Lard is considered an original Slavic product along with vodka and rye bread.
This is a dish that is constantly present on the table for many and is an invariable companion to a regular home dinner or New Year's feast. However, it’s hard to call lard a dietary product. It’s unlikely that anyone has ever heard a gastroenterologist recommend including it in the diet. However, it cannot be said unequivocally that lard only causes harm. This product, when used correctly, has a positive effect on the human body.
Salo. Benefits and harm to the body
This product contains useful arachidonic acid, which regulates the functioning of the hormonal and cardiovascular systems.
It also has a positive effect on the immune system. Other products, such as butter or vegetable oil, do not have such acid at all.
Lard contains many vitamins, namely: E, A, D and beta-carotene. Therefore, by consuming this product regularly, you will improve your health. In addition, you replenish your vitality reserves. When the body is weakened, lard is especially useful.
This product is quickly absorbed by the body, as it melts at a temperature of 37 degrees. Digestion does not require additional energy expenditure. Based on this, we can say that one piece of lard will quickly satisfy your hunger.
To get the daily requirement of fat, you need to eat only 50 g of this product per day. Based on the above, we conclude that a lard diet limits fat consumption, but at the same time provides the body with useful substances. Therefore, doctors have recently changed their opinion about this product. Previously, nutritionists excluded lard from all weight loss programs. Currently, doctors recommend including this product in the diet of people with certain diseases. For example, lard improves the condition of the skin, vision, and also promotes the speedy recovery of the body after surgery or a long-term illness.
So is it possible to eat lard on a diet? Yes. By including such a product in your diet, you can lose weight quite smoothly without experiencing a constant feeling of hunger.
By eating a small piece of lard in the morning, you give your body strength and energy. During the day you do not feel acute attacks of hunger. In this way, you protect yourself from overeating, so even with poor nutrition, metabolic processes do not slow down. You spend all the energy you receive in a whole day.
Now let's talk about the harm. Lard is practically harmless if eaten in moderation. But when frying, carcinogens are formed as a result of fat rendering. They are extremely dangerous for the body. The product is eaten raw, therefore, in order not to become infected with helminths and not cause harm to the body, lard should be purchased from sellers who have a veterinary certificate. Also, for diseases of the stomach and liver, you should carefully consume lard so as not to lead to an exacerbation of the disease.
How long is lard digested in the stomach and in what forms is it prohibited?
All of the listed recommendations for the use of this product apply primarily to patients with atrophic and hypoacid gastritis.
In this case, stimulation of the production of digestive juices will not have a negative effect on the gastric mucosa, and the risk of consuming bacon lies only in the difficulty of digesting fatty foods.
The skin on a piece of lard is the hardest part to digest. In addition, it can injure the thinned gastric mucosa.
That is why such restrictions are imposed:
- no more than 10 g per day;
- lightly salted only;
- with potatoes or bread;
- without skin.
Reference. Lard takes at least 6 hours to digest in the human body. If you received a product that is not of the best quality, and the release of digestive enzymes is insufficient, then the process may take more than a day.
For hyperacid and erosive gastritis, it is better to stay away from lard. It will activate the already excessive secretion of hydrochloric acid and provoke a deepening of erosions. And of course, such fatty foods should not be eaten in the acute phase of stomach inflammation in any form - during this period of time the diet is most strict.
What to do if you couldn’t resist and ate a few pieces of lard, and your stomach reacted with pain, heaviness and heartburn? If you know that you suffer from a hyperacid form of gastritis, then you can take a drug that reduces the acidity of gastric juice and protects the mucous membrane: Almagel, Gaviscon, omeprazole.
If you have hypoacid or atrophic gastritis, then enzyme preparations will help: Creon, Festal, Mezim. Then, within a few days, it is better to switch to a more gentle diet, even if your health stabilizes. After such a “shake-up” the stomach needs rest.
Important! In any doubtful cases or if treatment is ineffective, you should consult a doctor.
How to buy?
First you need to properly prepare lard, which will be the main element of such a nutrition system. It is best to purchase it on the market. For the diet you need to use only fresh lard.
When purchasing a product, be sure to ask the seller for a veterinary certificate. Such a document confirms that the lard was taken from a healthy animal. This is a very important condition. The pig is a carrier of various diseases, including those to which humans are susceptible, for example, swine flu.
That terrible cholesterol
100 grams of fat contains a third of the daily requirement of this substance. But, firstly, it is not as dangerous as our own cholesterol, synthesized in the liver. Secondly, lard contains a lot of choline, and it weakens the harmful effects of cholesterol and protects blood vessels. So lard is not as harmful as we have long imagined it to be. In moderate doses (optimally 30–40 g per day) it is quite useful.
There is another powerful argument in favor of lard - it is ideal for cooking. And especially for frying, where it was traditionally used. Today they usually fry in vegetable oils, especially sunflower. So, our favorite sunflower oil along with corn oil are the worst for this. This was proven in an experiment by Professor Martin Grootveld from Leicester De Montfort University in the UK.
The so-called beneficial polyunsaturated fatty acids of vegetable oils turn into very harmful peroxides and aldehydes when frying. They contribute to the development of cancer, atherosclerosis, joint diseases, etc. It turned out that it is best to fry in oils where there are few such healthy fatty acids - olive and butter, goose fat and lard.
Yes, it is present here, but even less than in cow butter. And there is nothing wrong with it. Do you think it will immediately begin to be deposited on the walls of the arteries and atherosclerosis will begin? Nothing like this! Doctors have long established that the amount of cholesterol in the blood and tissues depends little on how much you eat.
By the way, arachidonic, linoleic and linoleic fatty acids “clean” blood vessels from deposits. So a small piece of lard with vitamin F is only beneficial in preventing atherosclerosis. And the cholesterol present in it will be used, for example, to create immune cells (lymphocytes and macrophages) that save the body from viruses and other pathogenic enemies. Even intelligence is nowhere without cholesterol - there is more than 2% of it in the brain.
How to determine if lard is good?
High-quality lard has a uniform white color. There are no yellowish or grayish tints on the product. There are also no blood streaks. The ideal thickness is considered to be 2.5 cm. Such lard should be elastic, not very hard. If it spreads or has a loose structure, then it is better to refuse such a purchase.
If you press on the fat with your finger, a hole should form, which quickly levels out. This is a sign of a good product. The skin of high-quality lard is soft, smooth, and has no remaining bristles.
With bread? In no case!
Paradox: lard with bread is just what the doctor ordered! An amazing natural combination in which both products are perfectly absorbed. Of course, we do not mean donut buns, but grain bread, made from wholemeal flour or with the addition of bran. Of course, this is for healthy people who are not obese or have digestive problems.
When losing weight, don’t forget about lard: it is an excellent source of energy. A dietary option is to eat lard with vegetables, for example, cabbage. You can have a bite, or you can make a hodgepodge with it, just don’t overcook it.
But it’s really not worth putting gastronomic joys like bacon on bread. In general, when losing weight, they are allowed in microscopic quantities - about 5 g. But this is quite enough to add flavor, for example, to the usual stewed cabbage, carrots or beets.
Cooking technology
For your diet, one kilogram of product will be enough. Cut the lard into thirty equal pieces. This is enough for the entire thirty-day diet.
Then take an enamel pan. Place three hundred grams of onion peels there. Fill with water (two liters). Boil over low heat for about 60 minutes. Then leave it to stand overnight. The next morning, strain the broth. Immerse the lard in it. Cook for 10 minutes.
Leave the lard in the broth until evening. Then drain the water. After the lard has dried, roll in spices. You can use cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander and cloves.
Store the finished lard in the freezer. Take out one piece every day. Never use a microwave oven for defrosting. Just take out the lard and leave it on the table for fifteen minutes. At room temperature it will be quickly ready for use. Be sure to follow the diet rules. We will consider them further.
Lard is all fat
And great! Because this is an excellent structure - subcutaneous fat, in which cells and biologically active substances are preserved.
For example, the most valuable of fatty acids is polyunsaturated arachidonic acid. It is found very rarely; it is not found in vegetable oils at all. There is no way to live without her. Arachidonic acid is part of all cell membranes and is needed by the heart muscle. In addition, hormones, immune reactions and cholesterol metabolism cannot function without it.
There are also other essential fatty acids (they are called vitamin F) - linoleic, linolenic, palmitic, oleic. In terms of their content, by the way, lard is close to vegetable oils. Don't forget about fat-soluble vitamins A (up to 1.5 mg per 100 g), D, E, as well as carotene. As a result, the biological activity of lard is 5 times higher than that of oil. So in winter, “pork product” is just what you need to maintain vitality and immunity.
Rules
The lard diet really works for weight loss. It is considered to be the most effective nutritional system for those who have a slow metabolism. This means that a lard diet effectively helps you lose extra pounds and prevents you from gaining excess weight when a person starts eating as usual.
But in order for the diet to work, you need to follow the basic principles:
- In the morning on an empty stomach, eat one piece of lard.
- After thirty to forty minutes, be sure to have breakfast with oatmeal or buckwheat porridge without oil.
- In the morning, to speed up your metabolism, you are allowed to drink a cup of coffee, of course, without sugar.
- All animal fat, except for a piece of lard, had to be excluded from the diet. You should not eat fatty fish or meat.
- Egg consumption will have to be limited. You can eat no more than two pieces per day. Egg yolk is undoubtedly healthy, as it contains a large amount of lecithin, which stimulates brain function.
- The basis of the menu is porridge, dairy products (low-fat), legumes, vegetables (except potatoes and corn), whole grain bread. If you like rice, then choose unpolished, black or red. The white variety is practically pure fast carbohydrates.
- Limit your salt intake.
- Sugar and products that contain it, such as sweets and baked goods, are completely excluded.
- Season salads and cereals with flaxseed, olive, and sunflower oil. No more than one tablespoon of vegetable oil is allowed per day, and this amount must be divided into several parts.
- Water balance must be maintained. During the diet, drink at least one and a half liters of water (still) per day.
- In the morning and evening, be sure to carry out water procedures in order to remove toxins released during the day. You can take a shower or bath, or simply dry yourself with a damp towel.
Greasy diet menu
The Kwasniewski diet formula necessarily includes the following proportions of BZHU - 1: 2.5: 0.8. There are several menu options
First
According to the classic scheme of the Polish nutritionist, the day should begin with a piece of unsalted lard, eaten on an empty stomach. For all 10 days of the diet, you need to buy 200 grams of lard and eat one slice every morning (at 5 o’clock). Afterwards, you can have breakfast at the usual time, but following the menu requirements. First of all, these are three full meals, without tea or snacks between them.
Second option
You can make your greasy diet more varied. For breakfast, cook scrambled eggs, an omelet in lard, or eat cracklings with a small slice of bread. For lunch, fried pork with fat (150 g), a couple of potatoes in fat, a cucumber in marinade. Cheese pancakes with butter, milk or cream are suitable for dinner. You need to eat slowly, chewing your food thoroughly in a calm environment.
Third
According to reviews from people who have lost weight, it is not necessary to create a diet consisting only of fatty foods. You can simply eat a slice of lard on an empty stomach, and the rest of the time eat low-calorie healthy foods. For example:
- a piece of lard on an empty stomach;
- for breakfast, porridge with fruit and honey;
- for lunch, Scotch eggs with buckwheat porridge;
- for dinner - chicken breast with vegetable salad.
Dishes can be changed, the main condition is to eat unsalted fatty lard within ten days before breakfast to speed up metabolism.
