The article stated further that technically any animal could be used as a source of tallows, noting that tallows are harvested from cows, goats, and horses.
“They have high economic value as they are an integral and useful ingredient in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries but in terms of health, they are considered to be an unhealthy option for oil,” it said.
Speaking with PUNCH HealthWise, the experts, a professor of animal nutrition, Leonard Agwunobi, and a professor of Ruminant Nutrition, Isaac Osakwe stressed that tallows deposit faster in the arteries unlike vegetable and virgin oils.
Explaining why tallows are not a good option for health, Agwunobi said using them for cooking could cause atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis is the build-up of fats, cholesterol and other substances in and on your artery walls. This build-up is called plaque. The plaque can cause arteries to narrow, blocking blood flow. The plaque can also burst, leading to a blood clot, according to mayoclinic.com.
The medical site added that although atherosclerosis is often considered a heart problem, it can affect arteries anywhere in the body.
Speaking, Agwunobi said, “It is a dangerous oil for human health. It is dangerous because it has a lot of health implications like atherosclerosis.
“That is, it deposits faster on the blood vessels, veins and arteries blocking the passage of blood through the arteries, veins which can result in the person dying of arteriosclerosis.
“That is why sometimes you see a person who looks healthy collapsing while walking. It is one of the reasons.
“Unlike vegetable fat which can easily be digested and used by the body. This one, as you eat it, the fat just goes and deposits in the artery.”
Speaking in the same vein, Osakwe reiterated that tallows are not healthy for human consumption as it has serious negative impacts on health.
He said tallows were relished in the olden days due to inadequate knowledge about their negative health impacts, but stressed that due to the knowledge people have now, it is no longer considered fashionable or healthy for consumption.
“Beef tallows are fats, they are not the right type of fats for consumption these days when people are conscious of what they eat.
“However people may use them to make soaps. Some of the industries, even pharmaceutical companies may use them.”
He noted that their use in soap making makes for better quality soap “but for consumption in terms of oils that you will use for humans, it is not the best.”
Just like Agwunobi, Osakwe noted that the reason why they are not a healthy substitute is that they are high in cholesterol.
“These are saturated fats and if you look at them they have high cholesterol. They are high in saturated fat and they are not healthy in nutrition. They have
those things you would not want to have in your meals.”
The professors advocated for the use of virgin oils or vegetable oils instead of tallows, noting that are easily digested by the human system.
Source: HealthWise
