Lard

In this day and time where organic and foods without preservatives has become the mainstay of society, I often wonder WHY we moved away from the natural products? Was all for money? Did it really save people money by pumping hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils into their food?

Of course it did! Well, that whole increasing the chance of a heart attack or adding a new risk of heart attack and stroke in women is just minor collateral damage when you can keep food fresher longer. That's what trans fats (hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated products) do for you.

Think I am blowing sunshine? The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) advises the United States and Canadian governments on nutritional science for use in public policy and product labelling programs. Their 2002 Dietary reference intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids contains their findings and recommendations regarding consumption of Trans fat.

Their recommendations are based on two key facts. First, "trans fatty acids are not essential and provide no known benefit to human health". Second, while both saturated and trans fats increase levels of LDL cholesterol (so-called "bad" cholesterol), trans fats also lower levels of HDL cholesterol (so-called "good" cholesterol); this increases the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). The NAS is concerned "that dietary trans fatty acids are more deleterious with respect to CHD than saturated fatty acids".

Because of these facts and concerns, the NAS has concluded there is no safe level of trans fat consumption. There is no adequate level, recommended daily amount or tolerable upper limit for trans fats. This is because any incremental increase in trans fatty acid intake increases the risk of coronary heart disease.

Despite this concern, the NAS dietary recommendations have not recommended the elimination of trans fat from the diet. This is because trans fat is naturally present in many animal foods, and therefore in most non-vegan diets; its removal from ordinary diets might introduce undesirable side effects and nutritional imbalances if proper nutritional planning is not undertaken. The NAS has therefore "recommended that trans fatty acid consumption be as low as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet". Like the NAS, the World Health Organization has tried to balance public health goals with a practical level of trans fat consumption, recommending in 2003 that trans fats be limited to less than 1% of overall energy intake.

The US National Dairy Council has asserted that the trans fats present in animal foods are of a different type than those in partially hydrogenated oils, and do not appear to exhibit the same negative effects.(ref)

This brings me to my point (as I almost always have one). Use lard.

Prior to the invention of Crisco shortening, lard was used in nearly every kitchen. Grandmother's biscuits were always the best because of lard. For those young reader that have absolutely no idea what lard is, it is pig fat. It was used almost everywhere, to include McDonald's, Taco Bell, local diners, bakeries or anyplace that cooks. Most of these places now use partially hydrogenated soybean oil (trans fats).

Some get away with it by using "less than 1%" when they display nutritional information.

However, with LARD, you know exactly that you are eating something with saturated fats. Not a product that is sneaking up on your silently to increase you bad cholesterol and lower your good cholesterol. You know it is going to clog your arteries. So, on top of the EXCELLENT taste, you have an idea of how much time you have left on this world.

Did you know...

Lard is organic and all-natural. Lard has less cholesterol than butter and fewer calories than olive oil.

Comments

Nirek said…
Looks like a great idea! But people dont use pig meat/pork in this part of the world due to religious reasons...

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