The next health fad: beef tallow

RFK Jr is touting the health benefits of beef tallow. Many people believe French fries cooked in beef tallow taste better, but healthier? Where did this idea come from?

“Kennedy’s belief that using tallow could help “Make America Healthy Again” echoes a claim that has spread on social media about seed oils. Many believe because seed oils are often found in processed foods, like chips and packaged desserts, animal fats like tallow and butter are healthier.”

But as we know, correlation ≠ causation.

“People are blaming the seed oils when that’s not what’s toxic,” she said. “It’s the sugar and salt in the junk food that they’re using.”

“Compared to tallow, seed oils are thought to be “better fats,” according to Young, because they are unsaturated. Saturated fats, by contrast, generally come from animal products and have been shown to raise cholesterol, which in turn can increase the risk of heart disease.

“Tallow is “probably healthier than ultraprocessed foods high in starch, sugar and salt — but it’s less healthy than olive oil, soybean oil, canola oil or fats from nuts or avocados,” Mozaffarian said.

“Many seed oil skeptics point to a ratio of two types of fatty acids in the oils — omega-6 and omega-3 — which they say is linked to inflammation. But Christopher Gardner, the director of nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, previously told NBC News that levels of particular types of unsaturated fats are a trivial concern when it comes to evaluating how healthy a food item is.”

Both seed oils and tallow are fat. Limiting the calories in the diet that come from fat is a good idea. The source of the fat is not really a problem.

Limiting the amount of information you get from RFK Jr. is probably also a good idea.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/influencers-claim-beef-tallow-health-beauty-benefits-not-necessarily-e-rcna195206