Lard & Beef Tallow: Nutrients, What Research Shows and Safety

Lard is rendered (melted and strained) pork fat. Beef tallow is rendered fat from cattle, mostly the hard fat around the kidneys. Both are solid at room temperature and have a long history in frying, pastry and roasting. Recent interest in them online often comes with big health claims. This page keeps these animal fats as foods apart from those claims, and from skin-care or supplement uses, and says what the research shows and does not show.

Read this first

• Both are almost pure fat. USDA lists about 115 kcal in 1 tablespoon (12.8 g) of either. Saturated fat is about 5.0 g in a tablespoon of lard (25% of the FDA Daily Value) and about 6.4 g in tallow (32%). [1] [2]
• Compared with oils, the trial evidence favors unsaturated oils for LDL cholesterol. A 2018 network meta-analysis of 54 trials found beef fat lowered LDL more than butter did, but plant oils such as safflower, sunflower, rapeseed and olive oil also lowered it more than butter. It reported no specific LDL result for lard. [4] We found no trial of lard or tallow against plant oils that we could read.
• Alpha-gal syndrome: people with this tick-linked allergy react to mammal products. Health-agency lists include mammal fats, but evidence on how much each triggers a reaction is limited. [8] [9]
• Claims need care. We found no human trial showing that lard or tallow cure, heal or "detox" anything. Social media claims that they are healthier than plant oils are not supported by the trials we read.
• Honest summary: use them as flavorful cooking fats in small amounts if you like them. They are not health foods, and official advice still ranks liquid plant oils higher for heart health. [3] [6]

What is in it (USDA values)

The values are for lard (USDA FoodData Central item 171401, SR Legacy) and beef tallow (item 171400). [1] [2] The serving column is the USDA household portion of 1 tablespoon, 12.8 g.

% Daily Value uses the FDA 2016 Daily Values; values vary with the animal's feed and how the fat was rendered. The serving figures are the 100 g values multiplied by 0.128. Neither fat has protein, carbohydrate, fiber or sodium of any note, and USDA lists no vitamin A or vitamin K for either. [1] [2] USDA's file also lists vitamin D values for both fats, but they look unusually high and we could not re-check them against the USDA web page, so we left them out. Lard has more polyunsaturated fat than tallow, and tallow has more saturated fat. [1] [2]

What research says

Food vs other uses. The studies above are about eating the fats. We did not read any trial of lard or tallow used on the skin or sold as a supplement.

How much is a normal serving

The USDA household portion for each is 1 tablespoon (12.8 g), about 115 kcal. [1] [2] That is information from USDA, not a prescription. The NHS gives a maximum of 30 g of saturated fat a day for men and 20 g for women and lists lard and suet among foods high in saturated fat. [6] Press coverage in January 2026 of the 2025-2030 US Dietary Guidelines says they keep the 10%-of-calories limit on saturated fat and name beef tallow as an option for cooking alongside butter, with a dietitian noting that about half its fat is saturated. We read this only in a news report, not in the guidelines. [10]

Safety, allergy and medicines

• Saturated fat and cholesterol: a tablespoon gives 25% (lard) or 32% (tallow) of the saturated fat Daily Value. [1] [2] People with high LDL or heart disease should ask their clinician about animal fats.
• Alpha-gal syndrome: the CDC describes alpha-gal syndrome as a serious allergy, sometimes life-threatening, that can develop after a tick bite and cause reactions to red meat and other mammal products. [8] The AAAAI answer we read says fat content matters, that high-fat dairy may contain enough alpha-gal to cause reactions, and that reactions to some products are unlikely but not impossible. It did not mention lard or tallow by name. [9] Anyone with this diagnosis should ask their allergist about animal fats. Call 911 for trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat.
• Heating: we did not read a verified smoke point or heated-fat study for lard or tallow, so we give no number. See smoke points and cooking with oil.
• Pregnancy and children: we found no source naming a problem with lard or tallow in normal food use. See foods in pregnancy.
• Medicines: we found no source describing a direct interaction between lard or tallow as food and a medicine.
• Religious and dietary choices: pork lard is not suitable for people who avoid pork; labels on bought pastry and fried food may list "animal fat" without the source. We did not read a labeling rule, so check with the maker.

Choosing, storing and food safety

• We did not read an official source with storage times for rendered fat, so follow the label on bought products and use the USDA FoodKeeper tool for current guidance.
• Fat that smells sharp, paint-like or "off" is likely rancid; this is general kitchen knowledge, not from a source we read, so treat it as a cautious rule.
• Choose "lard" or "tallow" that lists only the fat. Hydrogenated lard may contain artificial trans fat; the FDA ruled partially hydrogenated oils unsafe for most food use. [11] See trans fats: where they hide.

Related pages

• Butter
• Duck, goose and chicken fat
• Saturated, unsaturated and trans fats explained
• Which cooking fat to choose: what health bodies say
• Smoke points and cooking with oil
• Foods for cholesterol and heart health