10 Amazing Health Benefits Of Duck Fat
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Are you skeptical about using fat in your cooking? Well, you are not alone. When it comes to fat, most people avoid it because we are conditioned to believe fat is unhealthy. However, when it comes to duck fat, you may want to revise your opinion and belief. Today, research has shown duck fat is as healthy and contains most of the goodness that olive oil contains.
If you are wondering how you can benefit your health by incorporating duck fat into your daily cooking, here are some benefits that are hard to ignore. Go ahead and read!
Health Benefits Of Duck Fat
1. Healthy Fats
According to Professor Alejandro G Marangoni of the University of Guelph’s Department of Food Science, duck fat is replete with monounsaturated fat, making it a healthy cooking medium for those who want to consume just healthy fats (1). While it does contain saturated fats, the amount of monounsaturated fats in duck fat negates it.
2. Maintains Healthy Cells
Duck fat contains linoleic acid, which is an important fatty acid (2). This acid is used by the body to maintain the health of cells. Hence, your cell division and repair will be optimized if you include duck fat in your daily diet.
3. Aids In Good Kidney Function
Linoleic acid in duck fat is known to support optimal functioning of the kidney. In some scientific studies, researchers have found this essential fatty acid can help patients with chronic renal failure via experiments conducted on rats (3). However, the studies are not complete as these results were observed in laboratory settings.
4. Maintains Healthy Bones
Once again linoleic acid plays a major role in the absorption of calcium by the body and lowers the risk of contracting preeclampsia by 75% (4). Hence, with proper absorption you can maintain strong and healthy bones. This could be a point of interest for women, who are more prone to osteoporosis.
5. High Smoking Point
Duck fat does not smoke very easily. In fact, it has a high smoking temperature that usually cannot be attained in the kitchen. Hence, it can be used over and over for frying and cooking without worrying about the molecules of fat breaking down into harmful toxins with the heat.
6. Rich And Delicious Taste And Flavour
Using duck fat for cooking can transform a mundane and boring dish into a delicious and spectacular-tasting dish. Therefore, healthy dishes can be made more interesting. As a result, you will be more conducive to eating such dishes and imbibing the nutrition and health these dishes have to offer.
7. Reduces Cholesterol Levels
Studies suggest that good fats i.e., both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, are good for the heart (5). The presence of monounsaturated fats in duck fat helps to lower the levels of blood cholesterol. Hence, you can prevent the onset of other health problems that can occur due to high cholesterol levels.
8. Improved Cardiovascular Health
According to a paper presented by Dr. Serge Renaud, a French scientist associated with the National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Lyons, France, duck fat has the ability to improve people’s cardiovascular health. While there is a lot of ongoing debate about this claim, there are chemists who agree with Dr. Renaud’s findings (6) .This is because duck fat’s composition is more or less similar to olive oil rather than lard and butter. Both duck meat and fat improve cardiac health considerably!
9. High In Antioxidants
You may already know free radicals are the cause of premature aging, certain cancers and even some diseases (7). So, you definitely don’t want these free radicals in your body. Duck fat contains antioxidants, which can destroy free radicals and eliminate them from your body.
10. Improved Immunity
The presence of antioxidants and minerals such as selenium and zinc help to strengthen your immune system. This, in turn, will ensure you develop better immunity to common ailments and your body has the ability to fight an invasion of pathogens and germs. As surprising as it may seem, yes, studies do suggest that duck fat and meat can help improve overall immunity (8).
While duck fat is healthy and can benefit your body quite a bit, remember too much of anything can have the opposite effect. Hence, use duck fat occasionally to enjoy its health benefits.
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