As I was reading through the new dietary guidelines, I was overall impressed with how different recommendations were given for certain health conditions (like diabetes and auto immunity). Low carb is officially government approved! This is a huge step forward for many people with chronic health issues, especially if they take to heart the “eat real food” recommendations.
Hey, this is low carb….but I would not recommend this kind of food more than once a year….Steak with butter on top, pork rinds, diet coke, and bacon.
However, I noticed something odd and off-putting. BEEF TALLOW was mentioned so often in the document as a recommended fat to be consumed. For most of my life I was taught and even conditioned by society and my parents that such a fat (animal based and saturated fat) was bad, evil, obesogenic, and disease producing.
It is well known by now in the nutrition world that saturated fat is not as harmful as was once thought. But in the context of heart disease it is still a major suspect and contributor. What complicates the issue is that the oldest data about heart disease formation comes from a population that used to smoke much more than our current rates. In addition, the question of how simple carbohydrates combined with saturated fat may produce a different outcome than having saturated fats in a low carb AND real food context.
Various degrees of healthy low carb….left is A +, right is more like a B
The evidence is still coming in on how saturated fat effects human physiology in a real food context. Therefore, I will continue to use and advocate fat sources that are primarily mono and poly unsaturated. Examples: nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocados, avocado oil, fish oil, fatty fish.
The data on these types of fats are much more straight forward. For the vast majority of people, poly and mono unsaturated fats are superior to saturated fats if your goal is longevity. My favorite cooking oil is avocado oil (because of the neutral flavor and high smoke point).. However, I usually use broth and water to cook my meat and veggies.
Before shutting the book on this topic, I did get curious. What exactly is the make-up of BEEF TALLOW compared to other fat sources? I was somewhat surprised. Check out the compare and contract chart below.
Now, what makes this more interesting is this: of the saturated fat content in beef tallow, only around 25-30% of it is of concern for actually raising cholesterol (which can contribute to heart disease). This component of saturated fat is called palmitic acid (25–30%). The rest of the saturated fat in beef tallow is stearic acid (15-20%), which does NOT raise cholesterol. The rest of the overall fat content is oleic acid ( the same as olive oil).
Bottom Line: tallow and saturated fat should be treated like what the official guidelines recommend….a small percentage of your diet compared to other forms of fat. However, note that saturated fats like beef tallow are not as harmful as once thought.
Jason Cornish, ACE Personal Trainer, Medical Fitness Specialist, Health Coach. He practices his craft in Auburn, AL.