For years, the conventional wisdom was to eat vegetable oils because they will help you lose weight and prevent heart disease, but despite the broad acceptance of this idea, obesity and heart disease rates climbed as well as numerous chronic illnesses.  According to expanding research, these highly inflammatory, highly processed cooking oils may not be as good for us as they were claimed to be. 

These vegetable oils were also lauded as a more environmentally friendly option, but it turns out that may not have been as accurate as previously thought either.  One of the major causes of habitat destruction is monocrop agriculture, and the largest offenders are plants that go into making vegetable oils.  Even oils that are better for you, because they are less processed, are equally damaging to the environment.  Just ask the orangutans whose forests have been cleared to plant trees for palm oil.

New research is suggesting what traditional cultures already knew, that the best fats for humans to eat are from animals.  They take minimal processing, are full of vitamins when raised on pasture, and can be incorporated into sustainable regenerative agriculture.

 

Whereas vegetable and seed oils take incredible amounts of technology to process, including a deodorizing process, animal fats only need one primitive technology, heat.  In addition to the minimal processing, animal fats are heat stable, which means that when you heat it to high temperatures, it maintains it's structure.  Whereas, many vegetable and seed oil's structure deteriorates at high temperatures, making them highly inflammatory when eaten.

 

Pasture raised animal oils are also high in vitamins.  Pasture raised lard has the second highest vitamin D content.  In addition to that, pork lard contains other beneficial nutrients such as vitamin B complex, vitamin C, iron and phosphorous, plus a high content of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.