Lard Might Be Better Than You Think
A moderate lard-included diet reduces fat deposition and inflammation in the adipose tissue
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Eating a little bit of lard (animal fat) made mice store less fat than eating the same amount of plant oils. This happened because lard raised a chemical in the blood that told fat cells to break down fat and attracted helpful immune cells.
Surprising Findings
Moderate lard intake decreased fat storage in mice, while vegetable oils increased it.
Common nutrition advice says animal fats like lard cause obesity, but this study shows the opposite under moderate intake.
Practical Takeaways
Consider replacing some seed oils with lard in moderation if you're trying to manage fat storage.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Eating a little bit of lard (animal fat) made mice store less fat than eating the same amount of plant oils. This happened because lard raised a chemical in the blood that told fat cells to break down fat and attracted helpful immune cells.
Surprising Findings
Moderate lard intake decreased fat storage in mice, while vegetable oils increased it.
Common nutrition advice says animal fats like lard cause obesity, but this study shows the opposite under moderate intake.
Practical Takeaways
Consider replacing some seed oils with lard in moderation if you're trying to manage fat storage.
Publication
Journal
NPJ Science of Food
Year
2025
Authors
Xiang-Jiang Liu, Sha Liu, Jingwen Wang, Liu Xu, Zhaoqing Hou, Yule Deng, Rui Zhang, Qiurong Xu, Sisi Yan, Xiaowen Li, Lixin Wen, Ji Wang
Related Content
Claims (6)
When mice ate a moderate amount of lard (pig fat), they stored less fat in their fat tissue than mice that ate the same amount of plant-based oils.
When mice had more taurocholic acid in their blood, their fat cells turned on more genes that help break down fat.
In lab-grown fat cells and immune cells, adding taurocholic acid made the fat cells store less fat and turned immune cells into a type that reduces inflammation.
Mice that ate a moderate amount of lard had more of a substance called taurocholic acid in their blood than mice that ate other oils.
Mice that ate moderate lard had more of a type of immune cell (M2 macrophage) in their fat tissue that is linked to reducing inflammation.