Americans are scared of fat. We have been told for years that eating fat = getting fat and that eating foods high in fat will give us heart disease, among other things. We have been sold instead on the "low-fat" foods that line the shelves of the grocery store. Unfortunately for our health, those low fat options are completely fake foods, concocted in a lab somewhere, and contain none of the beneficial nutrients that their full fat counterparts have naturally. Its no coincidence that the last 50 or so years that the low fat guidelines have been in place, Americans have seen a rise in heart disease....the same disease that a low fat diet was supposed to prevent. It kind of makes you go, hmmmmm...especially if you are already skeptical of what the "experts" say is healthy anyways. :)
Typically, its been red meat and saturated fats that have come under fire and touted as unhealthy and dangerous to consume. But the majority of the meat in question comes from factory farmed sources, and that in itself explains its danger. These foods are full of chemicals and pesticides – and the meat, in particular – is raised in a way that meat was never intended to be raised. It comes from animals fed improper diets (grains, soy, and corn – not grass and hay), administered hormones and steroids, and kept in close confinement where they are not allowed to move around and live healthy lives. They are also standing around in their own waste all day, not exactly a healthy environment. So in reality it is the kind of meat that people are eating that causes problems, not the fats that are in the meat.
Fat IS good for us. Its critical for our brain development and maintenance and it provides building blocks for the cell membranes needed to to help the neurotransmitters that regulate our moods. Fats are needed to manufacture the hormones and progstaglandins that regulate essential bodily functions like our immune system, digestion and reproductive activity. Healthy fats also keep our digestive track working smoothly and they help balance our blood sugar levels. There are so many more benefits to fat, and it is an important factor in the health and well being of our entire body.
Need proof? People who eat traditional diets full of fat are FAR healthier than Americans who avoid fat like the plague. Eskimos of Greenland Eskimos consuming a traditional diet that consists of 80 percent calories originating from animal fats show no sign of heart disease. People of French descent, who maintain a diet replete with animal fats exhibit less than half the rate of cardiovascular disease as Americans. People residing in tropical locations and whose primary dietary fat is coconut oil have some of the lowest rates of death from coronary heart disease.
Animal fats from healthy, grass fed, organically and sustainably raised animals also contain the proper levels of Omega essential fatty acids (which should be one to two times as many 6's as 3's). Corporations selling margarine, shortening, butter substitutes, and refined vegetable oils make a lot of money on their products and they would have you believe that their products are the healthier alternative to natural fats. But the vegetable oils they use generally contain five to ten times the amount of Omega 6s than Omega 3s, a ratio commonly known as one of the main causes of inflammation and disease in the body.
With all that said, its probably pretty obvious that one of my kitchen goals this year is to incorporate more healthy animal fats into our diet. Real butter from cows that graze on pasture is an easy (and tasty!) way to get more fat into your diet. Eggs from pastured chickens, and raw milk from a trustworthy source are also good sources of healthy fats. We are lucky to have great sources for both pastured eggs and raw milk, and also pastured and naturally raised meat.
Another good way to incorporate animal fats into your diet is the addition of tallow and lard, as long as they are both coming from a trusted source. The lard you find in stores is hydrogenated, rancid, and comes from factory farmed pigs. Definitely not the kind of fat you are looking to add to your diet! Tallow and lard can be used in a number of ways; Tallow for deep frying in and using in place of oil for pan frying. Lard is the secret ingredient for flaky pie crusts, and can be used in cookie and baked goods recipes as a replacement for crisco or butter.
I am really excited about adding more healthy fats to our diet this year, and lucky me I happen to be good friends with the farmers that we buy our meat from. She agreed to let me have all the fat from the 3 beef cows that were butchered last month, and we have a little arrangement worked out that will soon have me practically swimming in lard. I am so excited to get my hands on that! As for the beef fat (the proper name is beef tallow) I ended up with a 10 pound bag of fat that I am really excited to start rendering down...stay tuned!
Typically, its been red meat and saturated fats that have come under fire and touted as unhealthy and dangerous to consume. But the majority of the meat in question comes from factory farmed sources, and that in itself explains its danger. These foods are full of chemicals and pesticides – and the meat, in particular – is raised in a way that meat was never intended to be raised. It comes from animals fed improper diets (grains, soy, and corn – not grass and hay), administered hormones and steroids, and kept in close confinement where they are not allowed to move around and live healthy lives. They are also standing around in their own waste all day, not exactly a healthy environment. So in reality it is the kind of meat that people are eating that causes problems, not the fats that are in the meat.
Fat IS good for us. Its critical for our brain development and maintenance and it provides building blocks for the cell membranes needed to to help the neurotransmitters that regulate our moods. Fats are needed to manufacture the hormones and progstaglandins that regulate essential bodily functions like our immune system, digestion and reproductive activity. Healthy fats also keep our digestive track working smoothly and they help balance our blood sugar levels. There are so many more benefits to fat, and it is an important factor in the health and well being of our entire body.
Need proof? People who eat traditional diets full of fat are FAR healthier than Americans who avoid fat like the plague. Eskimos of Greenland Eskimos consuming a traditional diet that consists of 80 percent calories originating from animal fats show no sign of heart disease. People of French descent, who maintain a diet replete with animal fats exhibit less than half the rate of cardiovascular disease as Americans. People residing in tropical locations and whose primary dietary fat is coconut oil have some of the lowest rates of death from coronary heart disease.
Animal fats from healthy, grass fed, organically and sustainably raised animals also contain the proper levels of Omega essential fatty acids (which should be one to two times as many 6's as 3's). Corporations selling margarine, shortening, butter substitutes, and refined vegetable oils make a lot of money on their products and they would have you believe that their products are the healthier alternative to natural fats. But the vegetable oils they use generally contain five to ten times the amount of Omega 6s than Omega 3s, a ratio commonly known as one of the main causes of inflammation and disease in the body.
With all that said, its probably pretty obvious that one of my kitchen goals this year is to incorporate more healthy animal fats into our diet. Real butter from cows that graze on pasture is an easy (and tasty!) way to get more fat into your diet. Eggs from pastured chickens, and raw milk from a trustworthy source are also good sources of healthy fats. We are lucky to have great sources for both pastured eggs and raw milk, and also pastured and naturally raised meat.
Another good way to incorporate animal fats into your diet is the addition of tallow and lard, as long as they are both coming from a trusted source. The lard you find in stores is hydrogenated, rancid, and comes from factory farmed pigs. Definitely not the kind of fat you are looking to add to your diet! Tallow and lard can be used in a number of ways; Tallow for deep frying in and using in place of oil for pan frying. Lard is the secret ingredient for flaky pie crusts, and can be used in cookie and baked goods recipes as a replacement for crisco or butter.
I am really excited about adding more healthy fats to our diet this year, and lucky me I happen to be good friends with the farmers that we buy our meat from. She agreed to let me have all the fat from the 3 beef cows that were butchered last month, and we have a little arrangement worked out that will soon have me practically swimming in lard. I am so excited to get my hands on that! As for the beef fat (the proper name is beef tallow) I ended up with a 10 pound bag of fat that I am really excited to start rendering down...stay tuned!
