The Benefits Of Natural Animal Fats
We've all either grown up during (or lived through) a number of decades when the official advice was to cut down your intake of saturated animal fats. We were told margarine and processed vegetable oils were fine, but don't have any of that horrible animal fat if you value your health.... Turns out nothing could be further from the truth, and documented science has now finally caught up with this.
It's now common knowledge that PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids) and omega 6 overload causes inflammation and all sorts of other issues in the human body, and that the natural animal-sourced fats which have been consumed for millennia, were wrongly vilified for so long.
Ancel Keys rolled out his 'diet-heart hypothesis' in the 1950's using cherry picked data (and it was later confirmed; this was funded by the seed oil industry). How many countless lives could have been saved or improved, if only more questions were asked at the time.
What's exciting is that the science has finally caught up with what traditional cultures knew all along. We'll never see apologies from governments and advisers who promoted the wrong things as they'll don't want to open themselves for litigation, but quietly and gradually the guidelines get changed and we are seeing more and more demand for the good stuff from folks who have done their own research.
So, a little bit about our specific products:
Tallow has a high smoke point (around 220c) so is great for high temperature cooking, meaning it's less likely to oxidise and release harmful free radicals. It's rich in the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K & B12, as well as beneficial conjugated linoleic acids and much more - it's a high-powered nutritional complex. These nutrients are crucial for bone & skin health, as well as immunity and antioxidant production.
Ghee has an even higher smoke point at 250c. Same applies as above about high temperature cooking. It's really high in fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K2 (K2 isn't found in many other places and is crucial for bone and tooth health amongst other things). High levels of conjugated linoleic acid are found, and it's a great aid for healthy digestion due to its content of butyrate which is an essential short-chain-fatty acid that works as a detoxifier and aids production of gastric acid. It's usually good for those with casein or lactose sensitivities, as virtually all of this has been removed in the process of converting the milk to Ghee.
A lot of milk goes into each pot of Ghee, we like to think of it as a way of concentrating the nutrients as much as possible. The process involves skimming and culturing the cream, churning the butter, then cooking the butter slowly on a gentle heat for an extended period of time. This all happens in our farmhouse dairy and is quite labour intensive, but we're sure it's worth it!
As you know, all our cattle, both dairy cows (who produce the milk for the Ghee) and beef cattle (Tallow), are 100% grass and pasture fed, so the omega 3 to 6 ratio will be off the charts, as well as the other nutritional components. And of course, they're all organically raised, with zero medications. Serious clean nutrition.