"A spoonful of lard equals five medicines" is a nonsense

Ma Guansheng, Professor, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Peking University

The mention of lard is always shunned and replaced by vegetable oil

Whether the oil is good or not depends on the fatty acid

Before analyzing the health effects of different lipids, it is necessary to clarify the name of lipids

Dietary oils and fats are mainly derived from animal adipose tissue, meat, nuts and plant seeds.

Animal adipose tissue: lard, tallow, suet, chicken oil, etc.

Meat: pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, fish, meat, etc.

Nuts: walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, watermelon seeds,

Plant seeds: peanuts, soybeans, rapeseeds, sesame seeds, corn, olives, sunflower seeds, etc.

Fats and oils contain saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids

The health effects of oils and fats from different sources depend primarily on the composition of fatty acids

It is better to eat less animal oil

Generally speaking, the higher the degree of saturation of the fatty acid, the longer the carbon chain, and the higher the melting point

Animal fat has good taste and special flavor, and is often used to cook some special dishes or snacks

Vegetable-derived oils contain more unsaturated fatty acids and are liquid at room temperature, such as soybean oil

　　Vegetable oils contain fatty acids that are beneficial to health, but they should not be consumed in excess

　　Different vegetable oils have different fatty acid compositions and different nutritional characteristics

Remember three points for healthy eating oil

　　In the past 20 years, the consumption of vegetable oil by urban and rural residents in China has exceeded the recommended amount in the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents"

　　When cooking with a variety of edible oils, peanut oil, soybean oil, and rapeseed oil can be used

　　Controlled intake of trans fatty acids Studies have shown that excessive intake of trans fatty acids increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, and may also increase the risk of allergies, asthma,
etc.
There are two sources of trans fatty acids, one is natural food, such as beef, lamb, milk and dairy products
.
The second is the source of processing, which is mainly produced during the hydrogenation and refining of vegetable oils.
When cooking food, the oil temperature is too high and the time is too long, and a small amount of trans fatty acids will be produced
.
Trans fatty acids are commonly found in margarine, cream cakes and other Western pastries, baked and fried foods such as biscuits, crackers, puff pastry, fried noodles, doughnuts, French fries, fried potato chips, fried chicken Blocks, etc.
, as well as chocolate, salad dressings and other foods
.

　　In addition, when purchasing prepackaged foods, consumers should also pay attention to reading the food nutrition labels, and try to avoid purchasing products labeled with vegetable hydrogenated oil, margarine (milk) oil, artificial vegetable yellow (milk) oil, artificial fat, hydrogenated oil , shortening,
etc.

"China Food News" (November 29, 2021 03 edition)

　　(Editor in charge: Luo Chen)