Before reading this article, we sincerely invite you to click “Follow”, which will not only make it easier for you to engage in discussions and sharing, but also provide you with more professional health knowledge, escorting your health, thank you for your support.
We have been told by our elders since we were young that lard is nutritious and delicious, but now it seems that the current health concepts may be somewhat different.
In order to make it easier for everyone to understand and make medical popularization more vivid and interesting, I will combine a clinical case to explain further.
Sister Gui, nearly fifty years old, in addition to taking care of her family and doing household chores in her daily life, has a very special hobby – cooking.
However, Sister Gui’s cooking has a special feature, that is, she insists on using lard. In her opinion, lard can bring an unparalleled aroma and flavor to dishes.
This habit has been going on for three years. At the beginning, the whole family praised her, feeling that Sister Gui’s culinary skills were getting better and better.
But as time passed, Sister Gui began to feel less energetic than before, often feeling tired, and sometimes even feeling chest tightness. This made her feel very confused and worried, after all, she believed that she was eating “healthy homemade food”.
One day, Sister Gui accompanied her grandson to the hospital for a routine children’s health check-up. While waiting, she thought about her discomfort and decided to consult a doctor.
Sister Gui described her symptoms to Dr. Li and proudly mentioned her habit of cooking with lard.
After listening, Dr. Li looked pensive, and then asked more details about Sister Gui’s dietary habits.
He learned that in Sister Gui’s family, lard is essential in almost every meal, whether it’s stir-frying vegetables or making soup.
After understanding these situations, Dr. Li decided to conduct a comprehensive physical examination for Sister Gui, including lipid profile, blood pressure, and other related tests to determine if these symptoms were related to her dietary habits.
After the test results came out, some of Sister Gui’s indicators were indeed not ideal, especially in terms of blood lipids, which were significantly higher than the normal range, which shocked Sister Gui.
Dr. Li said that although lard can enhance the aroma of food, it is mainly composed of saturated fatty acids, which can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases if consumed in large quantities over a long period of time.
He also mentioned a large-scale epidemiological study, which showed that compared to vegetable oils, the incidence of cardiovascular diseases was significantly higher in the group of people who consumed large amounts of lard over a long period of time.
After listening, Sister Gui felt both surprised and somewhat disheartened. She thought she was making healthy choices, but didn’t expect that it might have an impact on her health. She urgently wanted to know how to adjust her diet to improve her health.
In Dr. Li Ming’s clinic, Sister Gui waited with a hint of nervousness and anticipation for the advice and solutions Dr. Li would provide. Dr. Li smiled gently, knowing that Sister Gui’s current mood was complex.
“Sister Gui, about the issue of lard, there is actually an interesting point of view that you may not have heard before,” Dr. Li began to explain, “Although lard is saturated fat and poses health risks when consumed in large quantities over a long period of time, using lard in moderation, combined with other types of edible oils such as olive oil, sunflower seed oil, can actually create a balance of fatty acids.”
Sister Gui was somewhat surprised to hear this. She didn’t expect lard to be used in this way.
Dr. Li continued, “In some recent studies, scientists have found that diversifying the sources of fat in the diet can help us better absorb various fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, E.”
He paused, seeing that Sister Gui seemed very interested in this information, and added some specific examples, “For example, you can use lard when making traditional dishes that require a special aroma.
But in daily stir-fries, you can use olive oil with higher monounsaturated fatty acids, or sunflower seed oil with higher polyunsaturated fatty acids.”
“In fact, you can mix lard with other types of oils, which not only reduces dependence on a single oil, but also makes the diet healthier,” Dr. Li’s words made Sister Gui feel enlightened. She realized that adjusting her diet was not a black-and-white matter.
Sister Gui finally understood that her previous understanding was too one-sided. She had pursued flavor blindly and neglected her health. She asked Dr. Li how to judge if her diet was reasonable.
Dr. Li briefly explained, “You can pay attention to your body’s reactions, such as whether all the indicators of the physical examination are normal, whether you easily feel tired, and how your sleep quality is.
In addition, it is necessary to regularly undergo checks on blood lipids, blood sugar, and others,” Dr. Li explained.
Sister Gui nodded, indicating that she understood. She then asked, “Doctor, can you give me some advice on how to achieve this balance of fats in daily diet?”
Dr. Li smiled and gave several specific suggestions, “For example, you can use lard for several days a week and use olive oil or other vegetable oils on other days.
When cooking, you can also mix several types of oils, such as using olive oil as the base oil for stir-frying and adding a bit of lard before serving to enhance the flavor.”
After listening, Sister Gui was very grateful for Dr. Li’s advice. She felt that these adjustments were easy to implement and indeed sounded much healthier than her previous method of using only lard.
Through this exchange, Sister Gui gained a deeper understanding and awareness of healthy eating, and understood that even traditional cooking methods can achieve both deliciousness and health without sacrificing flavor.
What do you think about lard? Welcome to the comment section for discussion!
References:
[1] Chen Yuying, Yu Lili, Application and Effectiveness of Personalized Dietary Nursing Based on Traditional Chinese Medicine Constitution Theory in the Intervention of Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Chinese Anti-Tuberculosis Journal, June 30, 2024.
