good lard is a health food!

Plant eating insects concentrate omega acids and make them available to critters higher up the food chain. A freind of ours believes that his pastured milk and beef cattle actually consume quite a bit of insect while grazing . I don't normally hear that applied to herbivores, wondering if that might be a larger part of the equation than we think ?

wayne stephen wrote:Plant eating insects concentrate omega acids and make them available to critters higher up the food chain. A freind of ours believes that his pastured milk and beef cattle actually consume quite a bit of insect while grazing . I don't normally hear that applied to herbivores, wondering if that might be a larger part of the equation than we think ?

I believe that the conversion process of short chain to long chain fatty acids in Ruminants is enzymatic and not the same as why Chickens and other poultry allowed to eat their natural omnivorous diet produce eggs and meat with much much better long chain Omega fatty acid ratios. Both animal types produce the same results when allowed a natural environment but from different physiological functions. I would suggest that the difference in quantity of insect consumption between the accidental ingestion by grazing Ruminants and specifically pastured Chickens which literally hunt for animal protein including small rodents does not indicate that the increase in Omega Fatty Acids and their greatly improved ratios are related to both animal types consuming insects. It is true of Chickens because those bugs are a significant portion of their natural diet. Ruminants are herbivores and insects are an accidental minute portion of their diet by volume. The fatty acid conversion in ruminants has been fairly thoroughly researched and is related to enzymatic digestive conversion of certain short chain fatty acids found in grasses into long chain Omega fatty acids.

I happen to live near a grass- fed herd. We occasionally buy meat from them. The meat is healthy and yummy.

I object to the food snobs (if I may call them that) who reject any part of an animal except one or two prime cuts. Dang, y'all! If the damn animal died for you then eat all the parts! I wish more real butchers existed so I could a hold of those nice parts.

I like to see the foodie shows like Bizarre Foods w/ Andrew Zimmern and No Reservations w/ Anthony 'Hunka Hunka" Bourdain. I love to see these shows exposing people to the greatness of offal.
http://www.eatmedaily.com/2009/10/offal-of-the-week-five-chefs-who-embrace-the-nasty-bits/

I'd love to train with someone like Chris Cosentino. "Nose to Tail eatin."
That's the way it should be.... and it's healthier!!

Lardo!
http://honest-food.net/wild-game/wild-boar-recipes/wild-boar-charcuterie/lardo-or-italian-cured-pork-fat/

If everybody wanted all of those parts, there would be none left over for the dog/cat food industry.

Peony Jay wrote:I wish more real butchers existed so I could a hold of those nice parts.

There is a fancy-pants butcher in my neighborhood whose steaks I choose not to buy because of the high prices, but their ground meat and sausages are within a price per pound range that makes sense for my budget. Last week we bought some pork and beef wieners that were irregularly shaped, juicy, seasoned just perfectly and so yummy! The juiciness is due in large part to lard and excess fat that they add (liberally, I'm sure). They sell oxtail--which I tried and enjoyed!--though I haven't seen many of the other types of parts that I think you're referring to.

The butcher shop - sustainable or organic and locally grown meat, btw - has done so well it franchised, so we have half a dozen or more here in the Seattle area.

You should try to buy half or whole animal directly from the the farmer and have it slaughtered on farm. If you are there for the slaughter, ask the guy for the parts you want. I wind up getting the tongue, liver, oxtail for free (it's not part of the hanging weight). My dogs get the leftovers.

Peony Jay wrote:I happen to live near a grass- fed herd. We occasionally buy meat from them. The meat is healthy and yummy.

... Dang, y'all! If the damn animal died for you then eat all the parts! I wish more real butchers existed so I could a hold of those nice parts.

I developed a few health conditions when I was a vegan and started eating lard and duck fat regularly, in addition to egg yolks and lots of cream, butter etc. I noticed some large improvements to my health.

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon has a lot of information, and her colleague and co-author on many books is Mary Enig. Mary studied fats and discovered the best fats were organic animal-based fats such as butter, lard, tallow and duck fat. Lard is actually a monounsaturated fat with a profile almost identical to olive oil. The other healthy fats are the saturated vegetable fats such as coconut oil and palm kernel oil.

Palm kernel leads to deforestation and inevitably loss of habitat for orangutans and tigers though, so not the best ethically.

I buy duck fat whenever it's on sale at the supermarket (which is often as consumers don't seem to want it) and I boil lard from pigs trotters in soup stock. Any kind of feet are extremely high in gelatine.

Chicken fat does not have a good nutritional profile for humans, but luckily organic birds produce so little anyway! If there is some it can always be skimmed off after boiling and then used for making soap.

I keep reading about Palm Oil and deforestation. It is true if the Palm Oil comes from Asia but if you look for it, wild crafted Palm Oil comes from Africa. Just know where your products are produced. It is sometimes difficult to obtain because of the violence in West Africa so whenever it is available I buy a 5 gallon pail. I use lots of "Red Oil" for cooking and as a major source of Tocopherols, Tocotrienols and Beta Carotene.

paul wheaton wrote:Acres USA sep 2009, page 33:  the article goes on to talk about a range of lards and how it is related to what the pigs eat. 

Pigs eating organic is way better, of course. 

And a diet rich in nuts is really good too!

Anybody else get AcresUSA?

Lard consumption in humans seems to be rather bad for you.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26068959

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26561617

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3052353

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21543628

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2364063/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3195565

I am hesitant to respond to the latest posting regarding the consumption of lard and the continuing MYTH that such consumption is related to elevated serum cholesterol and correlates to cardiovascular disease since it will be difficult to not sound positive but here goes.  

The actual facts relating to the consumption of Fats including short, medium, and long chain triglycerides based on the most recent and well designed research indicate that serum cholesterol levels are not regulated directly by diet.  Offering links to articles at the National Institutes of Health that are merely republished seriously flawed studies from 1953 does not suggest that Lard is an unhealthy source of energy.  There are caveats to that statement.  Lard from pigs raised in CAFOS is not molecularly the same as Lard from pastured pigs.  The differences in the Omega ratios is staggering.  This is however a response to the multiple nih links suggesting that Lard and other saturated fats increase serum cholesterol.  The studies cited were funded by the Soybean Growers Association after World War II to promote Soybean Oil production that grew exponentially during the war because the number 1 oil in use before then was Coconut Oil.  Protecting their interests is the basis of the "research." Newsflash!  The Human Body runs on Cholesterol.  Lots of it!  All metabolic systems require it.  Lard from pastured pigs is loaded with Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT's).  The Human Metabolism burns MCT's for fuel and looks for them first.  Nutritionally and metabolically Carbohydrates are not essential in the human diet.  Not needed at all in fact carbohydrates contribute to elevated Blood Glucose levels which is the real cause of cardiovascular disease according to all of the latest research done in such medical colleges as Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and others plus health centers such as the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic to name two.  I will suggest that a problem with the internet is that anyone can find support for their position regardless of the veracity of the information and suggesting that because the information offered is from the National Institues of Health supports credibility isn't correct.  If you trust research that is suspect and done in the early 1950's that is your choice. Personally I prefer more recent research not funded by gigantic trade associations or drug companies.  They all have "axes to grind."  The most recent research is voluminous and abundantly clear, humans need saturated animal fats and lots of them to promote optimal metabolic function.  Human do not need any carbohydrates in fact the human metabolism functions optimally when maintaining a ketogenic diet with regularly scheduled short periods of fasting. Our optimal diet is a result of a very slow process called evolution.  It is not easily altered by intellectual revelations no matter how moral they may appear.  There are very few exceptions to Our metabolic function that are foundationally geographic.  I will end here because Nutritional Anthrpology is really an involved endeavor that consumed my early years in college.

Despite not currently including animal foods in my own diet for highly-specific personal health reasons, I feel I should point out that a list of links about eating "lard" -- where the origins of the lard are unspecified -- sort of spectacularly misses the point of the quote from Paul Wheaton, which is about his thought that not all lard is created equal, because the diet of the pig has to be considered in assessing the quality of the lard from a human nutrition standpoint.  This is true for every animal food we consume -- indeed, anyone can see and smell and taste the difference between a factory chicken egg and a backyard chicken egg -- so it seems odd to ignore it in connection with lard.

An excellent point, Dan. I heartily agree.

Paul is correct.  Lard from healthy pastured pigs is actually good for you.  Incidentally, this is a PS to my above statements.  I was sitting here thinking about the nuances of essential nutrients and realized that some cannot be acquired without animal foods.  Some can be found in vegetable matter but the human digestive system doesn't have the necessary tools to acquire them since they need enzymatic conversion and humans do not possess the means to produce those enzymes.  Far too many people mistakenly believe that medical doctors know about nutrition.  The fact is that very few actually do.  Medicine transformed from "The Healing Arts" which included understanding human nutritional needs to Allopathy which is entirely focused on treating symptoms.  The current system precludes nutrition as a valid system of preventative health care but I digress....
I get my pork from a good friend that pastures a nice size "herd" of American Guinea Hogs. I get my heavy cream by the gallon from an Amish farm near here. I also get raw milk for my yogurt and cheese making.  I use the heavy cream for making butter, adding to my already creamy milk when making yogurt and cheese but I also drink ice cold heavy cream.  I do not consume milk that hasn't been cultured.  Too many carbs in milk.  The sugar needs to be fermented before I can drink it.  My diet is around 80+% Fats mostly from heavy cream, butter, and lots of fatty meats. 15% protein, and 5% or less carbohydrates.  I am 1.Not overweight, 2.Do not have any form of cardiovascular disease, 3. Do not have "elevated" cholesterol (cholesterol numbers are meaningless). .I do eat some vegetables but they must be fermented first. Lactofermentatiom is going on all over the kitchen constantly.  So in conclusion, Do as Paul says and eat your Lard from Pastured Pigs.  Your body will thank you for it.

Dave Bennett wrote: I am 1.Not overweight, 2.Do not have any form of cardiovascular disease, 3. Do not have "elevated" cholesterol (cholesterol numbers are meaningless).

Were you healthy to begin with, or did you see your health improve with this diet?

Dave, what are your thoughts on some highest carb consuming countries, such as most of Asia and some African nations having low occurence of heart disease, as compared to low carb countries like the US?

Andrew Brock wrote:Dave, what are your thoughts on some highest carb consuming countries, such as most of Asia and some African nations having low occurence of heart disease, as compared to low carb countries like the US?

Not to "open a can of worms" but the geographic differences I mentioned are evolutionary and physiological. Generally speaking Asians have subtle differences in their pancreatic system in both size and function.  Asians are better able to metabolize carbohydrates than "westerners."  There is also subtle dietary differences found in human populations that developed tolerance for dairy that are geographically unique.  It can be still easily seen in comparisons between Inuit that consume copious quantities of blubber and Lapps that while thriving in similar latitudes are sustained with reindeer dairy and meat. The majority of prehistoric humans were very nomadic following the migrating herds of primarily ruminants.  Their carbohydrate consumption was opportunistic and certainly only seasonal.  Carrying shelter and food harvesting tools held prescedence over carrying a bag of grass seed.  

Tyler Ludens wrote:

Dave Bennett wrote: I am 1.Not overweight, 2.Do not have any form of cardiovascular disease, 3. Do not have "elevated" cholesterol (cholesterol numbers are meaningless).

Were you healthy to begin with, or did you see your health improve with this diet?

To be specific I drastically altered my diet because after more than a decade of very subtle symptoms of insulin resistance I developed noticeable and also severe peripheral neuropathy.  I began regular visits to an M.D. After about a year of prescription meds to control my out of control fasting blood glucose levels I decided that my doctor was "grasping at straws" in an attempt to "drug me to health" but I wasn't improving so perhaps he was inadvertently drugging me to death.  I grew up in a medical family.  M.D.'s, R.N.'s, LPN's etc. Medicine could have easily been my future as well except my physician father talked me out of it. I did study human nutrition and physiology as an alternative to medical school. My nutritional studies included nutritional anthropology and ethnobotany with my focus on food as the primary healing method.  That included studying multiple herbal medical regimens.  
Enough of my educational background, I was sick so I looked carefully at my diet.  I began eliminating foods that caused blood glucose spikes. Through careful research I discovered interesting dietary phenomena that began around the "dawn of agriculture" approximately 10,000 years ago. That was also the dawn of many chronic skeletal human diseases. There is archeological evidence of arthritic changes to humans not found in pre-agricultural humans.

After eliminating all grains from my diet and only consuming minute amounts of vegetables my health has improved noticeably.  The only problem left is the severe nerve damage from the peripheral neuropathy.  It was extensive and I am here to tell you that the progress is very slow even though the muscle atrophy stopped completely.  Regrowing nerves takes a long time so rebuilding the atrophied muscles will also take a long time but I managed to stay alive for 67 years so I plan to hang in there and build my flocks of ducks and geese. They give me lots of eggs and really great fat plus they poop a lot so their pasture soil is always in really healthy condition.  I just broadcast another 100 lbs. of organic rye seed.  My grasses are a collection of good moderate protein fodder for my bird's.  Adding tiny dairy goats in the Spring.  More butterfat for me.  PEACE.

I've been on a high fat diet for 2 years now. I lost 30lbs and overall inflammation is dramatically reduced.

I would be shocked if anyone my age (almost 52) eating a plant based diet has numbers as good as mine - tho we may have different thoughts on what "good numbers" are.

My triglycerides are 43. Anything below 150 is considered good.
My HDL is 105. Anything greater than 40 is considered good.
My LDL is 132. The target # is 130 so I'm slightly high. However, when I first tested my cholesterol in 2013 my number was 140 but that was considered good. Why? Because they keep lowering the target number. A cynic might think this is to sell more statins.

At 6 months into this diet my LDL did rise dramatically to 230. But this was due to weight loss (my own animal fat being released into the blood stream). Now it has dropped below my original #.

I would say the bulk of my fat comes from butter or fatty cuts of meat. I do use lard I rendered from my own pig I raised.

BTW my protein consumption is fairly modest, around 65g/day. Carbs are extremely low. 0-50.

I’ll stick with the statistics that show us what the longest-lived people on the planet eat (the “Blue Zones”). Primarily fruits and vegetables, with little or no meat. I feel great on a plant-based diet. Of course, industrial agriculture, especially industrial animal agriculture, is terrible for the planet (and the taxpayers). If I were going to eat meat it would be locally-sourced. Preferably something I had killed myself.

I am convinced that high cholesterol and triglycerides are a liver problem not a dietary problem. Cholesterol and triglycerides are processed by the liver. When I was in my forties I was placed on a pharmaceutical medicine that caused chemical hepatitis. My liver enzyme numbers where very high, pathologically so. At the same time my cholesterol and triglycerides went crazy. They would be pathologically low one test (yes your cholesterol can be too low) then they would be too high the next test. Amazingly the doctors did not take me off this medicine and I incurred permanent liver damage. I had never in my life had cholesterol problems before this! I finally took myself off the medicine as I began to learn more about medical science and began to pay more attention to what my body told me instead of what the doctors told me. Now my numbers fluctuate after being perfect for four decades before taking this medicine. Medical science is putting the cart before the horse. As soon as someone’s cholesterol is high, they should be asking, “how can we take the stress off of this person’s liver?” Instead of “how can we chemically force this person’s liver to produce less cholesterol?” In fact, the modern medicine dietary “cure” of eating lots of lean meat is hard on the liver! It’s crazy.

I admit to not using much lard but I cook a lot of things in bacon fat.  I think lard is one of those substances that causes a deep, subconscious reaction when you consume it.  I use it when I make tamales using a traditional recipe. They are incredible. I also used it recently when I found an interesting recipe for traditional cornish pasties.  This recipe used equal amounts of lard and unsalted butter for the crusts.  The smell of those pasties cooking almost drove me mad.  I had to eat one when they came out.  I took one for lunch every day that week.  I would open the container, the smell would hit me and I would have to eat it cold.  It was irresistible, both the smell and taste.  I discovered that the rutabaga was the costar of those pasties as well.  I think lard triggers some craving in very active people that just doesn't happen with sedentary folk.

For a long time I have been suspicious that lard can be healthy if the pig was on the right diet since so many people in North America and Europe used to use it in cooking regularly with little ill health effects. I'm hoping somebody has already done a detailed study of the lipid profile of different types of lard compared to vegetable shortening and coconut oil. Lard may not be vegan, but it is far more accessible locally in temperate climates than coconut oil or avocado oil.

Jack Shawburn wrote:I remember as a kid eating lard spread on bread with a bit of salt.
There was no guilt involved thinking it was unhealthy or such.
Gave some to my Jewish friend ( he didnt know what lard was)
enjoyed it!
At that time there were no "refined" foods and the foods we ate were free range.

L8 Bloomer - next time you have too much fat an lard , cook up some soap !

Yikes. I didn't know Jewish people could consume anything from a pig! This said, in the early 50s in France, a lot of folks were quite skinny because of the war restrictions they had endured. Mom would make us some lard "tartines", essentially a lard & sugar sandwich. I hated the stuff, but mom made sure I ate it for my own good. "You should be grateful: look at the little Chinese: They are starving to death". [And indeed, before Mao [1949], China still had famines]. I was super skinny as a child and could not care less about the little Chinese. I still hated the stuff and thought she should give them mine! [I've changed a lot since my girlhood days!]