Is lard really nutritious and safe?

Many places have the custom of slaughtering pigs for the New Year. Many people even have a special preference for lard in their diet, saying that lard is more environmentally friendly and nutritionally safe than vegetable oil. Is this really the case? This nutrition lesson will compare lard and vegetable oil.

As high in fat as vegetable oils

The fat content of fat meat is about 90%, while the fat content of refined lard and vegetable oil is more than 99%. Eating 1 gram of animal or vegetable oil is equivalent to eating 1 gram of fat, which is about 9 kilocalories. Exceeding the total amount of oil consumed every day will promote weight gain.

Since lard is semi-solid at room temperature and has an aroma, it will be crispier when used in sesame seed cakes and pastries, and it will be more fragrant when used to stir-fry vegetables. Therefore, for those who like this flavor, using lard to cook dishes and snacks will stimulate appetite, but remember to control the amount.

The content of "oleic acid" is not outstanding

Some people believe that lard is better than ordinary vegetable oil in preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Is this true?

To prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, you should pay attention to the intake of monounsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid, which is rich in olive oil) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (rich in flaxseed oil and fish oil) in your diet.

Every 100 grams of lard contains 40%-50% saturated fatty acids, 40%-50% oleic acid, and the rest is polyunsaturated fatty acids, mainly linoleic acid, which is the kind of fatty acid that is particularly abundant in most vegetable oils. The content of polyunsaturated fatty acids is relatively low, among which the content of pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids is relatively low, but the content of omega-3 fatty acids that reduce inflammation is even lower.

The oleic acid content of olive oil, almond oil, and macadamia oil is about 70%. In recent years, my country has vigorously developed new varieties of vegetable oils such as camellia oil, low-erucic acid rapeseed oil, high-oleic peanut oil, and high-oleic soybean oil. The oleic acid content of these new varieties of vegetable oils is close to or even exceeds that of olive oil, making lard pale in comparison.

In addition, lard contains cholesterol, while vegetable oils are cholesterol-free. According to my country's food composition table, every 100 grams of lard contains 110 mg of cholesterol. Eating 25 grams of lard a day will ingest 28 mg of cholesterol. For healthy people, this amount is not a concern, but for those who are advised by doctors to control cholesterol intake to no more than 200 mg per day, they should still be cautious.

Vitamin content is not superior

Lard is a kind of fat that contains fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K, but almost no B vitamins and vitamin C. According to the data of my country's Food Composition Table (Standard Edition), every 100 grams of refined lard contains 27 micrograms of vitamin A and 5.2 milligrams of vitamin E. According to the data of the U.S. Food Composition Database, the vitamin D content of lard is 102 international units, and the vitamin K content is so low that it cannot be detected.

In comparison, the vitamin A and vitamin D content of butter is 10 to 10 times higher than that of lard; the vitamin E and vitamin K content of vegetable oils such as soybean oil and rapeseed oil is 10 to 10 times higher than that of lard. Simply put, lard does not significantly help in supplying the daily vitamins needed.

No additives does not necessarily mean environmental protection

Commercially available refined lard also needs to be protected by antioxidants. Home-made refined lard does not contain antioxidants, but it often contains trace amounts of water and iron ions, making it more susceptible to oxidation and deterioration, and must be consumed as soon as possible.

At the same time, when refining lard at home, because the fire cannot be accurately controlled, overheating will produce harmful heterocyclic amines and may also produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These harmful substances, as well as AGEs (advanced glycation end products) that accelerate aging, will enter the lard from the burnt brown oil residue. Therefore, from the perspective of pro-inflammatory and pro-aging, home-refined lard is not more advantageous than vegetable oil.

According to the basic ecological law of biomagnification, the higher the trophic level of an organism, the greater the residual amount of difficult-to-decompose environmental pollutants. The content of organochlorine pesticides such as 666, pollutants such as dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls, and heavy metal components in animals is higher than that in plants. Among them, organochlorine, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls, etc. are easily soluble in oils and fats. From this perspective, compared with the same amount of consumption, the amount of environmental pollutants obtained by eating lard will be higher than that of eating vegetable oil.

Frying Advantages over Vegetable Oils

High-fiber dishes taste better when cooked with saturated fatty acids, so using lard to cook bamboo shoots, pickled mustard greens, dried beans and other ingredients will be more delicious. On the other hand, lard has a higher saturated fat content than vegetable oil, is more heat-resistant, is relatively stable when fried for a long time, and produces fewer harmful substances.

In terms of cooking methods, lard has more advantages when frying at high temperatures or making pastries.

In short, people who eat less meat and more soy products are suitable to use some lard or butter, but people who eat more meat do not need to buy lard specifically for cooking.

(The author Fan Zhihong is a director of the Chinese Nutrition Society and a professor at the Department of Nutrition and Health at China Agricultural University)