Is lard really bad for you? We have always been told that it is terrible, but now I have read?

Question

that it may not be bad after all. What do you think?

Answer 1

Every year something is good for you and the next year its bad for you. Lard is something you cook with and nobody takes it in large quantities unless they are nuts.
My Mom always cooked with bacon fat and she lived to near 90. My Grandmother ate chocolate cake until 95. Its all about genetics.. if your not over 200 lbs and have something cooked in lard or bacon fat once or twice a week its not going to harm you.
There is an old adage I live by:
Eat right, exercise, die anyways..
Enjoy!!!

Answer 2

Lard is nothing but 100% fat. It has no nutritional value. Raised in the south wasn't nothing better then lard when it came to cooking, also wasn't nothing worse on your arteries. Lard is an animal fat produced from rendering {melting of a fatty material and removal of the non-fat components} the fat portions of the pig.The use of lard has diminished because of health concerns posed by saturated fat and cholesterol. It is great for making pie crusts nothing can compare but I would NEVER use it to cook in. Where did you read that it is not really bad after all? Anyhow many people raised using lard lived to be very old but that too has to do with genetics. After all not everyone is a George Burns and can smoke like a chimminey and live to be 100.

Answer 3

I think if you like animal fat which is what lard basically is, it's okay as long as you don't consume it to excess. Even the best foods have adverse effects if taken to extremes. Carrots are good for you, but too much carrot juice can make you sick and turn you orange. A glass of wine a day is good for you, but a gallon every day will eventually kill you. I don't pay attention to most food studies because one year they say this is bad and the next they say no, we were wrong, this is good. I think just eat a varied balanced diet and avoid too much of anything. Besides, something is going to get you, if it's not one thing it's another, it's a known fact that most deaths are caused by living.

Answer 4

Accordint to Wikipedia, lard doesn't have any trans fat, so may not be bad for you...Read on:

"Lard is one of the few edible oils with a relatively high smoke point due to its high saturated fatty acids content. Pure lard is especially useful for cooking since it produces very little smoke when heated and has a distinct and pleasant taste when combined with other foods. Many chefs in fact agree that lard is a superior culinary fat in terms of its possible applications and its taste. Lard also does not contain any trans fat.

Due to its higher melting point than butter, pie crusts made with lard tend to be more flaky than those made with butter. Many cooks now employ both types of fats in their pastries to improve the product's texture and flavour.

Even today, lard still plays a significant role in British, German, Hungarian, Polish, Mexican, Norwegian, and Chinese cuisines. Lard was the commonly used solid fat in the United States prior to the introduction and popularization of Crisco, which is made from hydrogenated cottonseed oil.

Lard sandwich (in Hungarian "Zsíroskenyér" or "Zsírosdeszka", in German "Schmalzbrot") is eaten besides beer and is best with salt, onions and paprika.


Source
Lard can be obtained from any part of the pig as long as there is a high concentration of fatty tissue.

Lard may be rendered from the fatty tissue just above the tenderloin or under the skin of the pig. The highest grade of lard, known as "leaf lard", is obtained from the leaf fat that surrounds the kidneys. The lowest grade is obtained from around the small intestines.

Lard sold in supermarkets commonly contains added BHT (a banned chemical in some countries), which is used as a preservative.


Nutritional information
Lard
Nutritional value per 100 g
Energy 900 kcal 3770 kJ
Carbohydrates 0 g
Fat 81 g
- saturated 39 g
- monounsaturated 45 g
- polyunsaturated 11 g
Protein ?
Cholesterol 95 mg
Zinc 0.1 mg
Selenium 0.2 mg

Fat percentage can vary.
Percentages are relative to US RDI
values for adults.

Each 100 grams of Lard contains the following:

900 Calories
39g Saturated fat
95mg Cholesterol
45g Monounsaturated fatty acids
11g Polyunsaturated fatty acids
0.6mg Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)
0.1mg Zinc
0.2mg Selenium
unknown Hydrogenated fat
unknown Trans fat "

Answer 5

2 words Animal Fat...Lard is an animal fat produced from rendering the fat portions of the pig. Lard was a commonly used cooking oil though its use in contemporary cuisine has diminished because of health concerns posed by saturated fat and cholesterol. Lard is still commonly used to manufacture soap. Rendered fat obtained from cows or sheep is known as tallow.

The only thing its good for is burns

Answer 6

It all depends what you mean by bad. There are no really good foods or bad foods, only good or bad diets.

Lard is pig fat. It could safely be eaten in moderation. It turns out that lard has a higher unsaturated to saturated fat ratio. The latter is unhealthy in terms of raising one's risk of heart disease. On the other hand, unsaturated fats are more "artery-friendly", and therefore not as "bad", as saturated fats. Beef, coconut and palm oils, are high in saturated fats.

Hope that helps.

Peter Bosani.

By the way, you can send your nutrition, food science questions to me at: www.allexperts.com in the Food&Drink category, followed by Nutrition and finally Food Science.

For the weirder aspects of food, join me at: www.myspace.com/bosani

Answer 7

Considering my grandmother grew up with lard and she lived to be 96, I'm not going to worry about it. Lard is only bad if you don't burn it off, if you sit on your *** and let it settle in! So, keep running and working hard and enjoy your lard!

Answer 8

yes, in a matter of fact, lard is very bad for you. it has trans-fat and other fats that should not enter your body. The way you use it is also a variable. I fyou use it in large quantitys than it is even worse. I would just stay away from it...

Answer 9

lard is not bad for you if eaten with a spoon in very large quantities

Answer 10

When I was a lad, I used to eat a bucket a day. Then I had to clean out the lake, if I was lucky.