groups are called lipoproteins. Lipoproteins enable water-insoluble fats and cholesterol (collectively called lipids) to reach where they are needed.

The more fat you eat, the higher the amount of lipoprotein in your blood. The traditional view is that this is the bane of health.

However, new research shows that there is no correlation between saturated fat intake and heart disease risk. When people eat large amounts of starch or sugary foods, their risk of heart disease doubles. In fact, saturated fat reduces your risk of stroke and not only doesn't make you fat, but also helps you lose weight. Sugar, staple foods, starchy carbohydrates, etc., rather than saturated fats, really increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The body will automatically balance the amount of cholesterol, when the intake of cholesterol, the body will automatically reduce the synthesis of cholesterol, and vice versa, so the effect of food-derived cholesterol on cholesterol in the body is negligible.

The benefits of lard

Protect heart health and help fight cancer. Saturated fat is inversely related to heart disease and stroke, that is, eating more saturated fat can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Monounsaturated fat in lard, a substance found in olive oil, has been shown to protect the heart and even fight breast cancer.

Promote the absorption of calcium in the body. Vitamin D is essential for the absorption of calcium. Vitamin D can also help improve cardiovascular function, keep the lungs and respiratory tract healthy, strengthen muscle function, and help the body fight infection. Lard ranks second among all food sources of vitamin D, after cod liver oil, with 1000 international units of vitamin D in one tablespoon of lard. Lard is much more common than cod liver oil.

Reduce the risk of depression. The content of oleic acid in lard is particularly high, and increasing dietary intake of linoleic acid and oleic acid can reduce the risk of severe depression.

Moisturizing and moisturizing. Animal fat, especially lard, is a very stable fat, which plays an important role in improving skin dryness, moisturizing and moisturizing. it does not contain any chemicals and is very beneficial to the skin.

Good thermal stability, suitable for cooking. The main ingredient of most vegetable oils is polyunsaturated fat, which has poor stability and is easy to oxidize. if heated at high temperature for a long time, it will release some toxic substances. Lard has good thermal stability, so it is suitable for cooking.