Why Animal Fat is THE BEST! And How to Get It for Free

So, I have this really cool deal worked out with the meat department at Whole Foods where they save me some grassfed beef fat and bones for free every Thursday morning when they do their trimming. You might be thinking, "What in the world is she going to do with fat and bones?!" Why, make bone broth and lard, of course! Both highly called for on the GAPS diet, though apparently completely undervalued by the Western culture at large. In fact, I'm rendering 5 lbs of pastured beef fat as we speak (AKA - put it in the crock pot and wait for it to melt). How awesome is that?

But, don't we all know that animal fat is highly saturated and is supposed to be bad for our hearts and arteries and things? Think again. Dr. Natasha does a great job in her chapter on fats explaining the faulty science that started the saturated fat scare and why animal fat is actually the preferred source of energy for the human body.

Dr. Natasha says that the anti-saturated fat craze is "a result of the relentless efforts made by the food industry to fight their competition. What is their competition? The natural fats, of course. There is not much profit to be made from natural fats..." (ah-hem, excuse my interruption, but my free grass-fed beef fat is a case in point) "...while processed oils and fats bring very good profits" (Campbell-McBride, 2004, 2010). Dr. Natasha goes on to explain that "real science" is, and has always been, telling us that processed, hydrogenated fats and vegetable oils are the real heart-killers and that saturated fats are the real heart protectors.

Reasons animal fat is the best:

1. It tastes great (can I hear an amen?!)
2. Animal fat is the closest in fat composition to human breast milk, which, by the way, is comprised of a surprising 48% saturated fat, 33% monounsaturated fat, and 16% polyunsaturated fat. Humans thrive on saturated fat (Campbell-McBride, 2004, 2010).
3. Eating fat does not make you fat. Dr. Natasha says, rather, "Consuming processed carbohydrates causes obesity. Dietary fats go into the structure of your body: your brain, bones, muscles, immune system, etc. - every cell in the body is made out of fats to a large degree" (Campbell-McBride, 2004, 2010). We can see that animal fats are the #1 choice of your body for providing the building blocks of brain cells, hormones, and performing many other functions.
4.  Certain animal fats (like caviar, cod liver oil, egg yolks, butter, cold water fish, and lard) provide us with rich sources of cholesterol. Bad? Nope! Dr. Natasha explains, "The truth is that we humans cannot live without cholesterol... Cholesterol is an integral and very important part of our cell membranes... In many cells, almost half of the cell wall is made from cholesterol... The human brain is particularly rich in cholesterol: 25% of all body cholesterol is taken by the brain... Myelin coats every nerve cell and every nerve fiber... 20% of myelin is cholesterol... People who start losing their myelin develop a condition called multiple sclerosis. In my clinical experience, foods with high cholesterol and high animal fat content are an essential medicine for people with GAPS and multiple sclerosis... After the brain the organs hungriest for cholesterol are our endocrine glands: adrenals and sex glands." Wow! So my brain fog, adrenal stress, and PMS could all be partially a lack of lard in my diet. I can fix that!

Well, Dr. Natasha has a lot more to say about fats, but I can't repeat it all here. You will have to buy the book for yourself here.

So check with your local grocery's meat department to see if you can arrange your own fat deal with them. Bring it home and throw it in your own Brothpot or else put it in a large roaster in the oven at about 250 degrees fahrenheit for a few hours. When all the fat has turned to liquid, strain it through some cheesecloth, pour in a glass jar, and store in the fridge. It will keep for a long time.

Gotta love that "No Charge" in the upper right corner!

In the Brothpot and ready to be rendered!

After one hour on "high" and 1-2 hours on "low." Making progress.

References:
Campbell-McBride, Natasha, M.D. (2004, 2010). Gut and Psychology Syndrome. Cambridge, UK: Medinform Publishing.  p. 255-276.