Useful properties of pork lard. Salted, smoked, raw lard: benefits and harm to the body, methods of preparation and norms of consumption

This product supplies animal fat to the human body, and to this day the benefits and harms of lard for the health of adults and children are discussed by nutritionists and doctors.

There are both supporters of the use of such pork and ardent opponents of its use. Despite all the controversy, the product is very popular and loved in the country.

IN Ancient Rome this product was eaten by slaves. For them it was cheap and nutritious food. And the peasants who lived in Rus', since the 18th century, ate mainly lard. Still from the beginning Mongol invasions pigs belonging to livestock, were not considered a tribute. At that time, such food was almost the only type of meat. What in reality, is such a food product really needed? What are the benefits and harms of lard for humans, in what form can it be eaten and how much?

Composition, calorie content, nutritional value

This product is called internal fat or nutritional reserve accumulated by an animal under the skin: in the abdominal region, near the kidneys . Pork lard contains a number of useful to people components:

Most important role the product contains fatty arachidonic acid polyunsaturated acid. It has a positive effect on the functioning of the brain and heart, kidneys, leads to normalization of blood counts, and removes harmful excess cholesterol. So, doctors, knowing about rare properties lard, is often advised to patients who have high cholesterol, eat daily small piece lard (salted), which helps normalize cholesterol deposits in the body.

In this case, you can add garlic to the portion., which is also useful in increasing cholesterol, it increases the effect of the effect. Among others fatty acids with beneficial properties, the composition of pork fat includes: linoleic, stearic, linolenic, oleic, palmitic acid. Total acids in the fat layer reaches 39 g and the biological activity of the product exceeds butter six times.

Lecithin present in fat has a beneficial effect on the vascular and cellular systems of the body, making them stronger and more elastic. The product has a high calorie content: 100 g contains 902 kcal. Energy value it consists in the amount of fat (93 g) and protein (more than 1 g).

Types and benefits of lard

This product can be prepared salted, pickled, boiled, smoked, or fried. It is useful to eat salted or pickled lard. The rest of its varieties are useless for health, and sometimes even harmful. Although harm is a relative concept.

Eg, integral part The fat layer is pork skin, its benefits and harms in one case lie in its composition rich in valuable components, in the other - fried foods are unhealthy, but when cooking in fat, 5 times less harmful substances are released than when frying in vegetable oil. The subcutaneous fat layer of an animal accumulates substances with high physiological activity.

Their value lies in the following:

What are the benefits of the product for women?

Ordinary lard will help women maintain their attractiveness, despite its increased calorie content. This is explained by the fact that the unsaturated acids included in the product break down rather than accumulate fats. Daily use small amounts of the product will reduce your waistline. And at the same time, the body has enough nutrition to stock up on energy. The presence of selenium in the product, a powerful antioxidant, allows you to remove free radicals from the body and prevents its aging.

Pregnant and nursing mothers can consume this fat to their benefit. The components it contains help preserve and restore their strength. To facilitate this process, the smart female body creates fat accumulations in in moderation, which lard helps perfectly with.

Thanks to the presence of acids in it (linoleic, palmitic, oleic), hormonal levels are maintained, the fetus develops normally, and amniotic fluid is formed.

Benefits for men

Often, lard serves as a tasty and necessary snack for men. However, he also has beneficial features. So, a piece of salsa eaten before the meal alcoholic drink, significantly reduces the level of intoxication. Selenium by increase male power the body is even compared to Viagra. For severe physical work a small fatty piece will give a man more strength than a piece of meat or a sandwich (with butter). This quality allows the product to be included in the menu of athletes.

Benefits for children

To this day, this issue remains controversial. Salo, like fish fat, useful for the child. It's all about the amount that a child can eat without causing damage to his health. Even one year old baby lard will not cause harm if consumed in small quantities. Children should be given no more than 15 g per day. It is better to introduce this product into the menu for children older than 2 years.

At such a time, their body is adapted to assimilate various foods. At the salo positive impact on the child’s body, his gastrointestinal tract. It is better for children to take the product from trusted points of sale to prevent children from becoming infected with helminths. For the same reason, lard is boiled for children. For a child, it is preferable to choose lard. To obtain it, you need to slowly melt the lard until fat forms. The most useful components for lard, concentrated from the lard skin at a distance of 25 mm.

To whom should the product be restricted?

The main thing to remember when consuming lard is to keep it in moderation. Considering that this tasty food, you still can’t overeat it. People should be careful when taking lard:

• overweight;
• with diseases of the pancreas and urinary tract;
• metabolic disorders;
• With diabetes mellitus, in which you should not eat spicy, salty foods.

Daily intake

Teenagers can eat no more than 50 g of lard per day. For adults, product consumption rates depend on a number of circumstances:

What do you eat lard with?

It goes well with vegetables. Fried pieces of the product will perfectly complement potatoes, omelette, rice porridge, buckwheat. If lard is overcooked, the resulting greaves contain carcinogens and are of no benefit to the body. Lard is used for baking, frying meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, and other products. It makes delicious potatoes. Harmful components will not be released, because if you follow the instructions for preparing lard and melt it slowly, the lard will not burn.

Garlic is added to lard and the resulting mixture is used to spread on sandwiches, adding spices, herbs, and nuts. People who want to reduce their weight should not eat lard in combination with potatoes and bread.

How to choose the right product?

To purchase tasty and useful product, you need to choose it correctly. Fresh goods are usually purchased at the market. It is good if the seller is the owner of the animal whose fat is being sold. This means that you can obtain comprehensive information regarding pig feed, on which the quality of lard directly depends.

When choosing, you should pay attention to the presence of a special mark on the product, veterinary certificate. The freshness of the product is determined by its pinkish or white tint. Pink color lard indicates that during slaughter the pig was not drained of blood, which then penetrated into the fat layers.

Lard storage

A fresh product, without loss of beneficial properties and taste, can be stored in the refrigerator for about 10 days, in the freezer - up to 4 months. When smoked, the product lasts in the refrigerator for up to six months, and in the freezer compartment for a year or more. When storing lard inside an airtight glass container, its shelf life in the refrigerator will be approximately 3 years. Salted lard can be kept in a cold place for up to a month, and frozen for up to a year.

The use of fat in treatment and cooking

This product as folk remedy has been used since ancient times. They treat:

• various colds;
• trauma, inflammation;
• sore joints (arthritis);
• mastitis in nursing mothers;
• toothache;
• eczema, conditions after operations, serious illnesses, spurs on the heels, for which they prepare medicinal tincture from lard, celandine juice, egg white, nightshade herbs.

Gastrointestinal fat

Internal (internal) has long proven itself to be good pork fat, used for cough. The use of fat does not cause side effects and allergies. By the way, they use visceral fat other representatives of animals and birds. Fat has a looser structure than lard, so it can crumble easily. If you melt it, you get pork fat. It can be cooked into food and used for healing.

Lamb fat

To make it, you need to render raw lamb (sheep) lard. It has a peculiar smell, which is why the product is not very popular among Europeans. And among the peoples Central Asia such fat is an integral part of national cuisine. The benefits and harms of lamb fat lie in the fact that this fat is considered more useful than many other fats in terms of the presence of valuable substances and balanced composition.

Beef fat

This type of fat is very beneficial for the body due to its composition., although it is not very popular. Previously, candles were made from it, filled lamps, and used as a smear. What is the benefit of beef fat now, what to do with it? This fat has found its use in the production of soap, cosmetology, medicine, cooking for cookies, preparing meat, vegetables and other dishes.

Whether to eat lard or not is up to the individual to decide and it depends on his taste. You should not refuse because the product is harmful. It is empowering and useful. You just need to know when to stop and take into account contraindications for using such a product.

A product such as lard is in great demand. It is commonly eaten in many countries. Today there is still debate among scientists about the benefits of this product nutrition. It has been proven that lard has high nutritional value. It is absorbed much faster and easier by the human body than meat. Also impressive chemical composition lard What is the main benefit of lard? And who can the product harm?

Useful composition of lard

This product is usually salted or smoked. Salted lard would be more natural and retain all the beneficial components. It is its components that we will consider. Recent research in the food industry has proven that lard has much more benefits than harm. So, few people know that subcutaneous animal fat is saturated various vitamins. This is mainly a group of fat-soluble vitamins: E, A, D, PP, F. The product also contains ascorbic acid and vitamin B group.

This vitamin composition is very rarely found in any one product. During the cooking process, pork lard cannot be cooked. Therefore, such a product completely preserves everything useful material. Salted lard contains high level antioxidants. Everyone knows about the benefits of these substances. The highest concentrations among them are selenium, carotene, and lecithin.

Among the microelements that saturate pork fat, it is worth highlighting the following:

• Potassium;
• Copper;
• Zinc;
• Calcium;
• Magnesium;
• Phosphorus;
• Sodium;
• Iron.

This chemical composition supports the organisms of those people who are forced to live and work in harsh climates. The main value of lard lies in its content of large amounts of fatty acids. Thus, fatty acids are represented by oleic, linoleic, palmitic, arachidonic, linolenic, and stearic acids. This complex is considered ideal for the human body.

How many calories are in pork lard?

Despite such a useful chemical composition, the use of lard should be treated with caution. Lard is not included in the list dietary products. And its calorie content is staggering. So, in 100 grams of lard there are 800 kcal. This is too high a figure considering the other foods a person eats during the day. Therefore, doctors recommend eating fresh lard every day, but not more than 30-50 grams.

Speaking of other substances nutritional value, the product contains virtually no carbohydrates. All energy comes only from calories. There is also little protein in pork fat - no more than 2.5 grams per 100 grams of pulp. Fats have the highest level among BJUs. 100 grams of pork product contains almost 90 grams of fat. This fact also depends on this type of food.

Beneficial properties of pork lard

Animal in its subcutaneous fat accumulates a large amount of biologically active substances that are very useful human body. So, you should immediately understand your cholesterol levels. Many, hearing given word panic. It is generally accepted that the less cholesterol, the better. This is not entirely true. Cholesterol is included in cell membranes, and tissues of the human body. Its critical low level will lead to disruption of the functioning of these systems.

Regular, moderate consumption of lard will keep cholesterol levels at the proper level. And the amount of bad cholesterol, which leads to atherosclerosis, will decrease. The uniqueness of the product lies in the fact that lard is capable of binding and removing radionuclides, toxins, and heavy metals. This greatly facilitates the work of the liver.

Experts have long proven that pork subcutaneous fat has anti-cancer properties. It is useful to use during treatment and prevention oncological diseases. Among other beneficial properties of bacon, it is worth highlighting the following:

• Quick restoration of strength and energy after heavy physical activity;
• Strengthening the heart muscle, improving its function;
• Prevention of kidney diseases;
• Activation of mental activity;
• Active growth of muscle mass;
• Normalization of work digestive system;
• Cleaning the biliary tract;
• Normalization hormonal levels.

Due to its rich vitamin composition, doctors advise consuming lard in moderation to strengthen the immune system and increase the body's protective functions. It has also been proven that lard can eliminate pain in joints, bones, and head. Therefore, we can conclude that bacon has analgesic, immunomodulatory, antiseptic, antibacterial, and anticancer properties.

The benefits of lard for women, men and children

Very useful product for female body. Thus, due to the normalization of hormonal levels, stable menstrual cycle. Also, with regular consumption of lard, women experience a decrease pain syndrome during menstruation. In addition, doctors insist on using this product to reduce the growth and eliminate uterine fibroids. Even once the uterus is on initial stage can be stopped with this diet.

No matter how strange it may sound, lard helps get rid of extra pounds. All thanks to a large amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which break down subcutaneous fat, making the waist thinner and the figure attractive. Vitamin composition, selenium slow down the aging process in the body. Against the background of such nutrition, the skin will become more elastic, small facial wrinkles will be smoothed out. Doctors advise women to eat lard after childbirth to restore strength and immunity.

The benefits of lard for men

Pork lard is a male product. Men's feasts and get-togethers are not complete without such a snack. What are the benefits of lard for men's health? Firstly, only 10 grams of lard eaten before noisy feast, will reduce Negative influence alcohol on the body. A man will not get drunk so quickly, and in the morning there will be no hangover.

Thanks to microelements such as zinc, potassium and selenium, the snack has a beneficial effect on male potency. Therefore, the product is called natural aphrodisiac, natural Viagra. So, these components provide the following benefits:

• Strengthen the synthesis of the sex hormone testosterone;
• Normalize blood pressure;
• Accelerate blood flow to the penis during arousal;
• Improves the quality of ejaculate.

Useful product for athletes. A small amount of lard will quickly restore strength after a hard workout and speed up the process of building muscle tissue.

Is there any benefit from lard to a child’s body?

Today there is still debate about the benefits of lard for children. The fact is that in order to provide benefits, you need to give the child a certain amount of the product. And it is unacceptable to exceed its norm. So, optimal daily dose lard for a child is 15 grams. This amount will only bring benefits.

You can introduce the product into your diet from the age of two. This food is absorbed very quickly and does not cause fermentation processes in the intestines. Also, against the background of such nutrition, the baby will be able to establish faster general immunity, develop nervous system. Children can make small sandwiches using lard.

Permissible dosage

For an adult, healthy person, and a teenager is allowed to consume 30-50 grams of lard per day. Also, when choosing a dosage, it is worth considering some features:

• In case of obesity, the amount of fat per day is reduced to 20 grams;
• At sedentary Life is allowed to consume no more than 40 grams of lard in combination with black bread;
• For athletes and physical active people you need to eat 60 grams of the product;
• Pregnant girls can eat up to 30 grams of bacon without salt.

How to choose a good product?

For salsa to bring only benefits, you need to eat only quality product. After all, subcutaneous pork fat does not pass heat treatment, pathogenic microorganisms can persist in it. The main rule of choice is to avoid purchasing lard in the store. In supermarkets and stores it is very difficult to ensure the freshness of goods.

It is advised to choose salsa at markets, but not spontaneous ones. As a rule, sellers independently produce a product that does not sit stale. Also, at the market there is an opportunity to try the product and evaluate it taste qualities. The basic purchasing rules include the following:

• Each piece of snack must have a stamp on it, which indicates that it has passed veterinary control;
• The seller must provide a certificate of product quality;
• High-quality lard has a pinkish, white color;
• A yellow tint indicates that the product is not fresh;
• The product should not have a rotten or unpleasant odor;
• The skin of lard is only without bristles and hairs;
• Skin color quality product- brown, yellow;
• The lard should be medium soft;
• You should not buy a piece that is too thin (all useful substances accumulate in at least 2.5 cm of fat);
• For baking, you should choose lard from the neck, and for salting - from the back and sides.

Harm of lard

Of course, like any other product, pork fat can cause harm to the body. So, lard is harmful to those people who have high cholesterol levels. Also, you should not abuse lard if you have atherosclerosis, or after a stroke or heart attack. Individual intolerance to such snacks is no exception.

Thus, there are cases of allergies to individual components. Animal protein intolerance is very often diagnosed. In this case, lard is completely excluded from the menu. Also, the harm of lard can be traced in the presence of the following diseases:

• period of exacerbation peptic ulcer stomach;
• Period of exacerbation of gastritis;
• Pancreatitis;
• Heart diseases;
• Obesity;
• Cholelithiasis;
• Serious liver pathologies.

Lard has a high level of fat, which affects metabolic processes in organism. Experts advise to refrain from using it in postoperative period. In all other cases, with moderate consumption, the snack will only bring benefits.

There is constant debate about the benefits and harms of lard, although almost everyone loves it (I don’t take vegetarians into account). Well, who would refuse a pink slice, pleasantly smelling of garlic, placed on a piece of black bread. Although, of course, this product is very high in calories and should be consumed in large quantities Not recommended.

If anyone doesn’t know, lard is not only a tasty, high-calorie snack, but also a product that is good for health. It contains useful substances necessary for normal operation body and maintaining health.

Most men love lard; a small piece can be given to a child. Women, although they try to take care of their figure, do not miss the opportunity to enjoy it. And they do it right, as it is good for their health. Let's find out why lard is beneficial for women, let's talk about what diseases it acts as a medicine for. We will also find out how to choose a high-quality, useful product when purchasing.

Why is lard good for women?

I would like to note right away that lard contains very useful arachidonic acid, which belongs to unsaturated fats, is one of the essential fatty acids needed by the body and is part of the cells. Arachidonic acid is essential to keep the liver, heart and brain healthy and functioning properly. Lard also contains other beneficial natural acids.

In addition, lard contains vitamins A and E. All women know very well that cosmetologists call them beauty vitamins. Therefore, a small amount of lard included in the diet helps smooth out wrinkles and rejuvenate the skin of the face and body.

Cosmetology companies have known this for a long time. Therefore, entire lines of popular cosmetics are produced based on this product. Well, in the good old days, women used lard to protect their facial skin from wind and frost. They were wiping a small piece open areas of skin. The result was excellent protective and nutritional.

Modern representatives of the fair sex achieve a beautiful tan with the help of lard. Do you know how? They wipe the skin with a thin slice, which helps the tan to apply evenly and protects the skin from sunburn.

If we talk about harmful saturated fats, they are also present in it. Saturated fats are the culprits of an increase in bad cholesterol - the main cause of atherosclerosis. However, cholesterol levels will increase if the product is overused. If you eat lard little by little and not often, you don’t have to worry about atherosclerosis.

Salo is like medicine

There is an old proven remedy for laryngitis. When your voice disappears (and this is common with laryngitis), you need to chew a piece of lard for several minutes. The voice is restored almost instantly.

Using a fresh product, warts are successfully removed. To do this, lard without skin needs to be melted in a frying pan. Pour into a bowl, sprinkle with garlic pulp, keeping the proportion 1 x 2. Mix everything well. Apply the warm mixture to the wart, secure with a band-aid, and then bandage it. You need to do this every day. Soon the wart will go away.

Lard is good for women who are breastfeeding. In the old days, it was used to escape mastitis. The melted, unsalted product was used to smear the cracks in the nipples between feedings.

If someone in your household has a toothache, help him relieve the pain with a piece of salted lard. You just need to place a small thin slice on the sore tooth, and then lie down for a while with your mouth tightly closed so that air does not enter the tooth. Usually the pain goes away within 15-20 minutes.

Salo will help women suffering varicose veins. To do this, apply thin slices to the area of ​​dilated veins, and then bandage your leg with a bandage. Well, if you are tormented by hemorrhoids, make rectal suppositories from slices of old, stale lard, ground with fresh onions.

How to choose a quality product?

When purchasing, choose a good, quality product. Look at the piece from all sides. Good young lard is always light pink. If it is yellow on the cut, it means the product is old (or the animal was old). It's better not to take this one. Good non-frozen lard is always soft, reminiscent of butter. Frozen, naturally firm but easy to cut. The skin should be thin, moderately soft, without bristles and should come off easily.

When purchasing at the market, always ask the seller for documents related to the product, such as a veterinary certificate. If they refuse to provide it to you, then it is better not to buy such a product. Suddenly the pig was sick during life. Also look at the carcass. The skin must bear a mark indicating that the carcass has passed veterinary inspection.

Salted lard can be stored in the refrigerator for about a month. If you cook it, you can increase the shelf life to 4 months. It is better to store marinated in glass jars in the cold. Well, the most The best way storage - wrap it in a paper bag or thick cloth, and then put it in the freezer.

Pork lard is considered a traditional Ukrainian food, but it is also loved and respected in many other countries. It occupies a particularly honorable place in the diet of rural residents. This one is extremely tasty and nutritious product is an excellent source of energy and valuable substances. The main factors that determine the benefits of fat are vitamins, calorie content, and the composition of the product.

What does the product contain?

Salted lard has many beneficial properties due to its rich chemical composition. Among its components you can see fatty acids, minerals, and antioxidants. The product is rich fat-soluble vitamins A, E, F, D, B, C, PP, which are easily digestible. It contains minerals and trace elements such as phosphorus, copper, zinc, calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium.

Essential fatty acids for the body improve the functioning of the brain and other organs, restore tissue, and participate in hematopoiesis. The following composition of acids can be distinguished in lard:

• linoleic;
• oleic;
• arachidonic;
• palmitic;
• linolenic;
• stearic

If we judge the benefits and harms of salty foods, lard contains arachidonic acid, which has a wide spectrum positive qualities. It is necessary for the formation of hormones, cholesterol metabolism, the construction of cell membranes, and the functioning of many organs.

The chemical composition of lard also includes substances such as selenium, lecithin and carotene, which have a beneficial effect on vision, blood vessels and are antioxidants. Despite the cholesterol content, this product still remains beneficial when consumed in moderation.

Calorie content of lard

Lard is a product with a high calorie content, which depends on thickness, fiber content, and the presence of a meat layer. On average it is 770 kilocalories per 100 grams. However, this is compensated biological value of this product, because it consists of 85% saturated and unsaturated acids, triglycerides, cholesterol.

Nutritionists recommend eating the product in the morning, what affects high calorie content salted lard. The benefits and harms of salted lard depend on human health. It will charge your body with energy for the whole day. Since lard is very nutritious, you will not feel hungry for a long time. A piece of this delicious food, eaten for breakfast, will enhance the removal of bile accumulated in the body overnight and help cleanse the body.

Useful qualities of the product

Salted lard contains many valuable substances for the body. Its benefits and harms depend on many factors, but there are many more positive qualities. It is best to consume subcutaneous fat rather than intramuscular fat. The most useful are 2.5 cm from the skin, tarred without help chemicals. Salted lard with garlic and herbs has an excellent effect on health.

Lard melts at body temperature, so it is easily digested. It will not cause constipation or upset. Enveloping the walls of the esophagus, fat protects against harmful effects alcohol. Fat has a positive effect on all organs and tissues and prevents them from wearing out prematurely. It strengthens the immune system, maintains vitality, nourishes and saturates the body with energy.

Salted lard contains cholesterol, but despite this, it prevents its accumulation. This product is able to cleanse blood vessels from deposits of harmful substances. Salo frees the liver from salts heavy metals. It combines radionuclides and toxins, promoting their removal from the body.

What harm is there from lard?

Salted lard, the benefits and harms of which depend on the amount of consumption, can lead to undesirable consequences. It should be eaten in moderation. This is due, first of all, to the high fat content and calorie content of this product. Uncontrolled eating can lead to disturbances in the digestive system, weight gain and, as a result, obesity. The consequence can be very high cholesterol levels in the body.

• gastrointestinal tract;
• cardiovascular system (especially with atherosclerosis);
• liver;
• gallbladder.

After surgical operations lard should be gradually introduced into the diet, and only after consulting a doctor, because fatty product may cause metabolic disorders or changes blood pressure. The situation is similar for women who have just given birth and are breastfeeding. Salty lard can cause colic and bloating in a baby. Its benefits and harms for children under 3 years of age are not precisely known. It is better not to give them lard, because this puts excessive stress on the pancreas.

Medicinal properties

Thanks to many medicinal properties lard is often used in folk medicine, only for this purpose it is used in fresh, unsalted form. It perfectly helps in treatment, as well as in recovery from various diseases.

The product is used for colds and bronchitis - consumed orally, and also rubbed on the chest and legs for a warming effect. For joint pain, lard and honey are applied in the form of compresses. It is good remedy with the appearance of heel spurs, varicose veins, mastitis, hemorrhoids. If you have a toothache, apply a lightly salted piece to your gum. This will reduce or even eliminate discomfort. The product mixed with garlic is an excellent panacea for warts. For fast healing used for wounds and eczema. The benefits and harms of lard depend on whether it is salted or not.

Known healing qualities product and cosmetologists. Lard is often used to prepare creams because it is an excellent conductor into the skin. It rejuvenates, smoothes, softens, protects the skin from the effects of wind, sun, and frost.

Culinary qualities

Lard is eaten in in different forms- salted, smoked, fried, baked, boiled. However, you should not get carried away with a product that has undergone heat treatment, since it loses its beneficial properties and is more difficult for the body to digest. The most valuable and rich in vitamins is salted lard; its benefits and harms depend only on the quantity and frequency of use.

This product is used both independently and for preparing other dishes - appetizers, sausages, cutlets, soups, etc. They eat salted lard with bread, cereals, and vegetables. You should not eat it in unlimited quantities; 50 grams per day is enough. It is not advisable to drink water for an hour after eating lard.

So that the product has useful qualities, it must be chosen carefully. Good lard that is beautiful to look at and soft to the touch should not have streaks of blood. For better preservation salted lard should be kept in the refrigerator. If the product has turned yellow, it means that it is no longer fresh, valuable substances in it have oxidized, and it cannot be eaten.

“People get fat not from lard, but from the amount of it”(folk wisdom).

“Pork lard with bread is just what the doctor ordered”. True, you need black bread, grain bread, made from wholemeal flour or with bran.

Since then, when people learned to store meat, they discovered the value of lard. The peoples of Europe and those former Europeans who moved to other continents especially love lard and have been eating it salted, smoked, boiled and fried for centuries. At all times, lard occupied an honorable place in the menu of rural residents, especially when there were no refrigerators.

The consumption of lard by our non-Muslim peoples (Muslims prefer and know how to store sheep lard) especially increased in those centuries when Rus' was raided by nomads who stole livestock and people, but did not touch pigs (you can’t drive them far - their legs are short). Pork lard has always helped the villagers out - tasty, fast and convenient. And the feasts couldn’t be done without him. By the way, lard saves you from a hangover! Now even official medicine recognizes the benefits of lard for people of all ages. Unlike the fat of other animals.

Real lard is subcutaneous fat with skin. It is most useful when salted, with garlic or pepper. But the British and Americans eat intramuscular fat with bacon or cervix, and that’s why they get fat. The Germans eat boiled lard with potatoes, which also does not contribute to a slim figure.

Cells have been preserved in the subcutaneous fat of pigs and biologically active substances, which determines its usefulness. It contains a lot of vitamins A, D, E and carotene. Pork lard contains: important substance, How arachidonic acid , which refers to polyunsaturated fatty acids. This substance is found in heart tissue, brain, kidneys, it is necessary to improve their functioning. Pork lard has anti-cancer properties, removes toxins from the body, cleanses blood vessels from “bad” cholesterol (especially together with garlic).

It should be noted that arachidonic acid, necessary for the body person, contained only in pork fat and is not found in vegetable oils. Judging by the composition of substances useful to humans, lard is necessary for maintaining immunity and general health. vitality, especially in the cold season. Only seal oil can compare with it; by the way, it is similar in composition. The biological activity of lard is higher than that of butter or what we now sell under the guise of butter, about 5 times. Pork lard is also useful because it melts at a temperature human body and, as a result, is better absorbed by the body.

In folk medicine, it is used for many diseases: for pain in the joints, to improve their mobility in case of injuries, for weeping eczema, against toothache and mastitis, for treatment heel spurs and from a hangover. By the way, the combination of lard with vegetables - great diet! Good combination - salted lard and vegetables seasoned with unrefined sunflower oil and (or) natural apple or grape vinegar.

In conclusion, I would like to note that a person needs to take 10% polyunsaturated, 30% saturated and 60% monounsaturated fatty acids with food. This content is found only in peanut and olive oil, and also... in pork lard! So those who love lard, eat to your health, but know when to stop!